Eleanor nodded.
"I heard your apology yesterday."
"I know. But I want you to understand that I was wrong."
For a moment, the room was silent.
Then Richard said something unexpected.
"I have information that may help you find Victor's missing documents."
Jonathan leaned forward.
"What information?"
"There is a storage facility outside the city. Victor used it to keep financial records and private contracts."
Michael looked at him.
"Do you know the address?"
Richard nodded.
He wrote it on a piece of paper.
Jonathan handed it to the legal officer.
"Verify this immediately."
Richard continued.
"There may also be a safe deposit box connected to Arthur Whitmore."
Eleanor looked surprised.
"How do you know that?"
"Victor mentioned it during one of our meetings. He said his father had kept an original document that could cause problems for the company."
Jonathan exchanged a glance with Eleanor.
"Did Victor tell you where the box was?"
Richard shook his head.
"No. But he said the key was hidden somewhere in his father's old office."
Jonathan stood.
"Thank you for telling us."
Richard looked uncertain.
"Does that mean I can remain in my position?"
Jonathan took a moment before answering.
"No."
Richard lowered his head.
"Am I being dismissed?"
"Your position is being suspended pending the investigation. You will have the opportunity to cooperate with the legal process, but you will not continue managing this hotel."
Richard nodded slowly.
He had expected this.
As he stood to leave, Eleanor spoke.
"Mr. Collins."
He turned.
"Yes?"
"Do you remember what happened in the lobby?"
Richard nodded.
"I do."
"Then I hope you remember it for the rest of your life."
He looked at her.
"Not because you embarrassed yourself. Because you were given an opportunity to treat someone with dignity, and you chose not to."
Richard had no response.
He walked out of the office.
For the first time, he did not feel angry about losing his position.
He felt ashamed of the person he had become.
Victor Whitmore had grown increasingly nervous.
He had received reports that Margaret Lewis had met with Jonathan Reed.
He had also learned that Richard Collins had cooperated with the investigation.
His carefully constructed plan was beginning to collapse.
He walked into his father's former office, which had remained unused for several years.
The room contained old furniture, paintings, and several locked cabinets.
Victor remembered his father sitting behind the large wooden desk.
Arthur Whitmore had been a complicated man.
He had been ambitious, wealthy, and determined to control everything around him.
But toward the end of his life, he had become increasingly troubled by his son's behavior.
Victor had believed that his father was simply becoming weak.
Now he wondered whether Arthur had understood the danger long before anyone else.
He opened the desk drawer.
Inside was an old leather folder.
He searched through it.
Nothing.
He opened another drawer.
Still nothing.
Then he noticed a small mark beneath the desk.
He bent down.
There was a narrow compartment.
He pressed the wooden panel.
It opened.
Inside was a silver key.
Victor recognized it immediately.
It was the key to his father's private safe deposit box.
He picked it up.
For several seconds, he simply stared at it.
Then he smiled.
Perhaps everything could still be controlled.
He called his lawyer.
"I need you to arrange access to my father's safe deposit box."
"Do you have the necessary documents?"
"I have the key."
"That may not be enough."
"Find a way."
His lawyer hesitated.
"Victor, if the box contains estate documents, we need to establish your authority to access it."
Victor became impatient.
"Then establish it."
He ended the call.
But before he could leave the office, he noticed an envelope beneath the desk.
It was addressed to him.
The handwriting belonged to his father.
Victor opened it.
My son,
If you are reading this, I suspect that you have finally discovered the key.
There are things I should have told you years ago.
When I first invested in the Grand Imperial project, I believed I could control Daniel Reed. I was wrong.
Daniel was not a man who could be bought or frightened into surrendering his principles.
I admired him, although I rarely admitted it.
My greatest mistake was allowing my ambition to become more important than my integrity.
I tried to take something that did not belong to me.