Chapter 132 #132
Chapter 132
~Shailyn's POV~
I woke up before Dante.
Early morning light filtered through the curtains as I slipped out of bed carefully.
The laptop was still on the nightstand. I'd returned it last night after finishing my work.
Everything copied. Everything secured. Everything ready.
But there was more to do.
I padded downstairs to the kitchen and started cooking.
Scrambled eggs. Toast. Fresh fruit. Coffee.
Comfort food. The kind Dwayne would need after yesterday's accident.
Hannah video called me. I picked up, she was yawning.
"You're up early." She said as soon as she noticed I've picked.
"Couldn't sleep."
"Thinking about Dwayne?"
"Among other things."
"Is he okay?"
"He will be. I'm making him breakfast."
"That's sweet."
"He needs to eat. Hospital food is terrible."
She grabbed a mug. "You're a good person, Shailyn."
"I'm just doing what anyone would do."
"No. You're doing what someone who cares deeply would do." She poured coffee. "Have you thought about what happens after? After all of this?"
"Sometimes. But mostly I'm just focused on surviving today."
"Fair enough."
I packed the food into containers and wrote a quick note.
Eat this. All of it. You need your strength. - S
Then I texted Dwayne.
Me: Made you breakfast. Hannah will bring it to the hospital. Please eat.
His response came quickly.
Dwayne: You didn't have to do that.
Me: I know. I wanted to.
Dwayne: Thank you. How are you feeling?m
Me: Nervous. Today's a big day.
Dwayne: Be careful.
Me: Always.
I gave the containers to the maid. "Make sure he eats everything."
"Yes, ma'am."
Hannah grinned on the call. "You're so domestic when you're in love."
"Shut up."
"Never." Then I cut the call.
\---
Dante came downstairs thirty minutes later, already dressed for work.
"You're up early," he said.
"Couldn't sleep. Made coffee."
"Thanks." He poured himself a cup. "Are you coming to the office today?"
"I thought I would. Work on the project updates."
"Good. I want to review what you did last night."
My heart skipped. "Of course."
"The board meeting is in two days. I need everything perfect."
"It will be."
We drove to the office together.
The whole way, Dante talked about Dwayne. About the accident. About how it reflected badly on the family.
"Someone's targeting us," he said. "First that video at the party. Now this."
"Do you think they're connected?"
"I don't know. But I'm going to find out."
"The police are investigating—"
"The police are useless. I'll handle this myself."
Of course he would.
We pulled into the parking garage.
"I have meetings all morning," Dante said. "But I'll find you after lunch to review the project."
"Sounds good."
He kissed my cheek. "Thank you for helping with this. I know I've been stressed."
"We're a team."
"Yes. We are."
He walked toward the elevator.
I waited until he was out of sight.
Then I headed to my office.
\---
The technical unit was three floors down.
I took the stairs to avoid being seen.
My laptop was already set up. My code already written.
All I needed was access.
I logged into the main server using Dante's credentials the ones he'd so helpfully given me last night.
The company's entire database appeared on my screen.
Financial records. Client contracts. Proprietary algorithms. Everything that made SentientIQ valuable.
Everything built on my father's work.
My hands hovered over the keyboard.
This was it. The nuclear option.
If it wasn't for my father, then it wasn't for anyone else.
I pulled up the terminal window and began typing.
First, a complete backup. Every file. Every byte. Copied to my secure server.
The company's data wasn't going to disappear. Just relocate.
To me.
Where it belonged.
The progress bar crept forward. 10%. 20%. 30%.
This would take twenty minutes.
I set an alert and started the second phase.
The wipe.
I created a cascading deletion script. Elegant. Unstoppable.
It would start with the oldest files and work forward, erasing everything in its path.
Logs. Backups. Cloud storage. Local servers. Everything.
And because I was using Dante's admin access, it would look like he authorized it.
Perfect symmetry.
The backup hit 100%.
I verified the files. All there. All secure.
Then I activated the deletion script.
A single command. One line of code.
Execute.
The screen flickered.
Files started disappearing. Thousands per second.
I closed my laptop and calmly walked back upstairs.
\---
I was in my office, pretending to work, when I heard it.
Shouting.
Running footsteps.
Panic.
Someone screamed from the technical unit. "Everything's gone! The entire database is gone!"
More shouting.
"How is this possible?"
"I don't know! It just started deleting!"
"Stop it! Someone stop it!"
"I can't! The admin override isn't working!"
I stood and walked to my door, opening it slightly.
People were rushing down the hallway. Technicians. Managers. All heading toward Tyler's office.
Perfect.
I grabbed my phone and texted Hannah.
Me: It's happening.
Hannah: Oh my God. Really?
Me: Really. Chaos in 3... 2... 1...
Tyler's voice boomed through the hallway. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT'S ALL GONE?"
"Sir, the entire database. Financial records. Client files. Everything. It's been wiped."
"WIPED? HOW?"
"We don't know! The deletion protocol came from an admin account!"
"WHOSE ACCOUNT?"
Silence.
More silence.
Then Tyler roared. "GET DANTE IN HERE. NOW!"
I closed my door and sat back down.
Breathe. Stay calm. You're just an employee. A bystander.
You know nothing.
\---
Ten minutes later, there was a knock.
Tyler's assistant. "Ms. Belmar? Mr. Belmar Sr. requests your presence. Conference room A."
"Of course. What's this about?"
"I'm not sure. Please follow me."
I gathered my things and followed her.
The conference room was packed.
Tyler sat at the head of the table, face purple with rage.
Dante stood beside him, looking pale and terrified.
Technical staff lined the walls, all looking shell-shocked.
And Gramps. Walked in at the far end. Expression unreadable.
"One of the tech leads spoke up. "Sir, we're running forensics now. Trying to trace the origin."
"How long will that take?"
"Hours. Maybe days."
Tyler slammed his fist on the table. "We don't have days! Do you understand what this means? Every client contract. Every financial record. GONE!"
"Sir, we have backups—"
"Check them!"
The tech lead's face went white. "We're checking now, sir."
Tyler turned to Dante. "This happened on your watch."
"Dad, I swear I didn't—"
"I don't care what you did or didn't do! This is YOUR responsibility!"
Dante looked like he might cry. "I know. I'm sorry. I'll fix this—"
"How? How exactly will you fix decades of lost data?"
No answer.
Gramps finally spoke. "Everyone calm down."
The room quieted instantly.
"Panicking won't solve this," Gramps continued. "We need to think strategically."
"Strategically?" Tyler turned to him. "Our company just got nuked from the inside!"
"I'm aware. Which means this wasn't random. This was deliberate."
"Obviously it was deliberate—"
"No. I mean it was targeted. Sophisticated. Someone who knew exactly what they were doing."
Tyler's eyes narrowed. "You think it was an inside job?"
"I know it was."
"Who?"
Gramps looked around the room slowly.
His eyes passed over the tech staff. The managers. Dante.
Then they landed on me.
And stopped.
My heart hammered.
He stared at me for a long moment.
Then he smiled slightly.
"I know who did this.”