“Everything ready?” Cassandra’s voice came from behind him, soft but laced with that familiar mixture of authority and warmth. She stood beside him in a tailored navy suit, the same color as her eyes, which seemed to reflect the ambition and brilliance of the moment. Her presence was a grounding force, a silent affirmation that Nathan wasn’t alone in this climb.Nathan nodded, a small smile tugging at his lips. “Launch sequence is prepped. The board has been briefed. Marjorie’s event planning team is on standby, and our PR strategy is live. All I have to do is make the announcement.”Cassandra reached for his hand. “Then let’s make history.”---Inside Hayes Telecom headquarters, the atmosphere was electrifying. Engineers, developers, and executives moved in synchronized urgency, their faces lit by the glow of holographic screens displaying schematics and real-time data. Nathan strode through the innovation lab, his presence commanding yet approachable. He paused in front of the main

“Breach status?” Nathan asked, his voice calm but edged with quiet command.“Contained, sir,” replied Lucas, head of cybersecurity. “All unauthorized tunnels from the eastern proxy are sealed. The intrusion source has been neutralized.”Nathan’s jaw tightened slightly. He had expected Liam wouldn’t stop after being ousted from the company, but the audacity of this latest attack—an attempt to infiltrate the innovation project’s prototype blueprints—proved that desperation had replaced reason.Cassandra entered, tablet in hand, her hair loosely tied, her eyes sharp with fatigue and triumph. “The system logs confirm it. The breach was routed through an anonymous network in Montenegro. The same signature we traced last week—Liam’s hacker.”Nathan exhaled, a restrained satisfaction flickering in his eyes. “He’s getting sloppy.”“Or desperate,” Cassandra said, walking beside him. “I’ve already drafted a statement to the press—subtle enough to expose the attempt without revealing internal vu

In the morning Cassandra was already there, leaning over a digital map projected on the wall, her brow furrowed in concentration. The map displayed a web of supply chain nodes, shipping routes, and flagged operatives.“Nathan,” Cassandra said, pointing at a cluster near the city’s logistics hub, “I traced the disruption to a local contact. This is the operative Liam used to divert the shipments. It’s a small network, but if we act fast, we can stop further sabotage.”Nathan exhaled, a mixture of relief and determination. “Good work, Cassandra. How soon can we mobilize?”“Within hours,” she replied, tapping her tablet. “I’ve already contacted a discreet logistics team. We can reroute the shipments, secure the vulnerable partners, and isolate the operatives.”Nathan nodded, a faint smile breaking his normally reserved expression. “Let’s make sure this is airtight. I don’t want Liam having even the slightest chance to interfere again.”As Cassandra organized the rerouting operations, Nat

Liam’s cabin was small, isolated, and barely furnished. The only light came from a flickering laptop screen, casting shadows across the walls that seemed to shrink with every frustrated movement he made. The weeks since Nathan’s global expansion had been merciless—every attempt to disrupt Hayes Telecom’s operations had failed. His operatives were scattered, some disillusioned, others simply vanished. Desperation was gnawing at him, but Liam’s mind, sharp as ever, refused to surrender.He had found a glimmer of hope: an overseas investor known for high-risk ventures, shady dealings, and connections in markets where Nathan’s influence was still consolidating. Reaching out was dangerous; the man’s reputation bordered on criminal, and loyalty was a currency often paid with deception. But Liam had no choice. If he was to make a move that could destabilize Hayes Telecom, he needed capital, infrastructure, and operatives he could barely source on his own.After hours of encrypted communicati

In a dimly lit hideout surrounded by humming servers, Liam stared at the flickering monitor in disbelief. His cyberteam—once a handful of confident freelancers promised easy money—sat frozen behind their screens, their faces pale in the glow of cascading red warnings.“It’s overloading,” one whispered. “Their firewall’s replicating our input keys. Every time we breach a layer, it regenerates.”“Keep going!” Liam barked, pacing behind them. His knuckles whitened as he gripped the edge of the metal table. “Override the loops. Push the packet flood.”The tech shook his head. “We’re locked out, sir. The system’s responding… like it knew we were coming.”And it did.Nathan had set the trap, a web of decoy servers disguised as primary targets. When Liam’s code made contact, it was rerouted and contained. The firewalls didn’t just block—it mirrored their every move, recording every byte. The entire attack had become evidence against them.A high-pitched beep sounded across the room. One of t