Chapter 28

"What happened?" Skylar asked urgently.

Janine had always been kind and warm, able to get along with anyone, anywhere. Skylar knew this and wondered what had caused the receptionist's sudden frown.

"Your mother was cleaning the elevator," the receptionist explained, panicking slightly. "She got into an argument with a guest going to the restaurant on the 36th floor. The guest has lodged a complaint against the hotel." She spoke while dialing the manager's number.

Jubilance Hotel valued customer service and took complaints seriously. Although Janine had only been working there for a month, she was on great terms with her colleagues, who liked her very much. Yet, with the complaint lodged, no one knew how the manager would react.

Skylar immediately followed the receptionist to the tenth floor. Before entering the hotel offices, she overheard a conversation.

"You must be strict with this woman," one guest said. "We can overlook her rudeness in the elevator, but how dare she hit my mother?"

The other guest chimed in, "My diamond ring, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, is missing. Only three of us were in the elevator; she must have stolen it! I demand a search!"

"You're going too far, Sadie!" Janine challenged. "I would never steal. You were the one who hit me first! I was defending myself!"

Skylar stopped, recognizing the voices of Maisy and Sadie. She hadn't seen them since leaving the hospital. She'd seen Maisy and Christopher on a date from afar, but this was their first face-to-face encounter since then.

Listening to the mother-daughter pair's aggressive accusations, Skylar suppressed her anger, rushing toward the office.

The manager arrived and immediately addressed Janine: "Apologize to the guest and allow a body search."

Janine was shocked; the manager hadn't attempted to ascertain the truth.

"If you fail to find my ring," Sadie sneered, "I'll get the media involved."

Chapter 20

Sadie wanted to show Janine the difference between their social classes, taking it upon herself to teach Janine a lesson because Skylar hadn't "educated" her sufficiently. Maisy, standing aside, looked down on Janine even more, knowing she worked as a housekeeper. This solidified her resolve to remain estranged from Janine. She refused to have a housekeeper for a mother, fearing her friends' ridicule.

Seeing Maisy's indifference and complicity in framing her, Janine's maternal love and guilt vanished. Her eyes reddened as she insisted to the manager, "What they said isn't true! They're framing me!"

"Apologize first," the manager said dismissively, focusing on the expensively dressed Maisy and Sadie.

Janine's fists clenched. Despite her past suffering, she hadn't cried since Finn's death, but the shame brought tears to her eyes.

Then Skylar arrived. "There are surveillance cameras in the elevator. If I call the police, they'll investigate immediately." Her cold gaze fixed on Sadie and Maisy. "You two should apologize."

She'd witnessed their schemes before and found them as unpleasant as ever, regardless of their attire.

"Skylar!" Janine was surprised.

Skylar stood beside Janine. "Mom, they can't legally perform a body search, even if you're their employee."

"Do you know what you're saying?" Sadie demanded angrily.

"Skylar, we haven't seen you for days, and you immediately upset Mom? Aren't you overreacting?" Maisy sneered, scrutinizing Skylar with disdain. She assumed Skylar had been hiding, depressed, and haggard.