When Ms Reeves realized her daughter was missing, her initial reaction wasn't panic. She simply assumed Shenna had stepped aside somewhere and began to look around, thinking the girl might be chatting with someone in a corner or taking a call.
However, after searching for several minutes, there was still no sign of her.
She pulled out her phone and called her daughter — no answer. She frowned, trying again. Still nothing. A hint of unease crept into her voice as she turned to her assistant.
"Help me look for her," she said sharply.
The two split up and began checking every inch of the grand ballroom — the restrooms, the corridors, even the garden terrace outside. But Shenna was nowhere to be found.
To most people, it wouldn't have seemed like a big deal. Their daughter was a grown woman, after all. Maybe she just stepped out for air or went to get something from the car.
But to her, it was far from ordinary. Her pulse quickened as dread took hold.
She spotted her husband, Mr Reeves, across the hall talking with a few business partners. Without hesitation, she marched up and grabbed his arm.
Your daughter's missing," she said in a low, urgent voice. "And that boy — that Jason — he's gone too! You said nothing could happen at this event, and now look! That boy must have taken her when we weren't looking!"
He blinked, taken aback. His personality couldn't have been more different from his wife's — calm, composed, a man who liked to think things through before reacting.
"Missing?" he repeated, trying to stay rational. "Weren't you keeping an eye on her? She probably just went to the restroom or outside for a bit. Don't overthink it."
Her voice hardened. "Do you think I'm blind? I've already checked everywhere — the restrooms, the garden, even the staff corridor. She's gone. I'm telling you, that boy took her."
Her tone made it impossible for him to stay dismissive. He sighed, straightening his suit. "Alright. Let's not panic yet. We'll check again. Maybe the hotel staff saw something."
They searched again — every corner of the venue — but still came up empty-handed. Calls to Shenna's phone went unanswered.
Now, even he began to feel the pressure. His calm exterior faltered. As much as he tried to stay level-headed, his fatherly instincts screamed otherwise. Shenna had always been raised under her mother's watchful eye — never out late, never left unattended. For her to suddenly vanish with some young man in the middle of a formal event was unthinkable.
By now, the Reeves's' anxious search had drawn attention. chase and Liam — both family friends — had noticed the commotion and came over to help.
"What's going on?" chase asked, brow furrowed.
"Shenna's missing," he replied grimly. "She was last seen with Jason Carter."
Within minutes, the hotel staff were brought into the loop. The Reeves's insisted on checking the surveillance footage. Normally, that kind of request might have been met with hesitation — privacy protocols, management approval, and so on.
But when the request came from the Reeves — and backed by the there families — no one dared say no.
The security team quickly pulled up the relevant camera feeds.
She remembered roughly when Shenna had disappeared from her sight, so it wasn't hard to locate the exact timeframe.
On the footage, they saw the banquet hall — full of light and laughter — until a staff member pushing a dessert cart conveniently rolled between Shenna and the camera's view.
When the cart passed, Shenna and Jason were gone.
The next angle showed them slipping into the service corridor leading to the kitchen.
Her face turned pale. "I knew it! That boy took our daughter!"
Chase and Liam exchanged dark looks, both visibly seething. They had been uneasy about how close Jason and Shenna had gotten lately — but they hadn't expected this.
He frowned at the screen. "Wait. Aren't guests not allowed in the kitchen? The staff should have stopped them."
They rewound the footage and zoomed in. What they saw made everyone freeze.
Jason and Shenna walked through the kitchen without a single person stopping them. In fact, the kitchen staff moved aside, politely letting them pass — some even bowing slightly, as if showing respect.
Then, Jason led Shenna into the staff elevator.
One of the chefs even pressed the button for them.
Moments later, the camera feed from the underground parking lot showed Jason's black sports car pulling out — Shenna seated beside him.
And just like that, they were gone.
Silence filled the security room.
The implication was chilling.
From the blocked camera to the cooperative staff — none of this was coincidence.
Her's grip on her husband's arm tightened, her voice trembling with anger. "He planned this. He planned everything."
He said nothing, his face grim. Deep down, though, he couldn't ignore the detail that Shenna hadn't resisted. In the footage, she was smiling — following Jason willingly.
Still, the fact remained.
Their daughter was gone.
And Jason Carter had taken her.
This clearly meant the entire hotel was in on it.But what baffled Ms Reeves even more was that the hotel staff knew exactly who Shenna Reeves was — and yet they had still helped the other side.
Still, the surveillance showed that Shenna wasn't coerced. She followed along with Jason Carter willingly, smiling the entire time. That made it complicated. Calling the police right away would only make things messier, maybe even embarrassing for the family if the media caught wind of it.
So instead, she turned her fury on the hotel staff.
Her expression was ice-cold as she snapped, "Get your manager. Now."
Within minutes, several hotel managers hurried over — led by Manager Drew. Oddly, none of them looked nervous. In fact, they seemed prepared, almost as if they'd expected this confrontation.
That only made Chase blood boil. He had asked them earlier to quietly send Jason away from the banquet, and instead, they'd helped him leave with Shenna. Now, seeing their calm faces, his anger hit a breaking point.
She slammed her hand on the front desk. "Would one of you care to explain what's going on? The kitchen is supposed to be restricted to staff only, and the service corridors are off-limits to guests. So why did your employees escort someone through them — and even help him leave the premises? What exactly are you people trying to do here?"
Her tone was sharp enough to make the nearby staff flinch.
But General Manager Drew stood his ground, his expression professional and unshaken. "Mrs. Reeves," he said evenly, "you're absolutely right — the kitchen and service areas are restricted. Unauthorized guests are never allowed there. However, our owner is not considered unauthorized. It's entirely within his rights to enter any area of the hotel."
He paused briefly, then added, "As you saw on the footage, your daughter wasn't forced to go anywhere. She went with Mr. Reeves willingly — even happily. So I don't think it's fair to accuse us of aiding in an abduction."
For a second, no one said a word.
The Reevess, Chase, and Liam all froze, staring at the manager in disbelief.
Her eyes narrowed. "Wait a second. Did you just say Jason is your boss?"
Manager Drew nodded firmly. "That's correct. Mr. Jason Carter is the new owner of the Grand Hotel. I'd advise you, Mrs. Reeves, to speak respectfully when referring to him."
The room went dead silent.
They hadn't misheard. The boy they thought had run off with Shenna was actually the owner of the hotel — a property worth well over two hundred million dollars.
It didn't make sense. Jason was barely in his early twenties. And the Magnolia Grand hadn't been a struggling property — far from it. It was one of the most profitable luxury hotels in the city. Even when it had financial issues, no one believed it would be sold. Whoever had bought it must have offered a price no sane person could refuse.
And now they were hearing that buyer was Jason Carter?
Chase's expression twisted with realization. Suddenly, the pieces began to fit. Earlier, when he'd asked Drew to "get rid of Jason," the man had looked uncomfortable, even cut him off completely afterward. Chase had thought it was just arrogance. Now, it was obvious — the manager hadn't been ignoring him. He was just protecting his boss.
But still — it didn't add up.
Jason was younger than him by a few years. How could someone his age possibly have that kind of money or influence? Buying a two-hundred-million-dollar hotel wasn't something even the Reeves family would dare do lightly.
Liam rubbed his forehead, muttering, "Holy hell… I knew that kid wasn't normal, but I didn't think this was the reason."
She stood frozen for several long seconds. Her mind flashed back to that earlier argument — Jason's calm, almost humble words echoing in her ears:
"We're only twenty. Of course we're still young and inexperienced — not like you, Mrs. Reeves. But if we focus on doing the small things right, step by step… it'll build up to something that matters."
At the time, she'd dismissed it as youthful bravado.
She had even told him mockingly, "Come back and lecture me when you've actually accomplished something."
And he hadn't said a word in return. No anger, no arrogance. He had simply smiled.
Now she understood — that composure hadn't come from naivety. It came from confidence.
Jason hadn't needed to brag. He already owned the place they were standing in.
For a long moment, She just stared blankly at the monitor showing her daughter stepping into the elevator beside him — smiling, relaxed, entirely at ease.
Somewhere deep inside, beneath the shock and indignation, she felt a faint sting of regret.
If only she had known who Jason Carter really was.
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