Chapter 3 - The Red Screen of JudgmentDown in the lobby, the tension was thick enough to cut with a knife.
The two security guards were still hesitant, caught between Victoria Vance’s furious demands and the eerie, unshakable confidence radiating from Charlotte Vale.
“Are you deaf? I said throw her out!” Victoria shrieked, stamping her stiletto-clad heel against the marble.
“You can try,” Charlotte said softly. She reached into the pocket of her worn denim shorts, pulled out a small, metallic card that gleamed with a deep obsidian sheen, and tossed it casually onto the reception desk.
The card landed with a soft clack.
The young hotel receptionist looked down at it, her eyes widening in sheer horror. It wasn't an ordinary plastic keycard. It was carved from solid black titanium, embedded with a microchip that glowed with a faint, pulsing blue light. Only three such cards existed in the entire world—held exclusively by the Chairman, the CEO, and the ultimate legal owner of the Solmere Corporation.
“Scan it,” Charlotte commanded. Her voice echoed off the marble pillars, carrying the undisputed weight of absolute authority.
The receptionist’s trembling fingers reached out. She picked up the obsidian card and slid it into the master terminal slot.
For a second, nothing happened.
Then, the entire lobby transformed.
Every single digital display—from the massive multi-story LED wall broadcasting luxury advertisements to the private check-in screens and the elevator status monitors—suddenly flickered, turned pitch black, and flashed a single, brilliant crimson warning.
SYSTEM OVERRIDE ACTIVATED. WELCOME HOME, CHAIRWOMAN VALE.
A deep, automated digital voice echoed through the high-ceilinged hall from the master PA system: “Master security protocol unlocked. All secondary permissions suspended. Welcome, Charlotte Vale, Ultimate Beneficial Owner of the Solmere Empire.”
The entire room gasped in collective disbelief.
Victoria Vance stumbled backward, her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. “No... no, that’s impossible! She’s a street rat! She’s a nobody! That card has to be fake! Arrest her! Arrest her right now!”
None of the guards moved. They stood frozen, their eyes darting nervously between the glowing red screens and the bruised, bleeding young woman standing in the center of the lobby.
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Charlotte slowly turned her head toward Victoria. A cold, terrifying smile touched the corners of her bruised lips.
“Fake?” Charlotte whispered, taking a slow, deliberate step forward. “You dragged the legal owner of this entire enterprise across her own marble floor, Victoria. Let’s see how much you’re smiling when I strip your family of every single penny they’ve stolen.”
