Chapter 98
Seraphine's POV
Pain. My arm was on fire, a searing agony as if some wild beast were tearing at the flesh. I tried to force my eyes open, but I had no strength.
A cacophony of voices swirled around me.
"The wound is too deep, it needs stitches!"
"Quick, she's losing too much blood, get the hemostats!"
So many strangers, their voices urgent, sounding like doctors. Was I in a hospital? What about Octavius?
"If you can't stop the bleeding, get someone who can! Use the best medicine you have! How long until she wakes up? Stitch it, but there can't be a scar, or everyone in this department is fired!"
That was Octavius's voice.
No, it couldn't be. He would never sound so frantic, so worried about me. It must be a hallucination, brought on by the pain. Before I could make sense of it, my consciousness faded again.
When I came to, the first thing I noticed was the sterile smell of antiseptic mixed with the faint, coppery scent of blood. I opened my eyes to a stark white ceiling. My arm felt heavy, thickly wrapped, a dull, burning sensation radiating from beneath the bandages.
I was in a hospital, but I was alone. Did Octavius just drop me off and leave?
Suddenly, the phone on the bedside table shrieked, startling me. I reached for it with my uninjured arm. It was Soren. My brow furrowed. For him to call me now, knowing I was in the hospital, it had to be an emergency.
"What's wrong?" I answered immediately.
"Ms. Whitaker, it's bad!" Soren's voice was a panicked rush. "I had people monitoring Orion's overseas account, but somehow, it just… disappeared!"
"Disappeared?" A knot of unease tightened in my stomach. I gripped the phone tighter. "What exactly happened? Did they realize they were being watched and close it?"
"No, I checked. There's no record of it being closed. It's like they used some kind of technology to completely cloak it." His voice grew more agitated, laced with self-reproach. "They interfered with our tracking right before they vanished. Ms. Whitaker, they found us."
My heart sank. A cold, prickling dread spread through me, so intense it numbed the pain in my arm. This was wrong. This was all wrong. If Orion discovered he was being monitored, his first move would be to erect a firewall, not to simply disappear.
I took a deep breath. "Soren, tell me, after your people saw the account vanish, did they continue to pursue it? Did they forget to hide their own IP information?"
"Yes." he stammered, his voice trembling. "Ms. Whitaker, what's happening? Don't scare me. Did I screw up?"
My heart pounded, but I forced myself to remain calm. "He did it on purpose. He knew that when you saw the account disappear, you'd be so focused on tracking it that you wouldn't think to protect your own IP." If I was right, Orion had already locked onto Soren's team and was initiating a counter-trace.
Soren gasped. "Ms. Whitaker, are you saying my people are exposed?"
"They shouldn't be, not yet." I said, my mind racing. I glanced at the laptop on the table. "Have your team transfer the IP server to my computer. Now! I'll divert the trace and then wipe it. They won't be able to find anything."
"No!" Soren protested immediately. "That's too risky! You'll be exposed!"
"It's better than your people getting caught. Send it now. I'm at the hospital, using their network. They won't be able to pinpoint me among so many users." I commanded, then hung up before he could argue further.
I tossed the phone aside and, gritting my teeth against the pain, grabbed the laptop. I had to stay calm. From the moment he faked his death, Orion had been plotting to seize the company. A man that cunning, that meticulous, would stop at nothing to hunt down any threat.
But my identity was my shield. I was a Whitaker, yes, but only in name—Heath's adopted daughter, with no blood ties. He would never suspect me, the fake heiress, of uncovering his and Amara's conspiracy. He would never imagine that his elaborate plans, set in motion since his supposed death, could be dismantled by an insignificant counterfeit.
Helping Heath was helping myself. Once Amara and Orion's plot was exposed, she would be cast out. As for Brielle, she would be isolated, out of favor with Heath, and I could finally begin to settle the scores of my past life.
With that thought, I calmly opened the laptop. Every movement sent a jolt of agony through my arm, but I ignored it. I logged into the tracking program and saw it immediately: a reverse-trace system, one of the most advanced I had ever seen, had been installed on the server. They would be here any minute.
The tearing pain in my arm intensified. There was no time to think. I initiated the self-destruct sequence, wiping the entire system clean.
The moment I hit the final enter key, I heard a rush of hurried footsteps in the hallway. Had they found me already?
A cold sweat broke out on my forehead. I snapped the laptop shut, shoved it under the covers, and was just pulling my hand out when the door was thrown open.
Amara stood in the doorway, her face a mask of shock and suspicion.
Our eyes met. She froze.
"What are you doing here?"