Chapter 59 THE DISCOVERY

Chapter 59 THE DISCOVERY


Adeline's POV

The silence in my office was deafening.

Everyone stared at the equipment hidden behind my bookshelf, then at me.

Kayden's face had gone from pale to ashen. "Adeline. Explain. Now."

"I can—"

"You're Midnight Cerulean." His voice was flat, shocked. "The hacker we've been hunting. You've been here the whole time."

"Kayden, I didn't do the attacks—"

"You didn't do them?" Marco's voice was sharp.

"You have a professional hacking setup hidden in your office! You're telling us this is a coincidence?"

Dr. Chen was examining the computers. "This is definitely professional grade. Custom built. This is the kind of setup Midnight Cerulean would use."

"Because it is," I said quietly. "I am Midnight Cerulean. But I didn't do the attacks."

Russio stepped forward. "How long?"

"How long what?"

"How long have you been Midnight Cerulean?"

"Ten years. Since I was eighteen."

"And you never thought to mention this?" Kayden's voice cracked.

"When you married me? When you sat in family meetings discussing how to catch this legendary hacker?"

"I couldn't. It's not something you just tell people."

"I'm not 'people.' I'm your husband!"

"Who married me for my skills as an assassin! You knew I was Blue Ray. You knew I killed people for money. That's why you wanted me."

Kayden recoiled. "That's not, that was at first. But we became—" He stopped.

"You knew. This whole time. You knew we were hunting you and you said nothing."

"I didn't do the attacks, Kayden. Someone stole my signature. Someone's framing me."

"Convenient," Russio said coldly. "Of course you'd say that."

"It's the truth! Look at the code from the attacks, really look at it. There are mistakes…things I would never do."

Dr. Chen glanced at Russio. "She's right, actually. I noticed anomalies in the code. Whoever did this is good, but they're not quite at Midnight Cerulean's level."

"Or she's lying," Marco said. "Claiming the mistakes were intentional."

"Why would I attack the family I'm married into? What would I gain?"

"Money," one of the specialists said. "Maybe someone paid you."

"I have money. I don't need more."

"Then revenge," Russio suggested.

"Perhaps you blame the Gravanos for something. Orchestrated this marriage to destroy us from the inside."

"That's insane—"

"Is it? You lied about who you are. Infiltrated our family, hid a professional hacking operation in our home." Russio's voice was ice.

"Forgive me if I'm skeptical."

Kayden hadn't spoken. He was just staring at me.

"Kayden," I said softly. "Please. You know me."

"I don't know anything." His voice was hollow. "I thought I knew you. But you've been lying to me every single day."

"Not about everything. Not about us—"

"About everything that matters! You let me hunt for Midnight Cerulean while you were standing right there." He turned away.

"I need air. I can't be in here right now."

He walked out.

I started to follow, but Marco blocked my path. "You're not going anywhere."

"Get out of my way, Marco."

"No. Right now, you're the prime suspect in nine murders."

Russio placed a hand on Marco's shoulder. "Let her go. She's not going to run." He looked at me.

"Are you? Because if you run, it confirms everything."

"I'm not running. I didn't do this."

"Then prove it. Find out who stole your signature."

"How am I supposed to do that when you're treating me like a criminal?"

"Because right now, you are a criminal. Midnight Cerulean has evaded law enforcement for a decade, stolen millions. Whether or not you did these specific attacks, you're guilty of countless other crimes."

He was right.

"We're calling the Council," Russio said. "Emergency meeting in one hour. You'll answer their questions."

The Council meeting was worse than I'd imagined.

Twelve powerful people seated around the table, all staring at me with suspicion, anger, disbelief.

Kayden sat at the far end, refusing to look at me.

Russio stood at the head. "Adeline Gravano is Midnight Cerulean. The legendary hacker."

The room erupted.

"She's been living here?"

"How long has she known?"

"Did Kayden know?"

"Quiet!" Russio's voice cut through the chaos. "Kayden did not know."

All eyes turned to me.

"Explain yourself," Russio said.

I stood. "I am Midnight Cerulean. I've been hacking for ten years but I did not conduct the attacks on this family. Someone stole my signature and framed me."

"Prove it," one of the men demanded.

I pulled up the attack code on the main screen, highlighting the nested loop.

"See this? This is amateur. The logic is clunky. I would never code like this."

Dr. Chen nodded. "She's right. The code is good, but not elegant."

"So someone studied your methods imperfectly," another Council member said.

"Doesn't prove you're innocent."

"Why would I do this? I'm married to Kayden. I live here. If I wanted to steal, I could do it without killing anyone."

"Maybe you wanted more," Marco said.

"I have seven hundred million in my own accounts, from years of legitimate jobs. I don't need money."

That caused a stir.

Russio was watching me carefully. "Then why marry Kayden at all?"

Because he'd threatened Belle but I couldn't say that.

"Personal reasons."

"Not good enough. You want us to believe you're innocent? Stop hiding things."

Before I could respond, one of the specialists burst in, looking panicked.

"Sir! Another attack. Right now. Same targets, the eastern warehouse."

The room went cold.

"Where?"

She pulled up code on the main screen.

The Midnight Cerulean signature was as bold as day.

Everyone turned to look at me.

I was standing right there with them.

"She couldn't have done this," Dr. Chen said slowly. "She's been here with us for two hours. No computer access."

"Unless she automated it," someone suggested.

"No," Dr. Chen shook her head. "This is live. Someone is physically executing this right now, making real-time decisions."

Kayden was staring at me. Really looking at me for the first time since the discovery.

"You couldn't have done this," he said quietly.

"No. Because I've been here with all of you. Proving what I've been saying, someone else is using my signature."

Russio's expression was unreadable.

"Then who? Who has the skill to imitate Midnight Cerulean?"

"Someone inside," I said. "Someone who's been watching, learning and planning."

Dr. Chen's tablet pinged. She looked at it, her face draining of color.

"What is it?" Russio demanded.

"The attacker sent a message. Through the attack code. Addressed to..." She looked at me. "To Midnight Cerulean."

"What does it say?"

She turned the tablet so everyone could see.

"Hello, Adeline. Surprise. Did you really think you were the only one? We've been watching you for years, learning from the best and now we're better.

This family is ours. And there's nothing you can do to stop us. Thanks for the training. - Your Biggest Fan"

Below the message was a photo of Belle, sleeping in her bed.

It was taken tonight with a caption: "Two weeks until she's ours too."

My blood turned to ice.

"Belle," I whispered.

"Who has Belle?" Kayden was on his feet.

"I don't know. But whoever is doing this—they're targeting her. The wedding is in two weeks."

Whatever this was, whatever plan was in motion, Belle was the endgame.