Chapter 125
“Luca,” Nicole said, a smile spreading across her face. “I’m so glad you could join us. I was just updating everyone on the situation.”
“So I heard,” Luca replied, his voice deceptively calm. He moved into the room with Sutton beside him. “Please continue. I’m very interested in your theory about sabotage.”
Nicole’s smile flickered but held. “I was explaining that the attack appeared to coincide with recent structural changes in the development department.” Her eyes flicked to Sutton, cold and calculating. Sutton was shocked by the depth of hatred in her eyes. “And that perhaps certain rushed promotions might need to be reconsidered.”
Luca nodded slowly, as if considering her words. “That’s an interesting hypothesis. Also interesting that you would question my judgment in front of everyone here.” He moved to the chair at the opposite end of the table from Nicole. “But before we continue with that, I’d like to review some evidence
we’ve uncovered.”
Nicole’s smile disappeared entirely now. “Evidence? I thought the Kingston system was wiped. How can you have evidence? Unless of course it’s been fabricated to cover a certain person’s tracks.”
“They didn’t try,” Luca confirmed. “Our system got shut down to protect our customers and also our systems from the threat.” He gestured to Sutton, who had taken a seat beside Jake. “Ms. Warner, would you please share what you found?”
Sutton tapped a few commands on the conference room system. The screen behind Nicole changed, displaying the security footage they had captured.
“This was recorded at 3:12 a.m. this morning,” Sutton said, her voice steady. “It shows two individuals accessing the building.”
The room watched in silence as the footage played. Nicole, clearly recognizable, stood next to a hooded figure who was typing at a terminal.
Nicole’s face drained of color.
“That’s not possible,” she said, her voice uncharacteristically thin. “This is… this must be doctored.”
“It’s not. Luca and I watched it as it unfolded,” Sutton replied calmly. She tapped another key, and the screen split to show a second feed. This one displayed the keystroke log from the terminal being used. “These are the exact commands entered at that terminal, at that exact time. By someone using Jake’s stolen security badge.”
All eyes turned to Jake, who looked genuinely shocked. “My badge was in my locker,” he said. “I swear, that’s not me.”
“We know it wasn’t you,” Luca cut in. “The man on the video is considerably larger than you. The badge was duplicated or stolen and returned later. We will of course need to give you a new one just to be safe.”
Nicole’s hands gripped the edge of the table. “This is absurd. I was working late. I happened to be in that area. I saw someone suspicious and followed them to investigate.”
“Then why didn’t you report it?” Luca asked, his voice hardening. “Why didn’t you activate a security alert? Why did you walk in with him, Nicole… Stop your lies.”
“I was going to report it, but-”
“And why,” Luca continued, “would the ‘suspicious person‘ you were supposedly investigating be using an advanced script specifically designed to corrupt Kingston’s database? That happened to be the exact database Sutton had protected with her virus detection system? A system someone had deliberately deactivated hours earlier?”
The silence in the room was deafening. Everyone was watching Nicole.
Sutton tapped another key. The screen changed to show a log of system access records. “This shows the deactivation of the virus protection system. It was done using Nicole’s credentials, from her office computer, at 7:43 p.m. yesterday. Right before she left for the evening. There is proof that the hacker was trying to delete this information from the Cyber 10 system. But he didn’t know I had cloned the system to protect it.”
Nicole’s face contorted. “This is ridiculous. You’re setting me up! You’re the one with the computer skills, not me.” She pointed at Sutton. 1/3
Sutton didn’t say anything. She was a little worried they hadn’t heard anything about Miles Miller yet, Luca might have to contain Nicole until they did.
“Why would she do that?” Luca asked, his voice dangerously quiet. “Why would I?” He rested back in his chair, arms folded across his chest.
“Because of her!” Nicole spat, pointing at Sutton. “You’re sleeping with her, aren’t you? She’s got you wrapped around her finger! It’s the only thing that explains her fast track through the company. She is just another little slut working her way up the ladder on her back.”
The room erupted in shocked murmurs. Sutton kept her expression neutral, though her heart was pounding. She wanted to get up and punch the bitch in the face.
“Careful, Nicole,” Luca warned. “You’re only making this worse for yourself.”
“You’ve changed since she came along,” Nicole continued, her voice rising. “You never used to question her pregnant belly and her pretty face…”
“Stop,” Luca commanded, his voice like a whip.
Nicole fell silent, breathing hard.
- me. We were a team. Until she showed up with
“The facts are these,” Luca said, addressing the room at large. “Someone deliberately deactivated the security protocols on Kingston’s server using Nicole’s credentials. Hours later, a professional hacker accessed our systems with Nicole present, attempting to corrupt or destroy client data. When that failed, a second attempt was made early this morning. What Nicole didn’t know was that a second person had paid this hacker to corrupt the Cyber10 system.” Shock spread through the room upon hearing this information.
“You’re lying,” Nicole screamed.
“I’m not, Nicole. You put not only Kingston but Cyber10 in danger–for what?”
Nicole looked away.
He stood, buttoning his suit jacket. “This constitutes corporate espionage and attempted sabotage. These actions have put our client relationships at risk and potentially cost this company millions. Also, you could have destroyed Cyber10.”
Nicole shook her head. “You can’t prove I had anything to do with this. That footage doesn’t show me doing anything wrong.”
“Actually,” Sutton interjected, “we can.” She tapped another key, and the screen showed a different camera angle. This time, Nicole could clearly be seen handing something to the hooded figure. “The object you passed to him was a data drive containing the specific bypass codes needed to access the Kingston database. Codes only you and Luca and I had. Luca and I were together trying to sandbox the virus and clear the system at this time.”
Nicole’s face went ashen.
“Additionally,” Sutton continued, “we’ve traced the hacker. His name is Miles Miller, codename Ghost. He’s a known cybercriminal who specializes in data corruption and corporate espionage.”
“Currently staying at the Metropolitan Hotel under a false name, with a considerable sum of money recently deposited into an offshore account linked to him. Money that came from an account we’ve traced back to you, Nicole,” Luca added.
Sutton looked at him, surprised. He had
been
ab
boy.
The room was completely silent now, all eyes fixed on Nicole. She looked cornered, desperate.
“You bitch,” she hissed at Sutton. “You think you’re so clever? You think this means anything?”
“The thing is, Nicole, I am that clever. You just didn’t see it,” Sutton replied evenly. “I was able to protect this company and its clients.”
Nicole looked at Luca, her expression changing to one of pleading. “Luca, you know me. We’ve worked together for years. I’ve been loyal to you. Don’t throw that away over some temporary fixation.”
Luca’s face was like stone. “You betrayed that loyalty the moment you decided to sabotage my company.” He turned to Jake. “Please escort Ms. Bruno to
the security office. The police have been notified and will be here shortly to arrest her.”
“You can’t do this!” Nicole cried as Jake stood, “Luca, please! It was all for you! Everything I’ve ever done has been for you!”
“Take her out,” Luca said quietly, shocked at her statement.
It was then that Sutton realized that Nicole was in love with Luca… The pieces of the puzzle fell into place.
Jake moved toward Nicole, who backed away, her eyes wild. “You’ll regret this,” she spat. “Both of you.”
As Jake led Nicole from the room, the rest of the executives sat in stunned silence. Luca looked around the table, his expression grave.
“I apologize for the disruption this has caused,” he said. “The system lockdown will be lifted within the hour, Kingston’s data is secure thanks to Ms. Warner’s quick action and expertise.”
He glanced at Sutton, with a hint of pride in his eyes. “In light of these events, I’m appointing Ms. Warner as our new head of cybersecurity, effective immediately. Her first task will be conducting a complete security audit of all our systems.”
Sutton tried to keep her surprise from showing on her face. They hadn’t discussed this.
“Now,” Luca continued, “if you’ll excuse us, Ms. Warner and I need to brief Roman Kingston on these developments.”
As they left the conference room together, Sutton felt as if she’d been holding her breath for hours and could finally exhale. The corridor was quiet, empty except for the two of them.
“Head of cybersecurity?” she asked once they were alone in the elevator.
Luca turned to her, his eyes serious. “You earned it. After what you did last night, I can’t think of anyone better qualified.”
She studied his face. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“I know.” His hand found hers, fingers intertwining. “I think Cyber10 needs you.”
