Most Expensive Bite Ever

Kevin walked in, saw me, and sighed like I was the problem. "Come on, Susannah Seymour, don't make a scene. You could've just told me you were coming."He wiped his forehead, already sweating.Then Lillian latched onto his arm, throwing me a smug glare. "So it's Ms. Seymour. She said she was your sister—I figured she meant future sister-in-law."I inhaled slowly. 'So that's what this is.' No wonder she felt untouchable."What do you think?" I asked.Kevin glanced at her. "Maybe... give her a discount?"My heart dropped. "Kevin, what policy lets the hotel fine guests? What regulation backs this up? Otherwise, it's straight-up illegal."Lillian scoffed. "Our boss is the policy. Every tree, every brick here costs money. You sat here soaking in the vibes, trying to snag a rich guy. I let it slide, and now you're pushing it? I'm the manager. What I say goes. Not a cent less!"I turned to Kevin. He braced himself. "Enough, Susannah. Stop making a scene. Just pay."He said I was maki

Kevin was adopted. He took Dad's last name, but I'm Mom's only kid—and Horizon Group? That's hers. Dad's ride-or-die for her, always has been.So yeah, I got her last name. I was born the heir, no debate.Everyone at Horizon knows it. Kevin does too. Thing is, he's never been good at anything. Every project he touched crashed hard.Mom gave him one last shot—this hotel. Sink or swim. If he blew it, he'd keep a title, but that'd be it. Zero power.He knew it. That's why he came crawling to me.And yeah, I helped. I practically lived at this place for six months—everyone on staff knows me.I handled everything: customer feedback, brand revamp, menu tweaks, even picked the chefs myself.Took half a year to get the hotel in shape. Once it finally started making money, I handed it to him.At first, it stayed solid—monthly profits, no drama. But six months ago, I noticed the cracks. Numbers weren't adding up.So I pushed for a site check.The second I sat down and ordered? I knew s

Mr. Spector kept going. "She also skimmed ten percent off every penalty. Total fines hit $2.3 million. Five hundred thousand was transferred to someone named Peter Carlsen—we've already frozen his accounts. Police are involved, and the money trail's under investigation."He flipped a page. "She also replaced the kitchen staff. Ms. Seymour personally chose the original chefs, but they were all swapped out for people Ms. Haagen knew. Ingredients too—HQ sent premium supplies, but cheaper ones were subbed in. In six months alone, that scam pulled in another $300,000."I said, "Menus, transactions, supplier invoices. It's all there. Kevin—explain."He stared at the papers, stunned. Then he snapped. Turned around and slapped Lillian hard."You bitch! You crazy bitch—using my money to keep some boy toy? Didn't you swear you were done with Peter? What the hell is this?"He shoved Lillian to the floor and started hitting her—again and again. More than a dozen blows. Her face swelled fast.

A scandal this big—at a six-star hotel—and not a single employee said a word? Yeah, I'm guessing fear of Lillian kept them quiet.But from where I stand, silence makes you part of it.If it looks rotten on the outside, it's been bad on the inside for a while. So, we shut the hotel down. On the spot. Everyone fired.Back at HQ, Mom took one look at me and gently patted my shoulder. "Don't blame yourself. You did the right thing. I know you still care about Kevin, but what he did? It can't be forgiven."I truly believed I raised him like my own—no different than if I'd given birth to him."But I was wrong. Some flaws... they're just in the blood."For the first time, she told me the truth about Kevin. His birth parents were street thugs—killed in a gang fight.He was just a kid, alone, crouched next to the hotel dumpster, guarding scraps like a stray. That's how my parents found him.Hearing that... yeah, it hurt."Mom," I said quietly, "you still have me. I'll do my best.""I