Cheryl left like a tornado.
Yasmine stood at the doorway, watching Cheryl’s car speed off, half–expecting sparks to fly from the tires. After a moment, she marched upstairs to find Hayden. After filling him in, she demanded, “Thirty minutes. I need to know what’s happening.”
Hayden rubbed his temples. “Yasmine, just listen to Cheryl. Stay out of this.”
Yasmine narrowed her eyes. She knew Hayden was involved, too. After piecing together recent events, she declared firmly, “Zimmerman Group is targeting Unihorizon Group.”
Cheryl rushed into Unihorizon Group, her brow sweaty. But when she saw the man standing motionless by the floor–to- ceiling windows, his back to her, it stopped her cold and sharpened her resolve.
Wiping her forehead, she took a deep breath before locking eyes with him. “Mr. Davis,” she said, her tone icy. “What an honor to have you here.”
Truman turned to Cheryl. “Same payment as before if you reveal Mrs. Zimmerman’s location,” he said bluntly. “Otherwise…” He showed a figure on his phone screen. “This will be the new rate.”
Cheryl snorted, “Mrs. Zimmerman? Isn’t she still all over social media with those viral scandals?”
Truman checked his watch without expression. “Ms. Chapman, it’s 2 PM. Mr. Zimmerman only gave Unihorizon Group thirty minutes.” He left without another word.
As he passed Cheryl, Truman intentionally bumped her shoulder. When she staggered, he added coldly, “Mr. Zimmerman always keeps to the schedule, Ms. Chapman.”
Cheryl’s fists tightened. After Truman exited, she yanked off her handbag and hurled it at the locked door. “Threatening me? You think I’m a pushover?!”
Perched rigidly in the executive chair, Cheryl watched the minutes crawl by. She was determined to find out what Sebastian was scheming.
Exactly thirty minutes later, her phone buzzed wildly as the clock hit 2:30 PM. She hit the answer bottom and a voice declared, “You’re over time, Ms. Chapman.”
Cheryl ended the call. She sat stone–faced at her desk, though a pang of anxiety prickled beneath her calm exterior.
Minutes later, a panicked secretary burst in. “Ms. Chapman, Unihorizon Group’s firewall was hacked. The IT department is working frantically, but some data…”
Now Cheryl finally understood Sebastian’s scheme. “Nice play!” she sneered. “What a dirty trick. No wonder Yasmine left you. You’re literally the worst scumbag in history.”
Cheryl’s face fell as she heard the full consequences of the breach. “Boost security protocols,” she commanded, her voice tense
The secretary grimaced. “Our engineers say the hackers‘ techniques are too sophisticated. We can barely hold for 30 minutes. After that, all Unihorizon Group’s data will be exposed. The company is doomed.”
Cheryl closed her eyes. She never expected Sebastian to go this far.
The office door burst open. Yasmine rushed in, clutching a laptop, her voice urgent. “Cheryl, round up every engineer in the company. Now!”
