She Outshines Them All (Athena and Matthew) novel Chapter 51

Chapter 51
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Lucas was utterly humiliated by the recording Athena played, bi he still refused to admit defeat.
“These recordings are fake!” He stood up, flushed with anger, and pointed accusingly at Athena. “The background noise is so loud-there’s no proof that voice is mine.
“My fiancée is perfect, a true lady from a prominent family. Why would I waste my time on someone like you?”
Athena scoffed. “Oh, I’ve got video too. Want me to play that for everyone!”
Lucas’s face went pale. “Y-You know falsifying recordings and videos is illegal, right?”
He thought. The bar was pretty dim that night, and since Athena recorded everything secretly, maybe.. it didn’t clearly capture my face? As long as my face isn’t visible, or if it is Blurry, I may still have a way out. Or maybe I should figure out how to destroy her phone right now?”
Athena taunted him, “I’ll connect my phone to the big screen right now and let everyone see what you really look like”
She made a show of standing up, ready to head toward the stage. In reality, she only had the audio recording-there was no video at all
But Lucas fell for it. He turned as white as a sheet, cold sweat forming on his forehead. “Athena, this is Zoe’s graduation party. Do you really want to ruin like this…”
Before he could finish, a group of uniformed hotel security guards suddenly walked in. With polite smiles, they asked, “Is Mr. Harper and Miss Harper here?”
Lucas felt a surge of hope. “That’s me. What’s going on?”
At this point, he didn’t care who
were as long as they could stop Athena from exposing him further.
The head of security stepped forward and respectfully said, “Mr. Harper, Miss Harper, our headquarters at Vission Group issued an internal notice a few days ago, banning any Harper family members from entering any of our properties.
“Due to the large number of guests tonight, we didn’t realize that members of the Harper family had entered the hotel, which violates our company’s policy. That oversight is on us
“So we must now formally request that you and Miss Harper leave the premises immediately, and refrain from ever entering this hotel again.”
The crowd, already shocked multiple times tonight, was thrown into yet another uproar.
“What’s going on? Can hotels just kick guests out like that now?”
“The Harper family is a major power in Kitmore City. And the hotel’s just throwing them out? Where’s the Harper family’s dignity?”
“Vission Group and the Harper family don’t have any known issues, so why would Vission Group issue a ban like this?” This is crazy! I’ve never seen a five-star hotel publicly expel high-profile guests like this before…”
“Wow, is Vission Group picking a fight with both the Kennedy family and Harper family? Are those two families going to team up and drive Vission Group out of West End?”-
The room buzzed with chatter as people tried to make sense of what was happening.
Lucas, who’d never been humiliated like this in his life, slammed the table in rage. “Is this how your hotel treats its guests! I’ll
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be filing a complaint with your management!’
The head of security remained calm and polite. “We’re simply following orders from our management. Please, don’t make this harder for us-or for yourself.”
Lucas turned to the reporters, raising his voice. “Did you see this This is how Vission Resort treats its guests. Make sure you report this everywhere so the whole city knows what kind of service they offer!”
But he didn’t need to say a word. The reporters were already snapping photos and recording videos like mad. Some were even excitedly posting on Twitter, Facebook, and live-streaming the drama in real-time.
The head of security remained completely unfazed and politely said, “Since Vission Group headquarters issued this directive, I’m sure they’re prepared for any public backlash. Mr. Graham, you’re welcome to file a complaint, but we still have to follow company policy. Please, both you and Miss Graham need to leave now.”
As he spoke, several security guards moved in, surrounding Lucks and Jodie. “Sir, Miss, please-this way.”
Lucas slammed the table again in fury. “We’re not leaving, What are you going to do about it?”
In reality, he desperately wanted to get out of there, but he needed to leave on his own terms, walking out with his head held high-not because he was forced out.
He wanted to make it seem like leaving was his choice, not because someone had driven him away.
The head of security replied calmly, “If that’s the case, we’ll have no choice but to escort you out.
You wouldn’t dare-Lucas started, but before he could finish, Jodie suddenly burst into tears.
She stepped forward, grabbing Matthew’s wrist with teary eyes and pleaded, “Mr. Graham, please don’t let them kick me out. I just want to stay and talk to you. Can’t you ask them to let me stay?”
The crowd was stunned, thinking, “Is she out of her mind? Why would she turn to Mr. Graham in a situation like this? And who does she think she is, trying such a cheap trick? If Mr. Graham actually fell for something this low, it’d be a serious hit to his reputation.”
Matthew didn’t disappoint.
The moment Jodie grabbed his hand, his face darkened with obvious disgust. He shook her hand off without hesitation and said coldly, “Miss Graham, we don’t know each other. Please have some self-respect and don’t touch me.”
Jodie froze for a moment, then ted crying even harder, her tears falling like pearls as she looked ready to throw herself into his arms. “Mr. Graham, please help me. I didn’t do anything wrong. It’s so humiliating to be kicked out like this. Please…
Matthew quickly sidestepped her attempted embrace and turned to the security guards. “What are you waiting for? Escort
her out.”
The guards, momentarily stunned by Jodie’s antics, finally snapped back to reality.
Two female guards stepped forward, gently but firmly taking hold of Jodie’s arms. Miss Graham, let us take you outside.” Despite her struggles, they calmly and courteously escorted her toward the exit.
“Mr. Graham, please save me!” Jodie cried, glancing back at Matthew with tear-filled eyes. Tll do whatever you want, just help me!”
No one paid her any mind.
Her crying grew even louder. She was completely baffled, thinking, ‘Aren’t men supposed to love girls like me-big-chested,
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slim-waisted, with a pretty face, doe-eyed innocence, and a bit of clueless charm, like a lost little lamb? Why isn’t Mr. Graham falling for it?’
The crowd cringed with secondhand embarrassment, thinking. Does she really think she’s the heroine of some cheesy drama, where a few tears and a pretty face can make any guy fall head over heels?”
Matthew didn’t even spare her a glance. Instead, he sat back down and quietly resumed his conversation with Athena.
Lucas, completely mortified by Jodie’s foolish behavior, couldn’t stay any longer.
Putting on a tough front, he threw out one last threat. “You’ll regret this. I’m going to file a complaint with the authorities. and let the media know about the humiliation we suffered at Vision Resort. Let’s see if you can still act this arrogant then
With that, he straightened his back and marched out with as much dignity as he could muster, all while enduring the mocking stares of everyone in the room.