Chapter 9 - The Rally in the Alley
"Are you alright, Sarah?" Henry asked breathlessly, helping the terrified accountant sit up against the brick wall.
"I... I think so," Sarah gasped, clutching her chest as she wiped rain and tears from her face.
Leo stood up, his fists clenched tight, staring down the dark alleyway where the SUV had disappeared.
"They just tried to kill us, Mr. Brooks!" Leo shouted, anger overriding his fear. "They tried to murder us in our own basement!"
"Because they know we have the evidence to put them behind bars for the rest of their lives," Henry replied coldly.
He pulled the encrypted flash drive Sarah had saved from the terminal, holding it tight inside his fist.
"They think an old man and two young employees can be silenced with intimidation and corporate games," Henry said.
"They forgot that a hotel isn't run by executives in mahogany boardrooms; it's run by the people who work the floor."
Henry stood tall, pulling his wet coat around his shoulders as a new resolve took hold of his spirit.
"Leo, I need you to contact every maid, bellhop, chef, and valet worker across our Chicago locations right now," Henry ordered.
"Tell them their founder has returned, and tell them it's time to take our house back."
Leo pulled out his smartphone, his eyes burning with absolute determination. "Consider it done, Mr. Brooks."
Within twenty minutes, word spread through secret employee group chats and late-night messaging channels across the city.
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Night-shift workers left their posts in order, assembling quietly in the underground parking garage beneath the hotel.
Over three hundred loyal staff members stood shoulder-to-shoulder in the dim lighting, waiting for Henry Brooks to speak.
