Chapter 83
~LAYLA~
“That will be all for now,” Axel said firmly, even as he maintained a concerned expression. “Like I said earlier, we’re actively containing the breach and assessing the full extent of the damage p>
“Mr. O’Brien, can you confirm what data was compromised?” one persistent reporter called out, shoving her microphone forward.
“Our priority right now is transparency and security,” Axel repeated smoothly. “We’re working with cybersecurity experts and will provide updates as we have them p>
I nodded beside him, keeping my expression appropriately worried. “We take this breach very seriously and are committed to protecting our stakeholders’ information. Thank you all for your time p>
We stepped back into Axel’s office after the press conference, the door clicking shut behind us. Axel locked it immediately, and we stood there for a beat, just staring at each other in the sudden silence.
Then, as if on cue, our eyes met, and we both burst into laughter.
I doubled over, clutching the edge of the desk for support, while Axel leaned against the wall, laughing hard.
“Oh God,” I gasped between laughs, wiping tears from my eyes. “Did you see their faces? They completely ate it up. Every single word p>
Axel grinned, still chuckling as he loosened his tie. “Hook, line, and sinker. They think we’ve been absolutely crippled by some master hacker p>
He straightened up, his expression shifting to something more serious but deeply satisfied. “But you were brilliant out there, Layla. That look of worry and determination was just perfect. Academy Award worthy p>
“Why, thank you,” I said with a mock bow, finally catching my breath. The relief flooding through me was almost intoxicating. “We actually pulled it off. But let’s not get too cocky just yet p>
I moved to the window, looking down at the reporters still lingering on the street below. “By now, Cassandra and Daniel have probably opened those files. They’re realising they’ve been Played abd given a dummy data on a burner PC filled with absolutely nothing useful p>
“I’d pay good money to see Cassandra’s face right about now,” Axel said with a smirk.
“And here’s the thing that’ll really drive them crazy,” I continued, turning back to face him. “They’re probably wondering why we went public anyway. Why would we announce a breach that would tank our stocks if we knew it was fake p>
Axel leaned back in his chair with a thoughtful expression. “Exactly. And that’s the beauty of this whole thing. They’ll be scrambling, second-guessing everything, and wondering what our actual endgame is. A real breach would tank our stocks, scare investors… so why would we risk it if we knew the data was worthless p>
“It’ll drive them absolutely insane,” I said, pacing the room as my mind worked through the implications. “Make them question their own intelligence, their own moves. Maybe even force them into making a mistake out of paranoia p>
“Let them stew in it,” Axel agreed, pulling up the spare laptop we’d used for the trap. “The press release buys us time and keeps them guessing. Meanwhile, our real systems are completely secure, and Eclipse Beauty’s launch is full steam ahead p>
“You know what the best part is?” I asked, a grin spreading across my face. “They can’t even call us out on it without admitting they tried to hack us in the first place p>
“Checkmate before they even realised they were playing,” Axel said, wiping his eyes again. “But seriously, that was close. Really good thing we saw it coming p>
I nodded, recalling how everything had happened. It all began right after Daniel gave me the USB at the café. His whole attitude felt a bit too eager and a little too frantic.
We’d rushed back to the office, but Axel had paused at his desk drawer instead of immediately plugging in the drive.
“This one’s offline,” he’d said, pulling out an old laptop that looked like it hadn’t been used in a while. “No connection to our servers whatsoever. If that drive’s a Trojan… and my gut says it absolutely is, we feed it junk instead of our actual data p>
He’d loaded it with the most random files imaginable: those ancient Rome documentaries he loved watching late at night, some cat videos I’d downloaded for laughs during a particularly stressful week, old business webinars from years ago. Dummy data designed to look legitimate enough at first glance.
“They’ll think they’ve hit gold,” he’d explained. “Meanwhile, we trace the intrusion and keep our real systems locked down tight p>
I’d agreed instantly, watching as he’d carefully plugged in the USB, essentially setting the trap. The hack had triggered exactly as predicted, downloading the nonsense files while our IT team monitored the attempted intrusion from a safe distance.
Now, Axel ran a quick trace on the access logs, his fingers flying across the keyboard. “Got it. The intrusion pinged back to a server registered under a shell company. And guess who owns it p>
“Who p>
“It’s tied to J. Downson. Does that name ring any bells p>
I snapped my fingers as the connection clicked into place. “Wait, isn’t that the same person who helped Cassandra with those contamination rumours? The one who bribed the lab technician p>
“The very same. We’ve got him dead to rights on two separate incidents now p>
“Anonymous tip to the police?” I suggested.
“Already drafting it,” Axel said, his fingers moving across the keyboard. “Let the authorities handle the fallout. We stay clean, and Downson takes the heat p>
As he hit send on the anonymous report, my phone buzzed on the desk.
Erica’s name flashed across the screen, and I felt my stomach tighten slightly. I shot a quick look at Axel before answering, trying to sound casual but adding a bit of uncertainty to my voice.
“Hey, Erica. I was actually about to call you but p>
“Really? What’s up?” Her tone was casual, almost too casual, but there was an excited edge to it that set off alarm bells.
“I wanted to invite you to the Eclipse Beauty pre-launch.” I paused deliberately, sounding doubtful. “But honestly, with this data breach mess all over the news, I’m not even sure if it’s going ahead anymore. Everything’s completely up in the air right now p>
There was a pause on the other end, just long enough to be noticeable. “Oh no, that sounds absolutely awful. I’m so sorry you’re dealing with this, Layla. That must be incredibly stressful p>
“It really is,” I said, playing up the worried card. “But I’ll keep you posted on whether we’re still doing the event, okay p>
“Of course, definitely keep me posted. I’d love to be there if it happens.” Her acceptance came too quickly, too smoothly, without any of the probing questions a real friend would ask.
“Will do. Talk soon.” I hung up, my unease growing with each passing second.
Axel looked up from his screen, one eyebrow raised. “Bait taken p>
“Maybe,” I said, pocketing my phone and moving back to the window. “If she’s feeding information to Cassandra like we suspect, this little tidbit about the launch being in jeopardy should travel fast. And when she comes p>
“She might slip up in person,” Axel finished. “People always get sloppy when they think they have the upper hand p>
“Exactly. And with everything else we have in motion, it could be very revealing p>
“You think Cassandra will make a move p>
“I think she won’t be able to help herself,” I said, turning to face him. “Her ego won’t let her stay away when she thinks we’re vulnerable. She’ll want to see us squirm p>
“Then let’s make sure we give her a show worth watching,” Axel said with a dangerous smile.
I returned his smile, feeling the pieces of our plan clicking into place. “This is going to be very interesting p>
“That’s one word for it p>
“What’s another p>
“Satisfying,” he said simply. “Watching them all realise they’ve been played is going to be deeply, profoundly satisfying p>
I couldn’t argue with that.