Chapter 1

For my son's birthday, I booked his favorite mecha-themed hotel.

But when we checked in, the hotel changed our room at the last minute. After my son drank from one of their bottled waters, he found pieces of a torn colored contact lens inside. I immediately called the front desk.

"Because of your hotel's poor management, my son had just drunk water with pieces of a torn contact lens inside. I want to speak with your manager."

A man answered from the other side, but he simply yawned and said annoyingly, "Why are you asking for a manager in the middle of the night? Do you have proof? I've seen plenty of men like you. You're just freeloaders trying to get the room comped. Stop making a fuss!"

After he hung up, my expression darkened.

I'd let them know if I was a freeloader.

Chapter 1

My son Noah and I had just stepped into the room when the dim light made us stop. "Daddy, it's so dark in here."

Noah hugged his Transformer action figure, looking at me terrified.

I pressed the light switch several times before the bulb finally flickered on.

There were two low-quality beds, one nightstand, and a squat toilet in the bathroom. A layer of dust covered the floor.

Other than that, the room was bare.

It was no better than a cheap motel room that cost less than a hundred dollars a night.

I frowned and looked back at the lavishly decorated hallway outside. For a second, it felt like I was looking at two different worlds.

I had booked an executive suite for five hundred and eighty dollars a night. What was going on here? It was bad enough that the room was at the basement level, but why did it look like a basement too?

I was about to call the front desk when Noah walked inside and opened the mini fridge in the corner and took out a bottle of water. "Daddy, I'm thirsty."

It was only bottled water, so I let him drink it. I nodded as I held up my phone to call the front desk with one hand and rubbed my temple with the other.

I called several times, but no one answered.

Beep...

The busy tone only made me more irritated.

Noah suddenly started coughing seriously. At first, I did not think much of it, but his cough grew worse and worse.

His voice turned hoarse as he cried for help. "Daddy... my throat hurts... something's stuck!"

"Noah?!" I dropped my phone and rushed over, patting his back. But even after I used the Heimlich maneuver, he kept coughing until his face turned bright red. "How did you choke this badly? All you drink is water, right?!"

Noah's face kept getting redder, and panic started to overwhelm me.

In a panic, I picked up the bottle beside him and saw things floating in the water. I held it up to the light and realized they were pieces of a torn colored contact lens.

Noah was getting worse, and my calls still would not go through, so I used the hotel landline and kept calling the front desk.

When the call finally connected, the man at the front desk said lazily, "Hello? Who is this?"

I could no longer hold back my temper after a long, exhausting trip, and now having to face what was happening. "What's wrong with your hotel? I want to file a complaint! The room is bad enough, but why is there something in the bottled water your hotel provides? My son is getting sick right now! Send someone from the infirmary immediately!"

The front desk clerk's tone changed at once.

"Sir, that's not fair. The executive suite you booked was unavailable, and we even gave you a special upgrade. Why are you blaming us instead?"

I tried to calm my son while almost roaring at him. "I remember your name tag," said Sean, right? What kind of attitude is that? You say I'm blaming you? If anything happens to my son, will you take responsibility? Because of your hotel's poor management, my son drank your bottle of contaminated water. I want to see your manager!"

Sean sneered. "Why are you asking for the manager in the middle of the night? Do you have proof that it's our bottled water? I've seen plenty of men like you. You're just another stay-at-home dad who lives off his wife and tries to get the room comped. Stop making a fuss!"

This was ridiculous!

Then I faintly heard a familiar woman's voice on the other end. "Enough. There are plenty of cheap men who spend their wives' money and still try to save a few dollars. Just send him away, Sean. As for his son, I doubt anything's wrong. If it were serious, wouldn't he have gone to the hospital already? Who is he trying to scam?"

That voice was so familiar.

It was my wife, Nina!

She was the general manager of this hotel.

"Nina!" I roared, but the call was cut off.

It was getting more and more painful for Noah, so I rushed out to find hotel staff and asked her to bring a first aid kit. But when the housekeeping supervisor was here, her expression was cold as she threw a service agreement at me. "Sorry, regular guests are not entitled to medical services."

On the last page of the Hotel Service Rules, Nina's signature stood out.

"I booked an executive suite, but I'm still a regular guest?" My voice turned into a growl as I suppressed my anger. I could hardly believe this.

Then, I took out the obsidian signet ring passed down through the Lawson family. "Call an ambulance right now!"

At first, the housekeeping supervisor thought I had lost my mind. But after she checked the Lawson family crest on the ring, she cried out in shock. "Isn't this the signet ring that's owned by the head of the Lawson family?!"

In every Lawson property, seeing that ring was the same as seeing the current leader of the family.

Chapter 2

"Give me a minute. I'll get someone to handle this right away!" The housekeeping supervisor's expression changed, and her careless attitude from earlier vanished. Instead, she turned and ran.

Before long, neither the ambulance nor the first aid kit I expected arrived. Instead, Sean came over from the front desk with several security guards, his chin raised. "Who was it? Who has the Lawson family's signet ring?"

Sean wore a fitted uniform and looked at me with open contempt. "Anyone can buy a fake ring online and pretend to be from the Lawson family these days. That's nothing new. A family that is rich and powerful isn't something a stay-at-home dad with a kid around a hotel could ever become. Head of the Lawson family? Please."

He looked at me with sarcasm. Seeing that Noah's condition had steadied a little, I stood. At 6'1", I towered over him immediately. "Whether I belong to the Lawson family isn't up to you to decide. Contact the infirmary and call an ambulance right now, or you won't like what happens next."

Sean was forced to step back by my presence. Then his embarrassment turned into anger, and he waved at the guards. "Who do you think you're talking to? Hold him down!"

Two security guards stepped forward and tried to grab my shoulders. I twisted one man's arm behind him and shoved him away. "I dare you to touch me again!"

Sean sneered and straightened his tie. "So, you can fight? I'm going to be straight with you. Our manager Ms. Jackson is one of the people acting on behalf of Lawson Group. You're making trouble on her turf, so you picked the wrong fight."

When I heard that, I let out a cold laugh. "Ms. Jackson? You mean Nina Jackson?"

Sean froze, then pointed at my nose and cursed. "You think someone like you gets to call Nina by her first name?"

I grabbed his finger and bent it hard. "What? Is no one allowed to call her by name? What gives you the right to point your finger at my face? Why are you trying to pull rank?"

Sean let out a painful cry and stared at me in shock. "You... you dared hit me..."

It was obvious he had often used his connection with Nina to harass others.

"Daddy..." Noah's voice was hoarse as he struggled to speak. "My throat hurts so much..."

I pushed Sean away and carefully checked my son's condition. One look was enough to scare me. Noah's throat had already started to swell. If this dragged on any longer, his life could be in danger.

"How dare you hit me?! You're done! Don't even think about walking out of Dream Hotel today!" Sean then roared into the radio, calling for more security.

However, I could not wait any longer. I picked up my son and used my height and physique to ram through the guards blocking the way. "Move! All of you, move! If anything happens to my son, I'll make sure that none of you will get away with it!"

Everyone was shaken by the look in my eyes as I forced my way through them.

"What are you useless fools doing?" Sean shouted behind me in fury.

I hit the elevator button, got to the infirmary and forced my way in. I roared, "Where is the first aid kit?"

The people on duty were sitting together, playing games on their phones. They all froze when I shouted at them. I did not waste time talking and started searching the cabinets. Finally, I found the first-aid kit. "Stay still, Noah. I'll make it better right now."

My hands trembled a little as I opened the kit, but then I froze. There was first aid equipment inside, but it was all toy models! The stethoscope was plastic, and the medicine bottles were all empty.

Just then, Sean arrived with a group of security guards, panting from the chase.

The security captain leading them let out a contemptuous laugh. "Ms. Jackson told us to replace them with display items to stop guests from making trouble and stealing things. Otherwise, a proper first aid kit worth several hundred dollars would be ruined by people like you! Ms. Jackson has the foresight!"

Chapter 3

"All of you have gone too far..." My fists clenched as I glared at the two of them, veins almost popping out.

Suddenly, a message came through the security captain's radio. "Captain, an ambulance is at the entrance. The medical staff want to come in. Should we let them?"

My eyes lit up. I had called 911 earlier, and they arrived just in time.

"Move. I need to take my son for treatment!" I carried Noah and tried to rush out, but the security captain and seven men blocked me. During the pushing and shoving, I nearly fell. "Treatment? Your son is completely fine. He doesn't need any treatment!"

The security captain shouted into the radio. "No ambulance is allowed in, no matter what kind it is! Who knows if it's real? What if it ruins Ms. Jackson's mood?"

Beside him, Sean's eyes darted, and he sneered. "Are you trying to use that ambulance to make a scene and smear our hotel's reputation? Dream on! I was wondering why you were acting so strangely. Were you sent by a rival hotel to cause trouble on purpose?"

I looked at them and felt as if they had all gone insane. I roared. "You… I want to see Nina right now! Otherwise, none of you will stop me from saving my son even if I have to tear this place apart!"

After my fierce resistance, Nina finally appeared.

When Sean saw her, his eyes lit up. He hurried forward and got close to her, his voice turning fake. "Ms. Jackson, you're finally here. This lunatic has been harassing us. Look, he bent my finger until it's red."

Nina walked in wearing a sharp business suit, impatience all over her face. She did not push Sean away. Instead, she looked at him almost fondly before turning to scold the guards. "How serious could this be that you had to call me? What use are you if you can't even handle this..."

Before she finished, she met my eyes and froze. "Henry? What are you doing here?"

I straightened and looked at her coldly. "What, am I not allowed to stay at the hotel you manage as your husband?"

As soon as I said that, Nina frowned. When she opened her mouth, she pinned the blame on me instead. "You're a grown man. Instead of staying home and taking care of our son, why did you bring him here? Do you know how much trouble you've caused me today?"

I looked at Noah who was suffering in my arms, then at Sean, the pretty boy at her side.

"Not as much as the surprise you gave me. Nina, how could you do this to me?" My voice was cold to the bone. "I don't want to argue about this right now. Save our son first! There are pieces of a colored contact lens stuck in his throat!"

But Nina made no move to distance herself from Sean. Instead, she protected him. "You're still lying to me? Henry, I'm going to teach you a lesson today since you've delayed my work!"

Chapter 4

I gritted my teeth and forced down the urge to hit someone. "Is it my fault there was a colored contact lens in the bottled water? Fine, I'm begging you, alright? Do this for Noah! He's your son for Heaven's sake!"

Sean rolled his eyes dramatically at this time. "Why would there be anything wrong with our hotel's bottled water? This is a five-star hotel! Sir, if you want to fake an accident, at least come up with a better excuse."

Nina backed him up, her face dark. "Henry, do you still think you're the heir of the Lawson family you used to be? Wake up. You cut ties with your family years ago just to be with me. And Noah? You've spoiled him terribly over the years!

"You made this much trouble over something so minor. You two have disappointed me so much. Get some men over here and lock them on the rooftop! Forget the executive suite too. That will clear his head!"

The security captain led his men forward. They ignored my resistance and used their numbers to restrain me and my son.

As I struggled, I demanded an answer. "Nina! After so many years of marriage, I gave up everything to support your career, and you were to treat me like this? Aren't you afraid this will backfire?!"

Nina looked at me with disgust. "Wake up. Do you still think you're some rich heir? Right now, you're just a useless, worthless man who lives off me and only knows how to do housework! A man like you isn't worthy of the woman I am now. I could divorce you in minutes, understand?"

My heart went completely cold, and I said nothing more.

After they took us to the rooftop, the iron door was locked shut.

The night breeze was bitterly cold. I took off my coat and wrapped Noah tightly in it.

"Daddy..." Noah seemed to sense that something was wrong too. He held my hand tightly. He was so thoughtful that my heart ached. "Daddy, don't be mad. I'm fine. I... am a man. It doesn't hurt."

Watching him struggle more and more just to breathe while pretending to be fine to comfort me made me feel my chest was tightening. As I searched around, I saw an unopened carton of bottled water in the corner.

I wanted to give him some water to soothe his throat, but when I opened one of the cartons, I found that every bottle was cloudy with sediment inside! From the look of it, my son was not an isolated case. There was a problem with all the hotel's bottled water.

I held Noah and sat on the ground, then took out the backup satellite phone hidden in an inner pocket.

I had not called this number in five full years.

"Hello? Mom. It's Henry. I'm at the Lawson-owned hotel on Westland Avenue. There are extremely serious management failures and sanitation issues here Also, send a helicopter right now! Noah and I are trapped on the rooftop, and he's in critical condition!"

Meanwhile, my usually calm and in-charge mom was talking with a shaky voice. "Alright! I'm coming right now! Whoever dares touch my grandson will answer to me!"

After hanging up, I took photos of the bottled water as evidence, then posted a report online.

Meanwhile, Nina was flirting with Sean in her office, calming the man in her arms. "Baby, don't be angry anymore. I've already locked that useless man away."

Sean snorted and toyed with an ornament on Nina's desk. "Why not just throw them out? You had to lock them on the rooftop. How ominous."

Nina was about to speak when the red private line on her desk suddenly rang sharply. "Tsk, who is it this late..."

She picked up the phone, and her face instantly turned deathly pale. "Madam... Madam Lawson?!"

It was the chairwoman of Lawson Group calling from headquarters. She was also my mother.

A thunderous roar came from the other end of the line. "Someone just reported a problem with the bottled water! What is going on? How are you doing your job? The regulatory department has already called me on my personal number!"