My vision went dark with rage, my entire body turning cold.
I immediately sent a direct message to Riley.
"Delete the post immediately, or we’ll call the police. You’ll be responsible for the consequences."
The message showed as read, but there was no reply for a long time. I sent another one.
This time, the moment it went through, a red exclamation mark popped up. She had blocked me.
I was just about to call the police when Mason suddenly shoved his phone in front of me.
"Shy, look!"
It was Riley’s latest post.
"Update! I’m about to go listen outside their door! I’ll livestream this Valentine’s sibling incest for you all. If you want to watch, tell me!"
The comments instantly flooded with excitement.
"Hurry up! Can’t wait!"
"Take me with you, OP. I want to listen too!"
"I want to hear the sister. I bet she sounds incredible."
Mason and I froze where we stood, as if we had fallen into an ice pit.
This was no longer just online harassment…
At that moment, out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of a shifting shadow beneath the gap of the hotel room door. She was actually here.
Mason’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the shadow outside the door, his voice filled with fury. "She actually dared to come!"
He clenched his fists and lunged toward the door.
"What are you doing?!" I grabbed him with all my strength.
"I’m going to rip that disgusting mouth of hers apart!" His eyes were bloodshot, muscles taut.
"If you go out there now and start a scene, and she records it and posts it online, what does that make us?" My voice trembled, but I forced myself to stay steady.
"Wouldn’t that just confirm we’re lashing out because we got caught? At that point, we won’t be able to clear our names no matter what we say."
Public opinion had already been stirred. Any extreme reaction from us would only become fresh ammunition for her.
It was like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over Mason. He calmed slightly, but the fire in his eyes only burned hotter.
He slammed his fist against the wall, gritting his teeth. "Then what do we do, Shy?! Just let her stand out there, and livestream lies about us?!"
I stared at the shadow moving beneath the door. My heart pounded wildly, but my mind had never been clearer.
I pulled out my phone and quickly tapped three numbers.
The moment the call connected, my voice was unnaturally calm. "Hello, 911? I’d like to report something.
"I’m staying in Room 808 at Silverpine Ridge Resort. I suspect this hotel is involved in organized prostitution. Please come immediately."
I didn’t mention the secret photos or defamation. After all, at this hour, to a night-duty officer, those things would seem trivial. If it were labeled as an online dispute, it would most likely end in a warning at best.
However, the moment I said "organized prostitution", everything changed.
Mason stared at me in shock, his mouth hanging open.
Less than ten minutes later, a rush of hurried, chaotic footsteps echoed through the hallway, followed by a thunderous shout that shook the corridor.
"Police! Nobody move! What’s going on here?!"
A woman’s terrified scream rang out from outside, along with the sound of something hitting the floor.
The moment had come. I yanked the door open.
Riley was pinned in place by two tall officers, each gripping one of her arms. The phone she had been using to livestream lay smashed on the floor, its screen still lit.
I hurried forward and spoke coldly, "Officers, I’m the one who called. I strongly suspect this hotel is involved in illegal prostitution."
When Riley saw me, it was like she had seen a ghost. She struggled wildly, screaming at the top of her lungs, "I didn’t do anything! You’re making things up! I didn’t do anything!"
I curled my lips into a cold smile. "Is that so? Then why were you lurking outside my door in the middle of the night instead of doing your job at the front desk?"
Her face turned deathly pale. She stammered, unable to say a single word.
One of the officers picked up the phone from the floor. After a single glance, his expression darkened instantly.
He turned the screen toward her and barked, "‘Valentine’s sibling incest’ livestream? The comment section is obscene. This is already crossing into explicit content. You’re coming with us to the station!"
At the mention of going to the police station, she completely panicked, shouting incoherently, "I didn’t do anything! I was just curious! There’s definitely something wrong with those two!"
She pointed at Mason and me, like she had just grabbed onto her last lifeline.
"They didn’t dare use their IDs to register! That means they’re hiding something! This woman is way older than that guy. There’s no way they’re in a normal relationship! She’s obviously keeping a younger guy on the side behind her husband’s back!"
I let out a cold laugh and met her gaze head-on. "So that’s your justification for knowingly breaking the law—livestreaming and spying on hotel guests’ privacy?"
The moment my words fell, Riley froze for only a few seconds before exploding. "I invaded your privacy? Don’t you know what the hell you two were doing yourselves?!"
She jutted her chin out and pointed right at my face, turning to complain to the police instead.
"Officers, don’t be fooled by her! She’s selling herself! Bringing a man to a hotel behind her husband’s back on Valentine’s Day! Check her phone! Check that guy’s phone too. There’s definitely money transfers between them!"
One of the officers, Officer Levi Goodman, frowned, his gaze shifting toward me with a trace of scrutiny.
On the livestream, her phone was still unlocked, and the comments were scrolling wildly.
"Yeah, didn’t she say she’s innocent? Let’s see her phone!"
"Exactly, if you’ve done nothing wrong, what are you afraid of?"
"I bet there’s definitely transaction records."
At that moment, a middle-aged man in a suit, looking polished on the surface, hurried over.
"Officers, what’s going on here? What happened?" He was Ryan Todd, the hotel manager.
I had thought help had arrived and that he would at least care about the hotel’s reputation and give me a fair explanation.
Suddenly, I caught a subtle movement. When Riley saw him, she instinctively reached out, as if to grab his arm, then stopped herself because the police were there.
That tiny gesture made my heart sink.
Ryan first greeted the officers with a broad smile, then turned to us, his expression shifting into one of concern laced with reproach.
"You two guests caused quite a disturbance in your room. Our front desk was concerned for your safety, so she came to check on you."
I let out a cold scoff. In a single sentence, he had twisted her voyeuristic livestream into something entirely different. No wonder he was the manager.
The next second, his tone shifted, turning stern. "However, our hotel is a legitimate establishment, not a place for you to cause trouble. Filing a false police report carries legal consequences."
I never expected him to bite back like this.
"Your actions have already seriously affected our hotel’s reputation and disturbed other guests’ rest. You need to leave immediately."
I could hardly believe what I was hearing. "You’re kicking us out?"
I glanced out the window. At some point, the wind and snow had picked up.
It was Valentine’s Day, and the ski resort hotels were already fully booked. If we left now, we wouldn’t even have a place to stay.
With Ryan backing her up, Riley instantly grew bolder. Her face was filled with undisguised smugness and mockery.
"You heard him. Get out. It’s snowing outside. I’d love to see where you two end up."
Ryan remained expressionless as he spoke into his radio, "Security, send two people to Room 808 to remove the guests’ belongings."
Riley grew even more excited, raising her phone toward the livestream.
"Guys! Here comes the best part! Let’s take a look inside their room and see just how wild things really are!"
As she spoke, she started charging into my room.
"Wait." My voice wasn’t loud, but it was enough to make everyone present stop in their tracks.
I looked at the two of them coldly and curved my lips into a faint smile. "Are you sure you want to go in?"
Riley froze for a second, then burst out laughing.
"Hahaha, what? Are you scared? The more you try to stop me, the more I want to see. I’m going to show everyone exactly how disgusting you really are, and what you’re really like behind the scenes!"
I smiled along with her, locking eyes with her. "Go ahead. Just don’t regret it."
She let out a dismissive snort and shoved the door open.
The next second, she froze in place, like she had turned to stone.