Chapter 971

Thalassa’s heart was strung tight, her breath caught, as she endured the torment, a drawn-out agony.

She was worried sick about her mother’s safety. Yet faced with Lysander’s iron grip of power, she felt utterly helpless.

Racking her brain, she pondered how she would break the news to Lysander once the truth was out.

How could she convince him not to tip off Bruce, who held her mother’s fate in his hands?

Would he show compassion for her, for her mother, and hold off on confronting Bruce?

Thalassa didn’t know if Lysander would.

The fact was, Evelyn had been Bruce’s girl in her youth, and now she was under his thumb again. If Lysander found out about this family scandal, would he mock her mother and claim she had it coming?

Thalassa’s heart quivered with fear; she couldn’t predict Lysander’s thoughts or what he would do about this mess.

It was an all-or-nothing gamble, and neither she nor her mother could afford to lose.

A loss could mean paying with their lives.

The surveillance video was still playing normally. The feed from 8 PM to 9 PM showed nothing unusual, but from 10 PM to 11 PM, there was a blackout!

And it was precisely between 10 PM and 11 PM that Bruce had brought Thalassa into the hotel – the critical time frame.

The tech in the security room, upon discovering the missing footage, was visibly shaken, cautiously explaining to Lysander, “The cameras were down for an hour before we noticed and called for maintenance. By that time, it was already too late.”

Lysander’s handsome face turned icy cold, his expression as dark and fathomless as the ocean depths.

The aura he exuded caused the tech’s teeth to chatter with fear.

Seeing the unfolding situation, the hotel manager took charge, stepping forward and scolding the tech in a fury.

“How could you let this happen? An hour goes by before you notice a malfunction? During such a crucial time! You’ve lost the footage Mr. Sinclair needed. Nine lives wouldn’t be enough to make up for this mistake!”

“I’m so sorry, truly sorry. The surveillance is usually reliable; I never expected it to fail today. It must’ve been Elliott, preparing in advance to sabotage the system.” The tech stammered out an explanation, trembling with fear.

Elliott was the shifty-eyed man whom Lysander had ordered to have his hands broken and sent to jail for life.

Working at the hotel, Elliott could have easily tampered with the surveillance under the guise of his duties.

Thalassa, seeing that the surveillance didn’t capture Bruce bringing her in, felt a slight easing of the knot in her stomach, At that moment, Lysander’s piercing gaze shifted to her face, catching the trace of relief that passed over her expression, The air around Lysander grew oppressively heavy, his eyes clouding with a chilling intent.

“Effective immediately, this hotel is closed for business!” Lysander commanded, his voice cold and commanding.

The manager, who had been throwing his weight around just moments before, stood stunned, staggering back a few steps at Lysander’s decree. He was not only the hotel manager but also its owner.

This hotel was his life’s work, the sustenance for his entire family. Closing the hotel meant cutting off his family’s financial lifeline.

For the manager, this was a deathblow.

Thalassa, upon hearing Lysander’s words, wasn’t overly surprised. This was Lysander’s modus operandi, capable of collapsing a business in the blink of an eye.

Hadn’t the mighty Brennan Group, a vast conglomerate, faced bankruptcy overnight at just a word from Lysander?

What chance did a small private enterprise stand?

“Who brought you here? Describe them, their appearance, their features, Lysander’s deep voice suddenly broke the silence, pulling Thalassa back to the grim reality as she met his dark, penetrating gaze.