Chapter 229
229 The Hotel Incident
Right after that, Global Hotel released another official post.
This time, it was a promotional video.
But not just any promotional video–it looked straight–up cinematic. The production quality was stunning.
Other hotels were fuming.
Global Hotel instantly earned massive goodwill online. They’d won–big time.
Later that afternoon, Ruby suddenly agreed to an interview.
She looked just like always–composed, graceful, and kind.
She was polished and poised, effortlessly giving off the vibe of a well–bred wornan.
She was polite to the host, which made people instinctively warm to her.
When the host asked about the hotel situation, Ruby smiled at the camera.
“As a leader, the most important thing is knowing when to delegate.
The company’s restructuring … Honestly, it was a way for me to test Eric and his wife.
“The business will eventually be in the hands of the next generation. If they want to shake things up and try their own style, I support that.
“As for the consequences….
She didn’t mention James or the incident directly and just brushed it aside.
“Whatever happens, isn’t that what we elders are here for?”
That one interview won over the entire internet.
Everyone knew Ruby wasn’t Eric’s birth mother.
But for a stepmom to handle things this well?
She was basically the gold standard.
Public opinion shifted in a heartbeat.
She was trending everywhere.
From that moment on, whatever went wrong at the company, it was the “young folks” m
dling things .
As for Ruby, she was just a chairwoman who loved her kids too much.
Then, troublé hit.
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229 The Hotel Incident
It started with a rumor—someone said there’d been a death at Global Hotel
Most people brushed it off as fake news.
But then, that same account dropped photos from the scene,
There was blood. The victim’s body was shown. It nearly crashed the entire site.
The images were graphic. As they were in violation of community rules, they were taken down fast.
But the internet never forgot anything.
Screenshots spread like wildfire. People started flooding Nolan Group’s official website, demanding
answers.
Major influencers jumped on it.
Even the police took notice.
When Alice and Eric came to work the next day, investigators were already there.
They were questioning people from the hotel operations team.
By protocol, if anything happened at the hotel, the operation team should’ve known first. Their job was to spin it clean.
So they’d be the first to know.
But after a few rounds of questioning, no one could give a straight answer.
So, the police turned to Alice and Eric directly.
Meanwhile, Sandy was in Ruby’s office.
“Mom, I just heard a shareholder say they’re really disappointed in Eric.
“He just took over the hotel, and already he’s lost control of the narrative. He’s totally incompetent.
“And I saw with my own eyes–the police just took Alice into a back room for questioning.”
Ruby didn’t look surprised.
Everything was unfolding exactly as she’d planned.
“You’re still on good terms with Linda, aren’t you?”
There had once been an engagement between the Spencers and the Nolans. Linda had truly wanted to marry Eric.
She used to visit often, always trying to get information on him.
But after Eric fell into a coma, contact faded between Sandy and her.
Recently, they’d started speaking again because they shared a common enemy.
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229 The Hotel Incident
“ Call her. Tell her this is her chance. If she wants a comeback, now’s the time to grab i
At the station, Alice calmly explained the situation.
The incident had occurred before she and Eric took over hotel management.
so they wouldn’t be taken in for questioning.
Still, they were required to stay in Mapleford for now.
She agreed to cooperate fully, putting everything else on hold.
It was the same for Eric. His status wouldn’t carn him any special treatment.
After the police left, Eric immediately started calming the company down.
Then he called for an emergency meeting about the hotel scandal.
Alice had been about to manage public opinion when she suddenly spotted Linda and Gary.
When Gary looked at her, there was a flicker of guilt in his eyes–but it vanished just as fast .
“Alice, I’m here to make you an offer.”
Alice saw how blunt he was and replied coolly.
“I don’t have time. And besides, I’m just an employee. If you want to talk business, try PR or marketing.”
She turned to leave .
“Alice, stop right there!”
Gary’s pride took a hit. He was naturally pissed,
He was usually the most mild–tempered of the five brothers.
He rarely lost his cool.
But now, getting brushed off by his sister–right in front of everyone–stung.