Quinn turned toward the doorway. Jacqueline’s proud silhouette filled the threshold, arrogance radiating from every step. On the conference screen, the director and several executives brightened the instant they saw her.
“Ms. Jacqueline worked on the system’s core modules. If she joins us, we might still repel the hackers.<b>” </b>
“Exactly–she’s aputer prodigy, decorated with awards at home and abroad!”
“Mr. Fane, let Ms. Jacqueline lead the defense!”
Everett pressed his lips together, then gestured to theptop on his desk. “Fine. This machine‘ has full ess to the cybersecurity system. You and Quinn will-”
Jacqueline lifted a hand, stopping him. “Uncle, I refuse to work alongside Quinn. She’ll only blunder around and slow me down, and we cannot afford dys tonight.”
“I won’t slow you down,” Quinn answered, her tone firm but even.
Jacqueline scoffed. “Your word isn’t enough. This concerns the entire corporation.”
One of the coteral uncles sneered, “Quinn, don’t think you can deal with a cyber assault just by pressing a few keys.”
Another rtive chimed in, “Everett, indulge your niece if you wish, but don’t gamble thepany’s future for it.”
Everett ignored the chorus of doubts and fixed his gaze on Quinn. “How confident are you?”
“About fifty–fifty,” Quinn replied.
Jacqueline let out a shortugh. “How convenient! If you fail, you can im you only had fifty percent certainty. Quite the strategy.”
Turning back to Everett, she dered, “I want the Information Security Department to follow mymands, and…”
Her eyes flicked over Quinn with open disdain. “Quinn must stay out of it. I won’t allow dead weight on my field.”
Rowan’s temper snapped. He lunged forward, shoulders tight and jaw clenched, as though one more breath would send him barreling into the fray.
Quinn shot out a hand and snatched his sleeve, anchoring Rowan where he stood. Eyes <b>still </b>burning, she pivoted toward Jacqueline. “All right. If you’re really capable of repelling those intrusions, then I won’t lift a finger.”
Between the two women, Jacqueline understood the corporation’sbyrinthine cybersecurity system far better than Quinn ever could.
So in a crisis thisrge, Quinn had no interest in wasting precious minutes wrestling over control. The casualties would fall squarely on the Fane family and thepany.
Jacqueline arched an eyebrow and let out a little scoff, the sound sharp enough to cut ss. Confidence radiated off her like perfume.
She had disgraced herself at the g, but this was her chance to polish the namete again. If she seeded, tomorrow’s headlines would trumpet her triumph above Quinn’s.
<i>So </i><i>what </i><i>if </i><i>she’s </i><i>the </i><i>direct </i><i>heiress</i>? <i>They </i><i>still </i><i>need </i><i>me</i><i>, </i><i>someone </i><i>from </i><i>a </i><i>coteral </i><i>branch</i>. <i>And </i>with <i>that</i><i>, </i><i>I </i><i>can </i><i>finally </i><i>seize </i><i>real </i><i>authority </i><i>over </i><i>the </i><i>Information </i><i>Security </i><i>Department</i>.
Jacqueline slid into the chair before the primary console, the glow of twin monitors turning her features a cool, electric blue. She opened the video–conference window and began barking orders to the scattered analysts of the Information Security Department.
At first, victory came easily. Her face wore a smug half–smile as she deflected each probing spike, convinced the breach would be patched before the coffee on her desk cooled.
Encouraged, the onlookers murmured praise, their voices swelling like apuse after every sessful block.
But praise soon gave way to silence. The color drained from Jacqueline’s cheeks, and on the conference screen, the distant analysts slipped from jubnt shouts to stunned quiet.
Someone finally broke the hush. “What happened? Is the assault over–is the firewall holding?”
Jacqueline could not make herself answer.
Beads of sweat gathered on her brow, slid into hershes, then dropped onto the keyboard like rain. Her hands felt heavier by the second, fingers sluggish, almost too numb to keep dancing across the keys. <i>How </i><i>is </i><i>this </i><i>possible</i><i>? </i>
The hackers toyed with her the way a cat bats a dying mouse. They let her parry the opening salvos, drawing her into the illusion of progress.
Then, at the very instant victory seemed within reach, a fresh barrage tore through her defenses, yanking her stomach down to her shoes and teaching her the raw taste of failure.
<i>I </i><i>can’t </i><i>hold </i><i>them</i><i>. </i><i>Not </i><i>a </i><i>chance</i>. <fnd807> Readplete version only at Find1Novel</fnd807>
Each wave crashed harder than thest, and her so–called countermeasures looked like paper shields in a hurricane. For the first time, true helplessness pooled in her chest.
<i>No</i><i>–</i><i>it </i>isn’t that I <ick </i><i>ability</i>. <i>These </i><i>hackers </i><i>are </i><i>simply </i><i>too </i><i>strong</i><i>, </i><i>and </i>I <i>was </i><i>tossed </i><i>in </i><i>unprepared</i>. <i>Give </i><i>me </i><i>a </i><i>window </i>to <i>prepare</i><i>, </i><i>and </i>I <i>would </i><i>counter </i><i>them</i><i>, </i><i>I </i><i>know </i>I <i>would</i>.
“I can’t keep this up,” Jacqueline said, forcing calm into her voice. “The adversary prepared meticulously, and we’re dealing with top–tier talent. Swap me for another expert and they’ll crumble just as fast. Uncle Everett, their target is thepany itself. They must want something. Perhaps we should-”
A startled executive’s voice burst through the speakers. “We blocked it–we’ve stopped the attack!”
Jacqueline blinked hard, disbelief striking like cold water. “What?”