Chapter 119
Chapter 119
Nicole had never considered herself a villain.
She wasn’t reckless. She wasn’t stupid. Everything she did, she did with purpose. With strategy. With the long game in mind and right now? The long
game was Luca.
He wasn’t in love with her, fine. He didn’t have to be. Men like Luca De Santis didn’t marry for love, anyway. They married for legacy. For business. For alignment. And Nicole had aligned herself with his world for almost six years. She knew his schedule, his temper, his instincts, his needs and wants. She’d bled for his empire while women floated in and out of his life like moths. He had no staying power, that’s why in the end he would marry, not for love.
But then Luca had bought Cyber10 out of the blue, hunting for some pregnant mistress in the USA. How… pedestrian and common. But from what she could gauge, he hadn’t found her. Nicole was sure that if the woman had been here and couldn’t get money from Luca, she would’ve aborted the baby.
Then there was Sutton. She was beautiful… like enough to stop traffic. Nicole hadn’t wanted her around when Luca turned up. He had an eye for pretty
faces.
Nicole didn’t know why she had almost been impossible to get rid of. After some digging into her background, she had a coding education but no work experience. Whatever. She didn’t belong in a development role and a security tech company. She looked like she belonged on a magazine cover, not
around Luca.
Even pregnant, she had this… presence. That was the problem. Sutton didn’t try. She didn’t flirt. She didn’t even smile that much. But she walked into a
room and men looked up. Even gay, Jake was impressed by her.
And Luca? He was acting differently since arriving at Cyber10. Nicole was worried he did have a thing for Sutton. Nicole had thought about hunting down the model he had knocked up so his focus would move away from Sutton. Because in the end a model would only bore him.
He was careful about his interest. The way he started lingering too long after meetings. The way his eyes followed her, like she was a puzzle he hadn’t
solved yet.
There was just something about Sutton. It wasn’t just her looks.
And Nicole hated her for all of it. Luca should have been hers by now.
She couldn’t name it. Couldn’t explain it. But she knew it when she felt it–that quiet, beautiful threat. Sutton didn’t even have to try, and that made her
dangerous.
Nicole didn’t know her story. She didn’t care. Even though she had tried to find out.
Sutton had to go.
Nicole had spent too many years curating this life, this access, this closeness to Luca. No one knew him better. Not really. Not like she did. She kept his world spinning. She knew what coffee he liked. How to talk to his board. When to push and when to pull back. He had snapped at her a little too often
lately.
She wasn’t just another employee. She was his person.
Or she will be.
Until Sutton started fixing problems, Nicole hadn’t even been asked to solve.
It had to stop.
So when Nicole saw the opportunity to hurt Sutton where it would really matter by showing up her work and her place in this company, she took it.
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She hadn’t even needed to get her hands dirty. The freelancer she found had the skills. She had the plan. All it took was a cloned badge, a timed access window, and a little careful planning.
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Chapter 119
She watched him from the shadows of the server pod, hoodie up, hands on the keyboard. Nicole passed him the drive. He didn’t ask questions. That was the best part. He just took her money and did what she wanted.
She didn’t need his loyalty. Just his fingerprints on the crime. If he was caught, she would take care of it.
If she could corrupt Kingston’s data enough to cause panic, Roman Kingston would question Luca’s leadership. Luca would look for someone to blame. And Sutton’s name would be the first one up.
It was perfect.
And Sutton would be kicked to the curb.
Because at the end of the day, Nicole didn’t want a fight, but she played dirty because Sutton hadn’t left when she had the chance.
Nicole wanted Luca.
And she didn’t want competition. Not from someone like her.
Someone who didn’t even try to be wanted and still was.
Nicole smiled to herself as she slipped out of the room, calm and certain.
She wasn’t the villain. She was just making things right.
Before Sutton could take what was hers. She wasn’t going to wait much longer. She had a plan to get him into her bed.
Sutton’s fingers froze over the keyboard. It wasn’t just about the Kingston files. Nicole didn’t know what she had just done. This man might have agreed to help Nicole, but he was here for his own reasons. Nicole’s quest was just part of it.
She whispered, “Shit.”
“What now?”
“He isn’t just here for Nicole’s dirty work. He is trying to get into your systems at the same time… Do you have any cyber enemies I should know about?” She didn’t look up, working on keeping the hacker boxed.
Luca laughed. “In my line of work, of course, I have‘ enemies. Should I call the police now?”
She flagged the hacker’s signature and began isolating data packets. “I need to find out who he is first,” she muttered, eyes darting through lines of corrupted metadata. “He’s good… but not good enough.”
“We can’t let them get away.”
“Yes, we can if they think they got away with it. I need to know if this guy is working alone or one of your competitors paid for this.”
“You’re right… It just doesn’t feel right not doing anything.”
Her fingers moved fast. “Kingston’s server is safe, but you better call Roman and let him know what’s going on. While I protect Cyber10 now.”
Luca pulled his phone out and dialed without hesitation. “Roman. Hey mate, sorry to call you like this… How is Blair… Great… I need to let you know
what is…”
Sutton blocked him out. She needed to focus on her task, not Luca’s phone call. Her pulse pounded. Whoever had done this, they had needed internal access. Nicole doesn’t realize, but she was just their pawn.
She exhaled, tension tightening in her chest, “He is good. I give him that. Surgical, a real professional.”
Luca narrowed his eyes. “Do you know who yet?”
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“He is bloody good, but every hacker leaves a footprint.” Her tone sharpened. “This guy would have cost someone a pretty penny.”
He looked at her then, jaw clenched, gaze darker than she’d seen in weeks. “Can you figure it out?”
Sutton nodded. “Hell yes… This isn’t just about Cyber10, this is about hurting my career.”
Luca kissed her temple. “Let me know if I can do anything.”
“I’m so glad you believed in me or they could have got away with it,” she said.
He had seen sabotage before, but this? This was internal and by someone he trusted.
And Sutton… she wasn’t panicked. She was focused. She was fucking brilliant.
It made his chest tighten in a way that had nothing to do with the breach. He was so lucky. Not only was she gorgeous, but she was smart. Now all he had to do was convince her to share her life with him.
“Track him,” he said. “Find out who the hell just walked into my building and tried to ruin my company.”
Her fingers flew. “Already on it.”
