In the medical room,
It was a huge hall with a good few sections for tens of patients. Everything was in white and the hall smelled of ethanol. However, it wasn't silent like a hospital. Young men's cries, the shrill voices of middle-aged women could be heard inside the hall.
Outside the hall, in the waiting area, the assistant manager of the ship was wiping his sweat, forcing an awkward smile at some middle-aged men who were complaining and demanding details about the person who did that to their nephews or sons.
The assistant manager's eyes glinted when he saw the manager going towards them. He immediately diverted the men's attention to the manager, "Please be patient, the manager will help you with this." His hand pointed towards the manager.
Behind the middle-aged manager, a delicate lady was walking with a handsome man. The manager's lips twitched when four grumpy men turned to him. He forced himself to stay calm as he had to control the situation.
He irritatingly looked behind and took a glance at the couple. It hadn't been a couple of hours, these two created scenes. However, he didn't show annoyance openly as the Johnson communication center mentioned them as VIPs and they were Collins, one of the highly regarded political families in the country.
"Mr. and Mrs. Collins, I understand the trouble you went through. But please cooperate so that we can resolve it quickly and you enjoy your vacation."
He waited for a few seconds but the two didn't respond. Alvin never bothered to be good to anybody, however, Anya was unusually grim, and unsupportive. The manager was sure there will be a huge drama and both parties won't be satisfied.
The four men rushed to the couple as they pushed the manager away, "How f**king, dare you to hit my son?" His voice filled with fury was pointed at Alvin.
"Are you tired of living?"
"Do you think this is a playground to fight and escape?"
"We are going to sue you."
Alvin stood indifferently and Anya crossed her arms without fearing them. If this is how the parents behave, there is no doubt their sons were unruly.
The couple's reaction incensed the men more. When they tried to get closer to the couple with an intent of violence, the manager and assistant manager took the help of security and dragged those men away.
Hearing the commotion, the women who were inside the medical room heard that the couple who wasted their sons were at the door. They rushed out to demand justice.
The most troubled ones were security and the managers who had to hold them away and hear their shrill voices. The nurses gave up on insisting on silence in the medical room.
Due to jet lag, Anya stifled a yawn while making note of the families, who were stupid enough to provoke her. She wasn't the same naive Anya Owen. She had learned to fight back when necessary. Now those families will have to forget their political career and the seats in the cabinet. A stain on them would bring them down their shaking throne.
Anya glanced at the manager who was having headaches. Though the wealthy society of business and political families had fewer differences, the main contrast was the behavior. The business families gossiped less, focused on extending their connections, and gave a lot of attention to their image in the eyes of the observer. Whereas the political families gossiped too much, they were dignified people in front of the media and public, or else they behaved like drunken horses without control.
And pretty much loud, they were hurting their ears. "Are you guys done?" Her melodious voice silenced the crowd at once.
They looked at each other with their heart burning in rage. The manager felt alarmed, he was sure she was going to fuel the fire. She did exactly that.
"Be ready to accept the court letter." She simply said and turned around.
Alvin: "..."
'That's it?'
He thought she would voice what they did, and defend him for his actions in front of all. But her actions flew over his head, leaving him amused.
"The court letter my ***. You b*tch, you don't know me." A man growled at Anya.
Alvin's gaze immediately sharpened and his face dark and stormy. He took a step towards them and the men jerked away with their wives and sisters. They already heard, a man single-handedly thrashed them like dusting his shoes.
"I guess I missed what you called my wife." His cold voice sent shivers down their spine. Whereas Anya had a smile with her back facing those men.
The easiest way to silence those people was by scaring them. She knew they wouldn't be scared by the court or cops due to their connections. However, that word would piss them off. And their dirty tongue was enough for Alvin to put them in place.
Alvin took another step, "Could you repeat it for me?" Asking? He was threatening them. And they shook as if the ship was shaking on the calm ocean surface.
"You…" A man latched his wife's mouth with his hand before she could continue.
Another man stuttered gazing into Alvin's eyes. That man wanted to look away but he couldn't. He was afraid Alvin might hit him too. Considering he was just a young man, "Y-You c-can't h-hit u-u-us."
Alvin smiled darkly, silently telling them that he could hit them if he wanted.
The manager swallowed hard looking at Alvin. He couldn't understand this man at all. He sees him obliging to his wife like a henpecked husband and now intimidating people just by speaking a little.
With a great effort, he interrupted hesitantly, "Mr. Collins, please be calm. Let's behave like educated people and speak."
'Collins,' The group froze. If there was fear of Alvin hitting them, now it was replaced with their family reputation and career at stake.
A woman first flipped the plate, "Haha... Mr. Collins, OMG, I had seen you when you were in school. You have grown so handsomely. Do you remember me? Aunty Webb?... You must have forgotten. It's alright. It's been many years." She laughed awkwardly again.
Linus studying abroad came to their use. It was good they didn't remember Linus's name.
Anya who heard the woman was speechless. How could they change just like that? Alvin hated these kinds of people so his annoyance was evident on his face.
Another man reluctantly held his anger, "Mr. Collins, we will forgive you for your father and grandfather's sake. We hope you don't repeat this." Linus's grandfather was a president of a country twice in a row after serving in the military for twenty years. So Collins had a great reputation.
'Forgive?'
Alvin's face couldn't be more disgusted by hearing the man. They didn't only fail to teach their son, they weren't capable of standing by their sons.
Anya turned around and went next to Alvin, "Forgive? Why don't you beg us to forgive you all and your sons?" She scorned.
The manager who almost thought everything cleared was dumbfounded. He knew it would be hard to resolve it so easily.
A woman who was about to shout at Anya held back her voice and said through her teeth, "Mrs. Collins, behave yourself. Don't tarnish the name of Collins."
Anya: "..."
How was she tarnishing the Collins name? She couldn't fall to their brazen level. These were utterly disgusting people.
Alvin's arm wrapped around her shoulder as his cold voice rang, "Could you broaden my views by telling us how my wife tarnished the family name?"
The woman shook, meeting Alvin's eyes. She lowered her head and uneasily slid behind her husband. Her husband tried to take a stand for his wife, "Mr. Collins, She meant to say we are forgiving you despite our son's suffering. You should be…" He choked in his words when he looked at the couple's face.
Anya turned to the manager, "Mr. Manager, who is the technician here? I would like them to see the passageways videos and get to know who should be on their knees asking for forgiveness." Though she sounded firm, her words were polite.
The manager was reluctant as it would create a huge mess but when everyone's eyes fell on him, he awkwardly smiled. "I will arrange it immediately."
Alvin took a seat on the couch, pulling her with him to sit. He sensed her third time stifling a yawn. "Let's go and grab some sleep."
Anya shook her head, if these parents don't stop their sons, they will bring more men and trouble them. A little sacrifice of sleep was worth their peace of mind.
Alvin tugged her into a comfortable position. He could guess she had a routine every day. After waking up in the jet, she hadn't caught a wink of sleep. It had been more than twenty hours. He was used to being awake for a long time so he could manage for a longer time.
The assistant manager returned with a man who was in charge of watching over the surveillance. Anya tried to stand up but Alvin kept her seat. She didn't bother to argue, she had no energy. "Please play the surveillance footage at 8:45 AM, sixth floor at room number 643."
Alvin noted how accurate she was with the time and room number.
The technician immediately worked on his laptop and played the video. His expression changed almost instantly.
They had a huge room set with numerous screens to keep their eyes on every passageway, hotel. pubs, recreation rooms, and decks. If there was anything odd, they could check the place immediately and take it under control. That's the security protocol of the ship.
So why didn't he or his colleagues notice that three men were harassing a woman?
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