Chapter 67
"I, he..."
Nora wanted to explain for Philip, but couldn't come up with any reasonable excuse.
She really hadn't expected Philip to be so foolish—apologizing on the surface while still doing this kind of thing behind the scenes.
Charlotte rolled up her sleeves and sat down at the computer, working for a bit.
All the lost data was completely restored.
Nora didn't even see clearly how she did it. Then she saw Charlotte tap the keyboard a few more times and suddenly lock onto an IP address.
Charlotte traced the address and found the hacker who had just destroyed her computer data.
The person ranked fiftieth on the global hacker leaderboard, code name Falcon.
She made a call and put it on speaker so Nora could listen too.
The call connected, and a man's voice came through, "Hello, who's this?"
Charlotte pressed the record button and asked coolly, "Was it Philip who told you to hack my computer?"
On the other end, Falcon went silent for two seconds, then gasped, "How, how did you find me!"
Charlotte let out a light snort, her eyes full of disdain.
"You think it's hard for me to find you? I restored the file traces on the computer in ten seconds. Work on improving your skills—at this rate, you won't even be able to hold onto your spot at number fifty on the rankings."
Hearing this, Falcon fell silent.
After more than ten seconds, he gasped, "A female hacker with this kind of speed... you can't be Zero, can you!"
That Zero who was worshipped like a god in the cybersecurity world!
Charlotte didn't deny it. "Now that you know who you've messed with, why don't you tell the truth?"
"It really is you, Zero! Goddess!"
Falcon's voice cracked with excitement. He practically wanted to eat his phone, shouting into it, "I'm your fan! I've admired you since three years ago! I study and watch your competition algorithms every single day!"
"Zero, please take me as your student! I want to learn from you!"
Beside them, Nora listened in complete bewilderment.
What Zero, what algorithms—she didn't understand any of it.
But she got the general idea. This cousin of hers with the same cool demeanor as Victoria was a top-tier hacker god!
Nora looked at Charlotte with newfound admiration in her eyes.
Charlotte said expressionlessly, "Let's talk business first. Did Philip tell you to delete all the files on my computer?"
On the other end, Falcon immediately admitted it. "Yes, I took his job on the dark web. Based on the computer information he provided, I wiped out all the important files! I didn't know it was your computer—otherwise I wouldn't have dared to do it even if you killed me!"
"Good."
Charlotte hung up the phone and ended the recording, then directly packaged the audio file and sent it to Victoria.
Nora jumped in alarm and rushed over to her. "Charlotte, can you please not tell Victoria? Philip didn't know your real identity. I'll stop him, make sure he doesn't bully you anymore!"
"Bully?"
Charlotte laughed, though her eyes were cold. "Seems more like he's asking for it, doesn't it? Does he even have the ability to bully me?"
Nora's face went pale with fear. "I know, he was too stupid to actually target you. I'll have him come apologize to you right now!"
"No need." Charlotte refused directly. "I already gave him a chance, and he didn't cherish it. Even if I weren't his cousin, he shouldn't treat company employees this way. I haven't done anything wrong."
Nora bit her lip hard, not daring to speak anymore.
She knew this was entirely Philip's fault.
This time he was really done for.
The entire Langley family was looking forward to and doting on this soon-to-return Langley family young lady.
Yet Philip had been so excessive, constantly targeting and making things difficult for Charlotte.
She didn't dare imagine what Victoria's reaction would be when she heard the recording.
But Nora didn't dare speak up for him anymore.
She was afraid that if Charlotte got angry, she'd go after her too.
In the end, Nora could only leave with her head down.
Half an hour later, an official announcement email was sent out internally at the Langley Group.
Every employee had received it.
"Effective today, Charlotte Johnson is appointed as Group General Advisor. Philip Langley from the Data Department is suspended for reflection."
After the email went out, the entire company was in an uproar, with every work group chat going crazy with messages.
"Who is this Charlotte? How did she suddenly become General Advisor!"
"Wasn't she just an assistant manager in the Sales Department? What's her background that she's so powerful!"
"Philip from Sales was suddenly suspended for reflection. Could it be related to her?"
"I heard it is related. They had a conflict in Sales, and not long after, Charlotte got promoted while he got suspended. This person has such a strong background!"
Everyone was speculating about what connections Charlotte had that would make Victoria break company rules to promote her.
But not a single person dared to publicly question or discuss Victoria's decision.
Victoria had the final say in the entire Langley Group, and in the future when the Langley family young lady returned, the company would be her daughter's.
No one else could possibly have a say.
That afternoon, Charlotte packed up her things and moved to the advisor's office.
When she got off work and reached the ground floor of the company building, she saw someone staring at her intently, standing not far away with clenched fists.
It was Philip.
His tie was gone, his collar loose and messy. He looked nothing like his former high-spirited self—quite disheveled.
Charlotte paused for a moment, then walked past as if she hadn't seen him.
Philip took a deep breath in anger and chased after her.
"What's your relationship with Victoria? She actually fired me because of you!"
Charlotte stopped, turned around, and looked at him expressionlessly.
"You made a mistake. Firing an employee who sabotages the company is perfectly normal, isn't it? If you think it's unfair, you can go ask Ms. Langley directly. Why are you coming to me?"
Philip was furious. "But your promotion to General Advisor makes no sense at all! Explain yourself clearly, or I won't let you leave today!"
He grabbed Charlotte's arm forcefully and dragged her toward him.
Philip was nearly losing his mind.
"Tell me who you really are! What methods did you use to get Victoria to suspend me! You think sitting in that position makes you something special? Let me tell you, the Langley Group belongs to the Langley family! You're just an outsider..."
Before he could finish, a hand suddenly reached over and gripped his shoulder with such force that he couldn't use his own strength anymore.
Philip was forced to release Charlotte's arm. He turned around, about to lose his temper, when a fist came flying at his face.
He grunted in pain and fell to the ground.
Charlotte looked up in surprise at the person behind him.
Alexander, dressed in a black coat, looked coldly down at Philip on the ground, his eyes dark.
"You think you're worthy of touching her?"
"You... Alexander? What are you to her!"
Philip was completely shocked.
He recognized Alexander.
The man in control of the Harris Group—a figure standing at the top of the power pyramid.
How was he connected to Charlotte too?
Could this be Charlotte's backer!
Alexander reached out and put his arm around Charlotte's waist, his thin lips parting slightly.
"Charlotte is my girlfriend."