Chapter 243 What Can I Do?
"Hey, Room 668 doesn't have any towels. Can you send a couple over?" Katniss asked, her brow furrowing a bit.
The attendant fumbled with a key and opened the storage room door nearby. "Sorry, ma'am. I'm new here and don't know where the towels are. It's pretty hectic downstairs. Can you help me find them?"
"Sure thing." Katniss followed her into the storage room, her eyes scanning the shelves packed with hotel supplies.
She quickly spotted the towels, grabbed two, and was about to turn around when the attendant suddenly covered her mouth and nose from behind.
A damp, smelly handkerchief was pressed against her face, and she blacked out.
The attendant swiftly moved her under the cleaning cart, covering her completely with a white cloth.
She then pushed the cart out of the storage room, only to run into Tristan coming out of a room. "Bring us three dinners; make them light and no beef."
He noticed the attendant gripping the cart tightly, her eyes barely visible and avoiding his gaze.
"I'm talking to you," he repeated, frowning.
The attendant quickly nodded. "Okay, got it."
She turned and pushed the cart toward the elevator.
Tristan watched her leave, feeling a strange emptiness in his chest. Even his heartbeat felt off.
An inexplicable irritation kept him from going back to his room. He opened the hallway window, letting the rain-scented night breeze clear his mind a bit.
Still uneasy, he knocked on Katniss's room door.
In the underground parking lot, Samuel stood by the car, glancing at his watch. "Mr. Astor, who are we waiting for?"
"You'll know when they get here," Michael replied from inside the car, the dim underground lights casting shadows on his face.
Samuel frowned but waited patiently for a few more minutes. Footsteps and the sound of a cart rolling on the concrete approached.
He looked up to see a female attendant running over. She stopped in front of him, removing her hat and mask. "Hurry, get her out of here before someone finds out!"
"Miss Tudor?" Samuel was shocked to recognize her.
Isla lifted the white cloth covering the cleaning cart, revealing Katniss, bound and curled up inside.
Samuel's eyes widened, his face turning pale.
Michael stepped out of the car, one hand in his pocket, standing in front of Samuel. "Put her in the car and take her up the mountain. There's a guesthouse there, not far. I've arranged everything.""Mr. Astor, what do you mean by this?" Samuel's voice had a hint of accusation.
"What do you think I mean?" Michael raised an eyebrow. "She'll be out for at least six hours. You can do whatever you want with her during that time. Don't you like her? Or are you unwilling?"
Katniss's long hair clung to her face, the ends falling over her chest.
Samuel glanced at her, then looked away, staying silent for a moment.
"Are you even a man?" Isla scoffed. "She's practically gift-wrapped for you, and you're not going to do anything?"
Samuel was torn, wavering with inner conflict.
What solidified his resolve was Michael's next words. "If you feel uneasy, that's fine. I'll find someone else to take her up the mountain."
"I'll do it!" Samuel said immediately. "I'll take her up the mountain. I'll follow your plan."
In the shadowy parking lot, Michael's smile sent a shiver down Samuel's spine. He patted Samuel's shoulder firmly. "You should understand what I mean. It's not just about going up the mountain. You have only this one chance!"
Samuel nodded. "Yes, I understand."
He bent down, carefully lifting Katniss from the cleaning cart and placing her in the back seat. He closed the door, walked around to the driver's seat, and started the engine.
The actions were seamless, but only Samuel knew how panicked he was inside.
His hands trembled on the steering wheel, and he could feel Michael's gaze through the car window.
It took all his effort to appear calm as he drove away.
The car moved slowly in the pouring rain. Even with the wipers on, it was hard to see the road.
Michael had brought him here a few times in the past two days, so he was familiar with the route. The guesthouse Michael mentioned was only a ten-minute drive away.
However, there was some risk. Rainwater from the mountain flowed beside the road, and landslides were a constant threat.
Michael had prepared for both outcomes: either Katniss and he would die on the road, or they would reach the guesthouse, and whatever awaited Katniss there was uncertain.
Fortunately, twenty minutes later, he arrived at the guesthouse. The landlady was already waiting at the door with an umbrella, helping him carry Katniss inside. "Mr. Bennett, follow me. It's on the second floor. Be careful."
Inside, the landlady folded the umbrella and led Samuel upstairs.Samuel's every step felt like a lead weight, his expression grim, eyes fixed straight ahead, avoiding Katniss.
"The room has everything you need. Feel free to use anything." The landlady gestured to the condoms on the bedside table, giving Samuel a knowing smile as they entered the double bedroom.
Looking at Katniss lying on the bed, she couldn't help but comment, "This girl is really beautiful. Mr. Bennett, you have good taste!"
"Leave," Samuel said in a low voice.
The landlady, with a knowing smile, picked up a garment bag from the sofa chair. "Mr. Bennett, Mr. Astor instructed me to have you change this girl's clothes. I'll need to take her old clothes away later."
"I see. Leave," Samuel's tone grew more impatient.
Seeing this, the landlady swayed her hips as she left.
Once the door was closed, Samuel walked over to Katniss and patted her cheeks. "Katniss, wake up!"
But Katniss's eyes remained closed.
"Fuck!" Samuel cursed under his breath. He hadn't expected Michael to come to the seminar with the intention of targeting Katniss.
The key point was that Michael had kept all these plans from him, indicating that Michael didn't trust him when it came to Katniss.
He tugged at his tie, sitting on the bed with his hands running through his short hair, his mind waging an unprecedented internal battle.
His future was in Michael's hands. Whether he could continue to stay by Michael's side depended on tonight.
After a long while, his phone buzzed in his pocket. It was a text from Michael.
The message was brief and direct. [If tonight goes well, your salary will double, and you'll get a two percent share of the company's annual profits.]
This was undoubtedly a huge sum.
His eyes hardened, he tossed the phone aside, stood up, and grabbed the garment bag containing a silk nightgown.
Meanwhile, Tristan had knocked a few times when the door opened.
"Katniss, did you forget to bring..." Matilda thought it was Katniss returning with the towels and had just thrown on a nightgown to answer the door.
Her hair was still wet, and she looked quite disheveled.
Seeing Tristan at the door, she instinctively hid behind it.
"Where's Katniss?" Tristan's unease grew.
"We didn't have any towels in our room, so Katniss went to get some for me," Matilda explained, adding, "She probably went to the front desk."
After she spoke, Tristan turned and hurried downstairs. His quick steps were reflected in the hallway windows.Out of the corner of his eye, Tristan saw a car driving into the pouring rain, but the downpour made it impossible to identify it.
The lobby on the first floor was chaotic, with people arguing over room reservations and others without rooms sitting in the lounge area.
The attendants were overwhelmed, bustling through the crowd.
Tristan exited the elevator, made his way through the crowd to the front desk, and asked, "Has anyone from room 668 come down to ask for towels?"
"No," the front desk replied without hesitation, adding, "Each room in our hotel is equipped with towels, toothbrushes, and other disposable items. There shouldn't be any missing. We can only..."
Before the front desk could finish explaining, Tristan's face darkened. "Where are your surveillance cameras?"
"I'm sorry, but the heavy rain has caused a malfunction in the surveillance system. Is there a problem?" The front desk employee sensed the tension and stepped out from behind the counter. "I'll get the manager."
Tristan didn't respond, turning instead to take the stairs to the basement level, where he got into his car and drove off, chasing after the car he had seen earlier.
Sensing something was wrong, Matilda changed her clothes despite her wet hair and ran downstairs, only to hear the crowd murmuring. "Driving out in this weather is suicidal."
"Yeah, he's so young. Why risk his life?"
"He's really hot-headed. He'll regret it if something happens!"
Standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, Matilda clearly saw that the car driving into the rain was Tristan's!
Her heart tightened, and she went to the front desk. "Did you see the other guest from room 668? Where did she go? Why did that man leave the hotel?"
The front desk was bewildered by the barrage of questions. "Sorry, I didn't understand anything. That man just left. It's dangerous in this heavy rain. If you know him, call him back!"
But Matilda didn't have Tristan's contact information. After a moment, she rushed back to the room, grabbed Katniss's phone, and called Tristan.
The call was answered. She blurted out, "Tristan, it's me. Where's Katniss? Where are you going?"
"She never came to the front desk for towels. I think something's happened to her," Tristan said, his fingers gripping the phone tightly.
Matilda felt a surge of anxiety but forced herself to stay calm. "Tell me, what should I do? What can I do?"
"Stay put and keep an eye out for anything unusual. I'll call you if I find anything," Tristan replied, his voice tense.
"Okay, be careful," Matilda said, her voice trembling slightly.
Tristan hung up and focused on the road, his mind racing with possibilities. The rain pounded against the windshield, making it hard to see, but he couldn't shake the feeling that Katniss was in serious trouble.
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