Chapter 1 - The Stolen Connection
I stared at the security monitor, my heart hammering fiercely against my ribs.
It made absolutely no sense for a woman with millions of dollars to steal a cheap, cracked smartphone.
Vanessa Cain could buy a thousand phones without even checking her bank balance.
I pulled Lily closer to my chest, smoothing her messy hair.
"Why would she take my phone?" I whispered.
Marcus Cole did not answer me immediately.
His jaw was clenched so tightly that a muscle twitched beneath his skin.
He tapped a few keys on the console, reversing the footage to watch the theft again.
"Your phone automatically connects to the mansion's private Wi-Fi network," Marcus said quietly.
I nodded, feeling a cold sweat break out on my neck.
"Marta gave me the password on my first day so I could receive staff updates," I explained.
Marcus leaned back in his leather chair, his eyes dark and stormy.
"That specific Wi-Fi network is bridged directly to my secure servers," he said.
I swallowed hard, finally understanding the terrifying implication.
"She used your device as a trojan horse to bypass my cybersecurity," Marcus continued.
My hands began to tremble as I realized I was being framed for a massive corporate crime.
"Mr. Cole, I swear I didn't know anything about this," I pleaded.
He held up a hand, his gaze softening slightly as he looked at my terrified daughter.
"I know you didn't, Sarah," he assured me.
He turned back to the keyboard and started typing rapidly.
"We need to see exactly what she downloaded using your IP address," he muttered.
Lines of green code scrolled quickly across the largest monitor.
Marcus suddenly stopped typing, and all the color drained from his face.
"This is impossible," he whispered.
I took a step closer, terrified of what he had found.
"What did she take?" I asked.
Marcus looked up at me with an expression of pure dread.
"She didn't download my corporate files," he said.
He pointed a shaking finger at the screen.
"She downloaded the architectural blueprints to this house, specifically the security vulnerabilities."
Before I could process what that meant, the heavy steel door of the security room slammed shut behind us.
May you like
The electronic lock clicked with a loud, final beep.
We were trapped inside.
