## Chapter 7: The Vote of Wolves
Victor Kane entered the Monarch ballroom as though he had already purchased it.
Malcolm Reed walked beside him. Six private security officers followed, each wearing credentials issued by the board’s temporary oversight committee.
Charlotte remained near the stage.
She did not allow herself to react to the photograph of Ryan’s body.
Victor had designed the image to break her concentration.
She would not reward him.
Reporters turned their cameras toward the confrontation. Hundreds of Bennett Global employees filled the rear section of the ballroom. The board occupied a raised platform facing the stage.
Charlotte stepped toward Victor.
“You are not a director.”
“No,” he replied. “I am an interested claimant.”
“You are also under investigation for corporate theft.”
“An allegation promoted by a chairperson facing removal.”
His gaze traveled over her cardigan.
“You could have changed clothes.”
Charlotte looked down at herself.
“These clothes have already exposed one fraud today.”
A few employees smiled.
Victor did not.
Malcolm approached the stage microphone.
“This emergency meeting has been called to address a leadership crisis threatening Bennett Global Hospitality Group.”
Charlotte interrupted.
“This meeting was called by me.”
“It was converted into a removal proceeding by a majority petition.”
“How many directors signed?”
“Seven.”
“Seven of thirteen is not enough to remove the chair under the trust charter.”
“It is if the chair concealed a material conflict concerning ownership of the flagship asset.”
Harrison entered carrying a locked case.
“The ownership claim remains unproven.”
Malcolm pointed toward Evelyn, who had just appeared near the side entrance.
Gasps moved through the room.
Sabrina stood beside her.
Victor’s smile returned.
“Evelyn Monroe,” he announced. “The legal owner of the land beneath this hotel.”
Evelyn walked toward the stage.
For the first time in more than twenty years, every camera in Manhattan captured her face.
“My name is Evelyn Monroe,” she said into the microphone. “I survived the fire in Room 1908.”
Reporters shouted questions.
Evelyn continued.
“Samuel Kane ordered that fire. Victor Kane carried the fuel into the building.”
Victor remained motionless.
“That is a serious accusation from a woman legally declared dead.”
“I disappeared because your family hunted me.”
“You disappeared because Thomas Bennett paid you to protect his reputation.”
Evelyn looked toward Charlotte.
“No. Thomas Bennett helped me disappear to protect our daughter.”
The ballroom erupted.
Charlotte felt hundreds of eyes turn toward her.
Sabrina moved closer, offering silent support that would have seemed impossible hours earlier.
Malcolm raised his voice.
“This revelation proves Charlotte Bennett concealed a direct personal interest in the disputed property.”
“I learned the truth this morning,” Charlotte said.
Victor laughed.
“How convenient.”
Harrison opened the locked case.
“The original trust documents confirm Charlotte is Evelyn Monroe’s biological daughter and sole heir.”
The deed appeared on the ballroom screen.
Victor’s expression changed for the first time.
Only slightly.
Yet Charlotte saw it.
He had expected the deed to remain underground.
Harrison addressed the room.
“The building belongs to Bennett Global Hospitality Group. The land belongs to Evelyn Monroe through a trust created in 1998. Upon her death, ownership transfers to Charlotte Bennett.”
Malcolm turned toward Evelyn.
“Mrs. Monroe, are you prepared to confirm that you support Charlotte’s continued control?”
Evelyn looked at Charlotte.
Their relationship was only hours old and already burdened by decades of absence.
“I support the truth.”
“That was not the question.”
“It is the answer.”
Malcolm smiled.
“Then perhaps the board should consider whether the land should be leased independently until all claims are resolved.”
Victor’s strategy became clear.
If Evelyn refused to support Charlotte, the board could treat the hotel as an asset exposed to eviction or redevelopment.
Charlotte approached the microphone.
“The trust contains a permanent operating lease to Bennett Global.”
Harrison nodded.
“Valid for ninety-nine years.”
Malcolm’s smile disappeared.
Victor whispered something to him.
Malcolm turned toward the directors.
“We will proceed with the vote.”
Charlotte watched the board members.
Some looked frightened.
Others looked greedy.
Judith Price spoke first.
“Before voting, I request the forensic audit be presented.”
Malcolm objected.
“The audit concerns separate allegations.”
“It concerns whether Victor Kane used company funds to manufacture this crisis.”
Margaret Sloan took the stage.
The ballroom screens displayed the transfer network.
Sixty-four million dollars.
RC Strategic.
Kane Urban Capital.
Accounts controlled by Malcolm Reed.
Murmurs grew louder.
Margaret continued.
“Twenty-two million reached a political action organization connected to Judge Leonard Walsh, who granted this morning’s emergency injunction.”
Federal investigators near the front exchanged glances.
Judge Walsh’s order had arrived too quickly because it had been purchased long ago.
Malcolm stood.
“These records are fabricated.”
“They contain your biometric approvals,” Margaret said.
“Then mine were forged, just as Charlotte claims hers were.”
“You approved one transfer from your office while appearing on a live television interview.”
The video played on the screen.
Malcolm sat at his desk discussing ethical investment strategies. His hand moved beneath the table at the exact moment the transfer received authorization.
Laughter moved through the employees.
Malcolm turned toward Victor.
“You said those systems were secure.”
Victor’s eyes hardened.
The careless remark was captured by every microphone.
Charlotte stepped closer.
“What systems, Malcolm?”
He realized the mistake.
Federal agents began moving toward the stage.
Victor’s private guards blocked them.
The ballroom tension sharpened.
Charlotte’s phone vibrated.
A message from Ethan appeared.
RYAN ALIVE. EAST WING. DETONATOR ACTIVE.
Relief nearly weakened her knees.
She showed no reaction.
Another message followed.
TIMER CHANGED. TEN MINUTES.
Victor had accelerated the destruction.
Charlotte looked toward the ballroom clock.
10:58.
The charges would ignite at 11:08.
She needed to clear the room without alerting Victor.
“Before the vote,” Charlotte said, “I request a recess.”
“Denied,” Malcolm replied.
“You do not have authority to deny it.”
“I am acting chair of the oversight committee.”
“You are an accused thief.”
Victor stepped forward.
“Stop pretending this meeting matters.”
The room quieted.
He looked at the reporters, the board, and the employees.
“The hotel is sitting on compromised foundations. The east wing was built over illegal underground chambers. Once city inspectors learn the extent of Thomas Bennett’s deception, the Monarch will be condemned.”
Charlotte understood.
He intended the explosion to appear like structural failure.
Then Kane Capital would acquire the damaged property through a forced sale.
“You arranged the fire twenty-two years ago,” she said. “Now you plan to finish it.”
Victor smiled.
“Be careful, Charlotte.”
“Why? Are you afraid of cameras?”
“I am afraid innocent people may become frightened by your accusations.”
The fire alarm sounded.
Every light in the ballroom flashed.
Ethan had triggered it.
Hotel employees immediately began guiding guests and reporters toward the exits.
Victor turned toward Malcolm.
“Stop them.”
Malcolm grabbed the microphone.
“Remain seated. This is a false alarm.”
Charlotte seized another microphone.
“This is Charlotte Bennett, legal chairperson and controlling owner of this hotel. Everyone will evacuate immediately.”
Employees obeyed her.
The crowd surged toward the doors.
Victor’s guards attempted to close them.
Bennett security intervened.
The ballroom became chaotic.
Charlotte pushed through the moving crowd toward the east service corridor.
Sabrina followed.
“So am I.”
“You don’t know how to disable explosives.”
“Neither do you.”
“I know the building.”
“And I know Victor.”
They entered the service elevator.
Harrison tried to join them.
Charlotte stopped him.
“Stay with the deed.”
“Charlotte—”
“If Victor gets it, none of this matters.”
The doors closed.
Sabrina leaned against the wall.
“You knew Ryan was alive.”
“Yes.”
“You didn’t tell Victor.”
“I try not to provide my enemies with useful information.”
“You didn’t tell me either.”
“I have not decided which category you belong to.”
Sabrina accepted that.
They reached the penthouse floor at 11:03.
The corridor was empty.
The suite doors stood open.
Inside, the remnants of Ryan and Sabrina’s celebration remained untouched.
Champagne glasses.
Caviar.
Rose petals.
The ten-thousand-dollar jewelry box Sabrina had ordered with stolen money.
Near the windows sat a black electronic control unit.
Five minutes remained.
Sabrina approached it.
“I saw Victor enter the code earlier.”
“Do you remember it?”
“0419.”
“Meaning?”
“The date of the Room 1908 fire.”
She entered the numbers.
ACCESS DENIED.
The timer dropped to four minutes.
“Try your mother’s birthday,” Charlotte said.
Sabrina entered another code.
Denied.
A voice came from behind them.
“The code is not about either of you.”
Ryan stood in the doorway.
His shirt was covered in blood, but the stain came from a packet taped beneath his clothes. Ethan supported him.
Mercer entered behind them.
Charlotte crossed the room.
For one dangerous second, she wanted to embrace Ryan.
Instead, she checked his face for injuries.
“Are you hurt?”
“Only my dignity.”
“That suffered a fatal injury in the lobby.”
He gave a weak smile.
Ethan approached the detonator.
“Victor changed the code after I staged the shooting.”
The timer showed three minutes.
Mercer examined the device.
“It requires a six-digit Bennett authorization.”
Charlotte tried her father’s birth date.
Denied.
Her own.
Denied.
Ryan looked toward the penthouse security camera.
“Victor wants you to know the answer.”
“What does that mean?”
“He talked about the first time your father betrayed Evelyn.”
Evelyn’s voice came through Charlotte’s phone. Harrison had connected her to the penthouse speaker.
“The day Thomas signed the agreement with Samuel Kane.”
“What date?”
“June 14, 1998.”
Charlotte entered 061498.
ACCESS ACCEPTED.
The timer stopped at one minute and forty-two seconds.
Everyone exhaled.
Then the screen changed.
SECONDARY MANUAL TRIGGER ARMED.
Ethan looked toward the window.
“Victor has a remote backup.”
The penthouse television turned on.
A live feed showed Victor standing inside the underground archive.
He held the false black ledger in one hand and a trigger in the other.
“You stopped the timer,” he said through the screen. “Congratulations.”
Charlotte moved closer.
“You’re trapped underground.”
“No. You opened several exits for me.”
“What do you want?”
“Evelyn.”
“You cannot have her.”
“Then I collapse the east wing.”
“Hundreds of people are still evacuating.”
“That is your burden.”
Sabrina stepped in front of the screen.
“Victor, you told me my mother was murdered.”
“She was, in every meaningful way.”
“You used me.”
“I gave you purpose.”
“You gave me hatred.”
“People rarely recognize the difference.”
Sabrina looked toward Charlotte.
Then she picked up the land deed copy resting on the desk.
“I’ll bring you Evelyn’s trust.”
Charlotte understood the performance.
Victor did not.
“Come alone,” he ordered.
Sabrina left the penthouse.
Charlotte started after her.
Ethan stopped her.
“She knows the tunnels.”
“She also spent years working for him.”
“That may be why he believes her.”
On the screen, Victor smiled.
“One minute, Charlotte.”
The remote trigger flashed in his hand.
Then the penthouse doors locked automatically.
Steel shutters descended over the windows.
A mechanical voice announced:
FIRE SUPPRESSION SYSTEM DISABLED.
Ryan tried the door.
“Locked.”
Smoke began pouring from the ventilation system.
Mercer looked toward the ceiling.
“This is not smoke.”
Charlotte smelled the bitter chemical in the air.
Ethan covered his mouth.
“Anesthetic gas.”
The room blurred.
Charlotte reached for the control panel.
Her legs weakened.
Ryan caught her before she fell.
May you like
The final thing she saw was Victor’s face on the television.
“Your father chose you over the truth,” he said. “Now we’ll see what you choose when everyone you love is inside the same room.”
