Jacob smirked the second he saw me give in and take out my card. He took the credit card I handed him and quickly swiped 1,500 dollars on the POS machine.

But instead of issuing an invoice, he rummaged through a drawer, then pulled out a receipt book. He scribbled a few words, stamped it with a red seal, and tore it off before tossing it to me.

"The invoice machine is broken. We only have receipts. Take it or leave it!"

I picked up the handwritten receipt and glanced at it. My expression instantly turned cold.

The receipt didn't have our hotel's official financial stamp at all. Instead, it bore the seal of a company called "Grand Feast Catering Outsourcing Services Co., Ltd".

As the CEO, everything finally clicked.

This hotel had a huge flow of customers. By forcing guests to pay 1,500 dollars through this kind of scheme, then routing the money through this outsourcing company, they could move a considerable amount of funds every year.

This was no longer just a violation of company rules. It was a criminal case of embezzlement and money laundering.

I carefully folded the receipt and tucked it into my pocket. "Lead the way. I'd like to try out the luxury meal that costs 1,500 dollars."

Ten minutes later, the dishes were served. The moment Mom looked at the food on the table, she shook her head in anger.

Several dishes were obviously pre-made meals, and even the juice was just syrup mixed with water.

She picked up her cutlery and poked at one of the seafood dishes. Then she started commenting on it in front of everyone, "The shrimp veins have already turned black, and the meat is loose. These are clearly dead shrimp that were repeatedly frozen and thawed.

"This steak doesn't seem fresh either. You charge over a thousand dollars for this, yet what you're selling is food that doesn't even compare to what you'd find at a cafeteria!"

Mom's voice grew louder, drawing the attention of the people at the surrounding tables.

Afraid that the guests would turn against him, Jacob immediately brought the security guards over and forcibly dragged Mom and me to the most secluded corner of the restaurant.

Seeing how furious he looked, I deliberately provoked him. "The food is terrible, and you can't even be bothered to put on a decent act. I bet your so-called godsister is just some low-level nobody who's never seen the world, huh?"

"Bullshit!" Jacob snapped, completely losing his composure, then started bragging.

"She's the person in charge of all material procurement for dozens of hotels across Southsake! She just bought a river-view villa at Lakeshire No. 1 with full payment. Yesterday, she picked up a fully loaded Porsche!

"People as poor as you could work your whole lives and still not afford even one of her car tires!"

Someone who was in charge of all procurement across Southsake? That would be Lynette Sink, the procurement director.

But she had always been upright and low-profile. Not to mention, she was about to retire soon. There was no way she would pull something like this.

If it wasn't Lynette, who could interfere with the procurement of this five-star hotel and allow someone under them to launder money this blatantly?

I didn't take a single bite of that ridiculously expensive meal, and neither did Mom.

I planned to get the room key, settle down, then find a charger to power up my phone and figure out what was going on.

"Last name, Harrison. Please give me the key card for the presidential suite reserved in the system," I said, handing my ID to the front desk receptionist.

The receptionist was just about to enter the information into the computer when Jacob suddenly snatched my ID away. He glanced at it, then casually tossed it onto the counter.

"The presidential suite is reserved for my godsister to host important guests!" he said, crossing his arms proudly and rolling his eyes.

"People like you who had to hesitate over paying a 1,500-dollar meal bill are only worthy of staying in the cheapest standard room in the farthest corner of the first floor!"

My brows furrowed.

I had personally been involved in the design of this hotel. The presidential suite on the top floor had always been marked as "CEO Reserved" in the internal system.

Without my private authorization code, no one was allowed to change the room status. Now, the top-tier suite I had reserved for myself had been downgraded without my permission.

I finally reached my limit. Without another word, I walked around the counter and entered the front desk work area.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" the receptionist shouted.

I pushed her aside and placed both hands on the keyboard. As the hotel's actual controlling shareholder and one of the people involved in designing the system architecture, I could recite the system's backdoor commands even with my eyes closed.

Within a few quick moves, I pulled up the status logs for the presidential suite. Looking at the data on the screen, I was so angry that I actually laughed.

Starting last month, the presidential suite, which was listed at 1,300 dollars per night, had been secretly rented out by the hour for 300 dollars to a certain group.

Every afternoon, they brought dozens of people in and took turns taking photos inside. It was obvious they were using my hotel to pretend they were wealthy socialites.

I didn't actually care about that kind of activity, but what I couldn't accept was that they were using the suite I had personally reserved for myself.

Charging 300 dollars per hour meant earning 2,400 dollars in just eight hours. That money had most likely all gone straight into Jacob's and his godsister's private accounts.

Immediately, I laid out everything I had just deduced. A flash of panic crossed Jacob's face, but he quickly turned the accusation back on me.

"You're making things up!" he barked, pointing at me. "You illegally hacked into the hotel's computer system."

He then shouted toward the security guards outside, "Security! This man is a dangerous hacker who's just infiltrated our system to steal our corporate secrets! Remove them from the premises now!"

Several security guards immediately lunged forward.

Mom pointed at the lead guard and warned him, "Try touching us and see what happens. You can get charged for unlawful restraints! You're only hotel security guards—you have no legal authority!

"Think twice before laying a hand on us. Do you have what it takes to face the consequences?"

The security guards were just employees, after all. After hearing Mom's words, they hesitated. No one dared take another step forward.

Just then, a sudden scream pierced through the lounge area in the lobby. "Oh my God! My diamond necklace is gone!"

A woman dressed head to toe in luxury brands rushed to the front desk, looking panicked. She stomped her feet anxiously.

"I just went to the restroom and left my bag on the couch in the lobby. When I came back, the necklace was gone! That was a limited-edition piece worth over 300,000 dollars!"

Jacob's eyes immediately darted around. He pointed at Mom and me, accusing, "It was them! They were the only two people sitting near that couch earlier! They couldn't even bear to pay for their meal—it had to be them!"

The wealthy woman who had just lost the necklace immediately turned toward Mom and me, her eyes red with panic and anger.

"Give me back my necklace, you thieves!"

"Ma'am, please calm down," I told her. "We've never seen your necklace."

I stepped in front of Mom protectively and stared coldly at Jacob. "There are surveillance cameras all over the lobby. Pull up the footage, and the truth will be out."

A sly smile appeared on Jacob's face. "What a coincidence. The camera covering the couch area broke yesterday. But we don't even need surveillance footage. Other than you two cheap bums, no one else here would steal anything."

His voice turned stern. "Security, pat them down and search their bags!"

Ignoring my objections, he ordered the guards forward. With a theft case involving property worth over 300,000 dollars, the security guards suddenly seemed much less hesitant than before.

Mom did her best to protect her dignity, clutching her tote bag tightly against her chest. "Without the police present and a lawful search warrant, none of you have the right to search me or my personal belongings!"

"Well, that just proves you've got something to hide, then!"

Seeing that the guards were moving too slowly, Jacob charged forward himself. He took advantage of the chaos and slammed directly into Mom.

"Mom!" I exclaimed and immediately reached out to catch her.

Jacob's hand moved incredibly fast. While everyone's attention was on me, he reached into Mom's open tote bag, grabbed something, and violently shook it out.

Suddenly, a dazzling diamond necklace fell out of the bag and hit the floor. Several diamonds came loose, and the necklace was badly bent from the impact.

Mom and I both froze. Neither of us had any idea when that necklace had appeared inside her bag.

"You're caught red-handed! What else do you have to say for yourselves?" Jacob shouted righteously. "This is a 300,000-dollar necklace. Now that it's damaged, you must compensate our guest!"

The wealthy woman rushed forward, picked up the necklace and the scattered diamonds, then rudely pointed at Mom. "You old hag! You look so harmless on the outside, but it turns out you're a thief!"

Faced with this sudden frame-up, Mom trembled with anger. "That man stuffed it into my bag when he bumped into me earlier! I never stole it!"

Jacob stood there with his hands on his hips, looking completely justified. "You're saying I stuffed it in there? Everyone saw how it fell out of your bag, lady!"

I held my trembling mother, my expression hardening. "Since you're pulling this stunt, I'll call the police. They'll be able to check the fingerprints on the necklace.

"If there are none from my mother and only yours, I swear you'll spend the rest of your good years behind bars! Without solid evidence, none of you are touching us!"

The moment Jacob heard about checking fingerprints, a flicker of panic flashed in his eyes. He never expected me to stay this calm, and for a moment, he was at a loss.

The security guards dared not act recklessly. They could only block our way out. The entire situation fell into a stalemate.

"What's going on? It is not appropriate for a hotel lobby like ours to have such a commotion!"

A slightly impatient female voice came from the entrance of the hotel lobby. The moment Jacob heard that voice, his eyes lit up.

"You're finally here!" he exclaimed.

He pointed at Mom and me, accusing, "These cheap bums not only hacked into our system but also stole a VIP guest's diamond necklace. Hurry and have them arrested!"

I turned around and finally came face-to-face with the infamous woman. The moment I saw her face, I froze, only to let out a chuckle the next second.

So, it was her.