Prime suspect

/Elena's POV/

Despite his hesitance, the hot specimen and I walk into the hotel with our arms linked together. Instead of the hotel security that stopped me earlier to bombard us both with questions or stop us from entering the hotel, we are properly ushered into the hotel, so I am guessing that this hot specimen must be one of the creme de la cream of the society.

"Now that I have helped you get into the hotel like you wanted, our deal is off," he speaks up, disengaging himself from me as soon as we approach the elevator.

"I hope we can go our separate ways and never cross paths again," he adds, punching the elevator button.

"I need the elevator to find the person that I am looking for," I say with an awkward smile, hinting in the direction of the elevator, even though I don't know where to start searching for my dad and the crown prince in such a big hotel. Still, right now, I am not about to look clueless and stupid in front of this hot guy so that he doesn't regret helping me get in.

Worse still, he may start imagining the worst about me as a suspicious person with bad intentions. Then he may end up handing me over to security, completely ruining my plans.

"I am in a hurry, and I will not be comfortable sharing the elevator with you, so if you want to go in this elevator, we have to go in separately, and I will be the one to go in first," He says with an authoritative voice as he steps into the elevator.

"Whatever sails your boat," I reply to allow him to have his way instead of dragging things with him since he has helped me thus far.

The elevator door closes, and I sigh as I look around the ground floor, contemplating if I should start my ultimate search from the ground floor or the top floor.

"Given the kind of person that my father is, the ground floor is too accessible, and the VIP rooms of the hotel, which are supposed to be on the last floor, are more likely for this kind of meeting, so let's check out the executive suites on the last floor," I decide, as I get into the elevator after a while.

I watch the arrow on the little screen on the elevator point upwards. At the same time, I try to go over what exactly I will do to make a mess of my upbringing. Still, my nervousness has made my ideas evaporate into thin air.

"When I get to that bridge…. I will cross it," I decide as the elevator finally stops at the top floor and the door slides open.

I take deep breaths to mentally prepare myself to start knocking from door to door till I find my dad; as I make my way out of the elevator, I walk towards the first room.

"You've got this, babe," I assure myself as I raise my hand to knock on the door, only for the sound of a gunshot from across the room to catch my attention.

"Did I just hear a gunshot?" I question myself as I look around to ensure the area is safe.

"This is an executive hotel, and the VIP rooms are supposed to have soundproof doors…." I dismiss as I knock on the room door where I want to start my ultimate search.

"Knock! Knock!" I knock again, but nobody opens the door.

"The security man mentioned earlier that only the important figures in the society are present in this hotel at the moment…." I recall.

"understandably, this room is unoccupied at the moment," I encourage myself as I move to the next room.

On raising my hand to knock on the door of the next room, I hear someone opening the door of the next room and on checking to see if I would be lucky enough to see my dad stepping out to receive an important call, the person that rushed out of the room is the stranger from the lobby that I made a deal with.

"Where is he going in such a hurry that he even forgot to lock the door," I mutter as I take my attention away from him to knock on the room door. I wanted to knock before he distracted me. Still, no one answered, so I decided to move to the next room after the room that the stranger from the lobby left in a rush, only for the sight of someone lying on the ground with blood to catch my attention. Hence, I retrace my step back to get a closer look to ensure my eyes are not playing tricks on me.

My breath catches my throat as I stop in my tracks to see the person lying on the floor.

"No, no.." I shake my head slowly, breathing heavily against my lips.

I try to move my legs to check if the person lying on the ground is still breathing, but my whole body seems rigid, and I can't seem to move at the pace I want to.

I take slow strides toward where my father's body lay with his eyes closed and the murder weapon next to him as I bend down to put him on my leg while placing my shaky hands over the hole on the left side of his chest.

"Papa ….. it's Riri," I introduce myself by the name that he and my late mom fondly call me as I wait for his reaction.

"I know that I am not supposed to be here dressed like this, so if you want to scold me, beat me, or have me grounded again, I won't argue with you, so open your eyes and say something to me," I urge him. However, his body is still in motion when I find it.

"Call the ambulance or people that can help him to the hospital, you dummy," the voice in my head screams at me as I quickly place him back in the position where I found him and dashed out of the room.

I start to run in the direction of the elevator because the floor seems to be practically empty. Still, on getting to the elevator, the elevator is currently in use.

"F*ck! F*ck!" I start to pace around the area waiting for the elevator to be accessible. Still, my patience keeps running out, so I make a run for the stairs.

"There is an emergency upstairs….." I approach the first security I see walking towards one end of the next floor, pulling him towards the stairs like a mad woman.

"First of all, the hotel is under a major lockdown because we have important figures in pearl coast meeting here, so what emergency are you talking about?" the security personnel questions.

"That is the source of the emergency," I answer him without any patience to go into details of the emergency as I continue to drag him.

"Can you tell me what exactly is up with you and stop harassing me?" the security man says, refusing to follow me any further.

"The prime minister was supposed to be meeting the crown prince of the nation in this hotel, and as his daughter, I came here to sabotage the whole meeting, but I was denied entry, and to get in, I made a deal with a stranger at the lobby, but it turns out that the stranger at the lobby shot my father because I saw him dashing out of my father's room" I explain everything to him.

"That doesn't make any sense," he shakes his head in denial.

"I know that it doesn't make any sense, but the weapon that was used in driving a bullet into my father's chest is still on the ground in the hotel while my father is just lying on the ground lifeless, so I need you to get a medical team upstairs to tend to him and offer him first aid to see if his life can still be saved," I practically beg him. Still, he seems to be looking up and down at me snobbishly.

"I have every right to believe that there was a gunshot situation in the VIP lounge upstairs judging from all the blood on your body," he starts. I nod eagerly, hoping for him to process everything I told him a bit faster than he is.

"...Since we have VIPs in the hotel at the moment and you are not properly registered to be in this hotel at the moment, I will have to keep you in custody as a prime suspect for the whole unrest till we clarify that our VIPs are in safe hands," he says as he starts to fish for his handcuff.

"This won't do," I hiss as I make a run for the elevator.

"I can't believe that I came all the way to get help for my dad, but that incompetent security dared to pronounce me a prime suspect," I hiss after successfully getting into the elevator and taking the incompetent security off my radar.