?Chapter 942:


    William was already waiting outside the door, tense and on edge. The moment she stepped out, he rushed over, scanning her from head to toe. “You alright? What did that bastard say?”


    Ste gave a small shake of her head, her shoulders finally rxing. “I’m good. He was just running his mouth, trying to cause drama. Let’s get out of here.”


    William studied her face closely. She wasn’t rattled—he could see that now. He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding, thenced his fingers with hers and led her away from the stairs.


    Ste threw herself back into herb work—bncing heavy-duty experiments while quietly digging for clues about that chip tucked in her ne.


    A few days in, Paul called her into his office. His face was grim as he slid a thick folder across the desk. This gig was top-tier ssified, flush with funding, but it came with sky-high stakes and a mountain of ountability. Paul picking her was a straight-up vote of confidence in her chops.


    “This one’s big,” he said. “Top-secret, fully funded, but the pressure’s through the roof.” He adjusted his sses, giving her a serious look. “You’ve had a rough patchtely. Family stuff, stress… and honestly, you look wiped. If you need a break, say the word. I’ll reassign the project or give you some solid time off.”


    Paul wasn’t just being polite. He’d seen her work firsthand, knew what she was capable of—but he also knew burnout when he saw it.


    Ste flipped through the folder. It was heavy—high stakes, no room for screw-ups. But she wasn’t about to let Paul down, not after how much he’d backed her. And there was no way she was going to pass up a shot like this because of personal baggage.


    She drew in a deep breath, then looked him straight in the eye. “I’ve got this. Hand it over.”


    Paul saw the fire in her gaze and gave a slow nod. “Alright. Just watch your health. Call me if you need anything.”


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    Ste dipped her head, fired up. She pulled in Sandra and Elbert and got the next round of tests rolling.


    The first few days were smooth. Ste was living in theb—pushing Sandra and Elbert through test after test. The whole team was dialed in, noints, just pure focus. The pressure didn’t faze her. If anything, it fueled her. She’d missed the buzz of working on something huge.


    She wasn’t the type to sit back and chill in herfort zone. She thrived on challenges.


    But just as they hit the halfway point—about to start crunching data and running validation tests—everything went south.


    Hackers hit the institute’s main server, fast and brutal. The IT team hadn’t even blinked before Ste’s entire project folder got yanked. Gone in under five minutes.


    Even the backups Ste had prudently created as a precaution were wiped clean. Totally unrecoverable. Half an hourter, every byte was sshed online for free—prime time for anyizen or rivalb to snatch. Months of work, gone in a sh.


    The project was dead in the water. Fat stacks of cash down the drain, and the institute now faced staggeringpensation demands from its partners.


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