Chapter 24
Sterling Vance sat in his own opulent boardroom, surrounded by his board of directors, watching Emily Carter's stock begin to waver on the massive digital monitors. His fair, rosy face was flushed with the intoxicating thrill of impending victory. "Activate the stolen bypass codes," Vance ordered his lead technician. "Once we breach her beta servers, leak the defense schematics to the press. Her company will be investigated by the federal government before lunch." The technician typed furiously, but suddenly, the digital monitors flickered and went entirely black. A blaring, red security alert flashed across every screen in Vance's building. "What is happening?" Vance demanded, slamming his fist onto the mahogany table. The heavy glass doors of the boardroom suddenly slid open. Emily Carter stepped into the room, flanked by Silas and four elite, heavily armed private security guards. She wore a flawless, tailored suit, her posture impeccable and terrifying. "You are trespassing, Emily!" Vance shouted, though his voice cracked with sudden panic. "Actually, Sterling, I am inspecting my new property," Emily replied, her voice a low, mesmerizing hum of absolute danger. "The bypass codes Jessica gave you were a honeypot trap. The moment you tried to use them, my cyber division traced the intrusion and initiated a hostile reverse-takeover of your automated trading algorithms. You just shorted your own company into total insolvency. You are bankrupt." Vance stared at her, his jaw dropping in sheer, unadulterated horror.
