Chapter 99
99 Ruby Comes
99 Ruby Comes
“Alice.”
Ruby spoke up.
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“I thought your firewall was supposed to be solid. The intruder’s already past the last barrier, and you’re just sitting here like nothing’s wrong?”
Alice kept her voice short and steady.
“No one could’ve gotten that far. Not if they’re not inside the structure.
Ruby gave a sharp laugh. “Then why isn’t the video feed working?”
Alice rolled the lollipop on her tongue, eyes lifting calmly.
“It is. I just masked their face with a line of code.”
Ruby’s tone tightened. “So you know the one who hacked us?”
“Yeah, I don’t share a very close relationship with the perp, though,” Alice said without much emotion.
One of the execs behind Ruby stepped up.
“So what–you were careless with sensitive info and handed it off to one of your friends?
“You’re paying double what you cost us if this makes a loss!
“This isn’t just money. This is jail time!”
Alice looked surprised. “Jail? Over this?”
Ruby exchanged a quick look with the others, then turned back.
“Yep. Troy got lucky and avoided charges last time. We’re not letting that h
men again.
“Even if you’re the Nolan heir’s wife, you’re not getting a pass this time.
“If you try to cover for your friend, you’ll answer for it too.”
Alice’s voice was still quiet. “Are you sure it’s that serious?”
Ruby let out a slow breath. “Just turn on the camera and show us who it is. If you refuse to, the cover–up allegations will turn real.”
Alice gave her a thumbs–up, dry and flat. “Didn’t think you actually cared about me. Guess I had you all wrong.”
Ruby softened instantly, like a mom comforting a child.
“I’m glad you see that. So come on, let us see the face .”
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Alice looked conflicted.
“If I drop the code and let you see her face… what’ll happen to her?”
Ruby’s answer came without missing a beat.
“She’ll lose her job, get hit with fines, and the cops will take her away.”
The rest of the execs gave quiet nods. That was the standard process anyway.
Alice turned to someone next to her. “Well, guess you’ll have to call the cops.”
Ruby thought the move was a little odd, but she didn’t say anything.
Daniel stood outside the circle, clearly worked up.
“Mr. Eric… I think I know who the perp is.”
Eric looked toward Alice. She was still calm.
And in that moment, something shifted in how he saw her. There was a kind of quiet strength about her .
She only lost control once, back at the street race–back when Marvin acted all smug like he owned the place.
But aside from that, her emotions stayed locked down.
Watching her now was like watching an ancient, unbendable tree swaying slowly even in the face of a gale.
There was something peaceful about her presence.
She made people feel at ease just by being there.
“Mr. Eric? Mr. Eric? ”
Daniel waved his hand in front of Eric’s face!
Eric blinked and came back to himself.
-Then he shot Daniel a look so sharp it could cut through steel.
Daniel’s whole body tensed.
He shrank back without a word.
He didn’t dare look over at Mrs. Nolan. Not even a
glance.
One look too long, and he might not survive it.
Eric finally had some quiet. He touched the rosary bracelet on his wrist.
The beads calmed him, just like they always did.
The tension in his face eased, and his eyes softened.
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Across the room, Alice opened her laptop.
“Come over here, all of you. I don’t want anyone saying I rigged this.”
Ruby and the others stepped up and stood around her desk.
Alice started typing fast. Her fingers moved like lightning.
Lines of code flew across the screen. They broke through firewalls one after another.
Then the screen lit up.
It looked like someone was wiping dust off glass. The black faded little by little.
At the top of the screen, strands of hair showed.
“No way–there’s really someone there!”
“I see long hair. A woman’s doing this?”
“Since when did we have a female tech this good?”
Ruby’stared. Her gut told her something was off.
She moved toward Alice to stop her, but it was too late.
The forehead appeared.
It was followed by the eyes.
And then the perp’s nose appeared.
Her cheeks came after that.
Everyone stared. No one moved.
From the looks of it, they seemed to know who the criminal was.
Not a sound escaped their lips.
Everyone waited for the image to finish loading.
They waited with bated breaths.
And the screen slowed down like it was teasing them.
It slowed to a crawl, like a temptress beckoning to her lover, yet refusing to give them sweet release.
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They could feel screams building within their bodies. They wanted to rage, to shout, to pummel anything while the agonizing wait went on. And then, it came. The picture finally cleared.
It was Sandy.
Sandy, smiling like she’d lost her mind.