Chapter 63
CHARLOTTE
If I told anyone that I was satisfied with Thing’s explanation about the events of the previous evening. I’d be lying. I had listened to every word, and they seemed sincere, but I could tell something was missing. There was something he wasn’t telling me, and that left me frustrated Perhaps I was biased, already inclined to mistrust him as I lay in bed the morning, after, pondering
our conversation.
He started by explaining the connection his family has to the Hilton Hotel and how the attack, which included the collapse of the building, was orchestrated by a business rival who had proposed a deal to the Mooze family a few months ago. His family owned the hotel, among other ventures scattered throughout the city and other countries. Their influence could be traced back to days when the town had just started blooming, and they had done quite well for themselves over the years.
Being heir to the family’s assets, he had been sent away to Europe to get a dual degree in law and business administration. This trip was a pivotal factor in his life, as he believed it shaped him in a different way from his peers, whose parents handed them the key to lifelong wealth, but it had also opened him to several issues. This situation with the rival, who was still unidentified, was one of them; given that he had to resume as the CEO of the corporation following his grandfather’s demise, he got on the next flight to LA after his graduation ceremony and this was the reason behind our first encounter on the plane. He reiterated that he had asked for the suite to be given to me when he stopped by and saw that I was experiencing some trouble getting a room.
At the time, he had done it based on helping someone affiliated with the Thuthai family, but I reminded him that I mentioned not being part of the family anymore. He affirmed and added that while it seemed like he had no reason to extend a helping hand, he still felt a need to make sure I was safe and comfortable throughout my stay at The Hilton until the events of yesterday afternoon.
I listened with rapt attention as he explained how he was certain help was coming. When he had rejected the offer, he thought that silence on the part of the opposing party meant they had agreed not to go further with any proposals until they caught wind of plans to attack his family. When they first heard about this, he put together a team to investigate the rumors and they turned out to be true.
They started working out ways to defend themselves but had been planning for a direct attack until they soon learned that their enemies had far more insidious plans. The general idea was that their enemies wanted to attack the hotel and use whatever means necessary to reduce the credibility of the place but that afternoon, he had visited the hotel wearing a wire; his men had been stationed in strategic points, watching the place keenly up until the assailants led everybody to the hall. Spending time away from the city had proven to be an advantage given that if he didn’t namedrop, barely anyone could recognize him as a member of the Mooze family in the city, much less the main target
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Danging into the Heart of Mr. Cold
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Chapter 63
for any mayhem.
During the attack, his absence also proved to be useful, as none of the men could identify him so they lumped him with the crowd. His security personnel had been planning to cover all exits, trapping the henchmen in until they heard that their rivals were planning on burning the place to the ground. They had not planned for that level of depravity and had to quickly change their plans while trying to stick to the original idea of foiling the mission of the men who held us hostage.
They knew they had to save the people. Still, they could also tell that they needed to get the property out of the place, as it would do irreparable damage if they were unable to give the people who had booked rooms and suites in a bid to enjoy their holidays or whatever the idea was behind staying at the hotel, some of their property at least. It was one thing to offer monetary compensation; it was another to be able to make up for valuable properties that would be lost in the incident.
While we waited and I continuously doubted that any help was forthcoming, his team had split into two groups. One group was tasked with ensuring that the attackers were caught, and people locked up in the hall were safely led out of the hotel premises, the other group had their work cut out for them. They were to move the properties in the rooms out of harm’s way in record time.
The first group had succeeded with the first part of their task and found the attackers, but they soon discovered that the entire hotel had been lined with bombs and they had little to no time left to achieve their objective. They split into two groups and some of the men went back to help the others get the luggage out of the rooms and labeled them according to the suites they had found them in, while the others located the people and helped them out.
They had tried to capture the attackers, but they narrowly escaped so they focused their efforts on getting everyone out. When they reached out to the bomb squad, it became evident that the team wouldn’t make it to the hotel in time. As soon as they’d gotten everyone out safely and could account for the properties, they were able to salvage, the building came crashing down. I had listened to him speak and my body trembled slightly as I realized that I had been in grave danger. Everyone had been in what they thought were the last moments of their lives because someone started a power
tussle.
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