Evelyn Vance pushed right past the tall manager and ignored Victoria completely.
She dropped down to her knees onto the hard marble floor beside Charlotte.
Her hands shook as she wrapped her arms around Charlotte's trembling shoulders.
Evelyn: Are you alright, my child?
Charlotte wiped a drop of blood from her bruised lip and nodded slowly.
Charlotte: I am fine, but they won't let me talk to you.
Evelyn gently reached out and uncurled Charlotte's fingers from the silver metal locket.
She gasped loudly as she stared at the vintage silver portrait inside the opened frame.
Tears immediately filled the older woman's soft blue eyes.
She recognised the tiny painting instantly because she had seen it many years ago.
It was the exact custom portrait given to the hotel founder's long-lost biological daughter.
Evelyn grabbed Charlotte's hand tightly and helped her stand up tall on the marble floor.
Victoria stepped forward with an angry expression on her face.
Victoria: Evelyn, what are you doing with this homeless girl on my floor?
Manager: Get back to work, Evelyn, or I will fire you right now!
Evelyn ignored the manager's empty threat and turned to face the gathering crowd of guests.
She stood tall and raised the silver locket high into the air above her head.
Her voice echoed off the grand ceiling like a heavy thunderclap.
Evelyn: Take your hands off Charlotte Vance! The legal owner of this hotel!
A collective gasp ripped through every spectator watching in the grand room.
Victoria's jaw dropped open in complete shock as her eyes widened in terror.
The manager's smug smile instantly vanished from his pale, sweating face.
He stumbled backward two steps as if he had been struck by lightning.
Charlotte looked at Evelyn with deep confusion and shock in her teary eyes.
She had only come here looking for a small life insurance payout to cover her rent.
She never imagined that her quiet father was the actual master billionaire who built this resort.
Victoria shook her head violently as her hands clenched into angry fists.
Victoria: That is impossible! My father owns every share of this legal corporation!
Evelyn: Your father was only a minority partner who stole control after his death!