In the end, as if she''d finally run out of ways to fight back against the relentless trolls, Ste wiped her entire social media presence clean. She deleted every post, turned offments, and deactivated her ount.
...
The Lerman Group.
Israel felt a rush of satisfaction as he watched the victory unfold.
Ever since Ste''s return, he''d felt a tightness in his chest, a pent-up frustration with nowhere to go. But now, atst, he could breathe easy again.
Everything was falling into ce exactly as he''d nned, and his mood soared.
"This whole media fiasco has plunged Ste''spany into a major PR crisis. If things keep going like this, she won''t be able to hold out much longer."
He turned to Leonard, a glint of pride in his eyes.<fne190> Fresh chapters posted on Find1Novel</fne190>
"Leonard, this ''Q'' guy was expensive, but damn, he''s good. That twenty million dors was worth every cent."
Q''s fees were outrageous-Israel had hired plenty of hackers to strengthen hispany''s firewalls over the years, but none of them had ever charged this much. Looking at the results now, though, he had to admit-Q was worth it.
Leonard took a sip of his coffee, his tone cool and even. "Still, you have to give Ste some credit. The most sensitive files in herpany were buried underyer afteryer of encryption. If Q hadn''t gotten curious-wondering if Ste had brought in a top-tier specialist—and hadn''t double-checked everything, we might''ve missed it altogether."
Leonard paused, then added, "That T she hired isn''t bad either."
Israel nodded thoughtfully. "No wonder Ste''s managed to keep herself together all this time. She actually had a contingency n."
If they''d failed to uncover that critical piece of information, not only would Israel have wasted all that money, but he''d have gained nothing from this whole affair- except maybe making Ste''s life slightly more difficult. And trying to intercept her contracts had cost him too.
But if he could bring Ste''spany down for good, it would all be worth it. If he failed, though, he''d be the one left licking his wounds.
Now, though, sess was within his grasp.
Excitement sparkled in Israel''s eyes. With Ste defeated, he could swoop in and buy up shares of the Pearce Group. He might even get h hands on Ste''s original stake. s
his
His father and older brother always thought he was reckless, but after a win like this, they''d have to see him in a new light.
...
Ste''s "scandal" only grew more intense by the day. Discontent simmered within
herpany, with dissenting voices growing louder and more frequent.
Of course, forcing Ste out was out of the question.
As for the hateful noise online, Ste barely gave it a thought.
When the online outrage against her reached fever pitch, Joshua reminded her it was time for the final phase of their n.
Ste didn''t know the first thing
about hacking, and she had no idea what Joshua had in mind for the
iel
next step. All she could do was keep up appearances feeding the media smoke and mirrors to throwesrael off the scent. s
After a moment''s hesitation, Ste finally asked, "Joshua, how much longer will this take?"
Joshua''s expression was unreadable. "Tomorrow."
Ste''s eyes widened. "Tomorrow? That soon?"
He nodded. "Yeah. Tomorrow we''ll close in on our side—but for Israel, it''s just the beginning."
Ste gazed at him, quietly trying to
guess what trick he had up his
sleeve what kind of bait could
make someone as cautious as Israel leap so eagerly into a trap? s
After all, if opportunity falls from the sky, anyone with sense would wonder if it''s a setup.
She asked softly, “Israel may be a jerk, but he''s got a sharp business mind and he''s always on guard... What exactly did you do?"
Joshua didn''t bother to hide it. "I broke into Israel''spany database," he said simply, "and tweaked a few things."