From Useless Son-in-Law to Hacker King

The Blame Game

The dining room exploded into chaos. William paced back and forth, phone pressed to his ear. "I don't care if it's Sunday, get back to the office NOW!"

Clara sat frozen in her chair, face pale. "This can't be happening."

Uncle Thomas stood by the window. "Ten million dollars. Where are we supposed to get ten million dollars?"

Robert was already on his feet, taking charge like he always did. "Everyone calm down. Panicking won't solve anything."

"Calm down?" Clara's voice pitched higher. "Our company is being held hostage!"

"Which is why we need to think clearly." Robert pulled out his phone. "I have a contact at CyberShield Security. They handle this kind of thing."

William stopped pacing. "CyberShield? They're expensive."

"Dad, our entire company is encrypted. This isn't the time to worry about cost." Robert was already dialing. Lucas sat in his corner, watching.

Grandmother Eleanor looked confused. "What's happening? What's an encryption?"

Nobody answered her.

Robert stepped away from the table, phone to his ear. Everyone watched him like he was their last hope.

Clara grabbed William's arm. "How did this happen? We have security. We have firewalls."

"I don't know." William sank into his chair. "The IT manager said it was sophisticated. Military-grade."

"Military-grade?" Uncle Thomas's eyes widened. "Who has access to that?"

"Criminals. Hackers. Foreign governments." William rubbed his face. "Could be anyone."

Robert came back, looking grim. "CyberShield can have a team here first thing tomorrow morning."

"Tomorrow?" William stood up. "What about tonight?"

"It's almost nine PM on a Sunday, Dad. But they're prioritizing us." Robert sat down. "They're the best in the business. If anyone can break the encryption, it's them."

"How much?" Clara asked.

Robert hesitated. "Five hundred thousand for the initial assessment."

"Five hundred THOUSAND?" Clara's voice cracked. "Just to look at it?"

"That's standard for this level of attack. If they need to do full recovery..." Robert trailed off.

"How much?" William repeated.

"Two to three million. Maybe more."

The number hung in the air.

William's shoulders slumped. "We don't have that kind of cash right now. Not with the IPO preparation."

"I know." Robert's jaw tightened. "But what choice do we have?"

Clara turned on Lucas suddenly. "This is your fault."

Everyone looked at her.

"What?" Lucas said quietly.

"This!" Clara gestured wildly at the room. "All of this! We never had problems like this before you married into this family!"

"Mom, that doesn't make sense—" Naomi started.

"Doesn't it?" Clara stood up, pointing at Lucas. "Three years ago, everything was fine. Then HE shows up and suddenly we have nothing but bad luck!"

Uncle Thomas nodded slowly. "She has a point. Three years of problems."

Lucas felt his chest tighten.

"That's ridiculous," Naomi said. But her voice was weak. Uncertain.

"Is it?" Clara's voice got louder. "What has he contributed to this family? Nothing! He sits around all day doing NOTHING while we work ourselves to death!"

"Clara, this isn't helping," William said.

But Clara wasn't listening. "A cyber attack doesn't just happen randomly! Someone targeted us! What if it's connected to him?"

"Connected to me?" Lucas finally spoke. "How would I—"

"I don't know! But it's suspicious!" Clara turned to William. "You have to admit, William, the timing is strange."

Lucas opened his mouth to defend himself, then closed it.

What was the point?

"This is insane," Naomi said. She stood up. "Lucas has nothing to do with this."

"How do you know?" Clara demanded. "What do you really know about him? About his past? About where he came from?"

Naomi went quiet.

Because she didn't know.

None of them did.

The silence stretched.

Lucas cleared his throat. "What does the ransom message say? Exactly?"

Everyone turned to stare at him.

Robert's eyes narrowed. "Why?"

"I'm just asking."

"Since when do you care about cyber security?" Robert's voice dripped with sarcasm.

"Robert," William said quietly. Then to Lucas: "Why do you want to know?"

Lucas kept his voice steady. "Maybe it says something. Something that could help identify who did this."

William looked at his phone, scrolling through messages from the IT manager. "It says..." He squinted at the screen. "You took something that wasn't yours. Now I take what's mine." He paused. "Signed with the letter V."

Lucas went completely still.

V.

Victor.

The room faded. The voices became distant.

Five years ago. The Blackwood job. Fifty million dollars sitting in offshore accounts.

Victor's voice: "We could disappear. Live like kings."

Lucas's reply: "This money isn't ours. These people need it back."

The argument that followed. The security guard. The gunshot.

Everything falling apart.

"Lucas?"

Naomi's voice pulled him back.

Everyone was staring at him.

"Are you okay?" she asked. "You look pale."

Lucas blinked. "I'm fine. Just... thinking."

"Thinking about what?" Robert leaned forward.

"Nothing. It's nothing."

Robert stood up. "Dad, I'll coordinate with CyberShield. Get them everything they need."

William nodded. "Thank you, son."

"In the meantime, everyone should go home. Get some rest. Tomorrow's going to be a long day." Robert looked at Lucas. "Some of us have actual work to do."

Laughter. Always laughter at his expense.

The family started dispersing. Making phone calls. Planning. Strategizing.

Lucas stood up quietly and walked toward the kitchen.

Nobody noticed.

In the kitchen, the staff was cleaning up. Lucas grabbed some plates, started helping.

"Sir, you don't have to—" one of the young servers started.

"It's fine." Lucas kept his hands busy.

He waited until they moved to the other room.

Then he pulled out his old Nokia phone.

His hands shook as he typed.

**Victor. After all this time?**

He stared at the message. His thumb hovered over send.

Five years of hiding. Five years of being nobody. Five years of safety.

One message would destroy all of that.

But this wasn't just about him anymore.

This was about Naomi. Her family. The company.

Lucas pressed send.

The response came in seconds.

**Hello, ZERO. Miss me?**

Lucas felt cold.

Another message appeared.

**Did you really think you could hide forever?**

Then another.

**Ten million dollars. That's what you cost me. Time to pay up, partner.**

Lucas's jaw clenched.

He typed: **I returned that money to the people Blackwood stole from. You know that.**

**I know you BETRAYED me. Now I'm going to destroy everything you care about.**

Lucas stared at the screen.

Victor wasn't going to stop. This wasn't about money.

This was revenge.

Lucas looked at the message thread. All the evidence of his old life right there.

He deleted the messages. One by one.

Then he deleted the contact.

Factory reset.

The phone went dark, then showed the setup screen.

Lucas walked to the sink. Looked at the phone in his hand.

Then he dropped it on the floor.

His foot came down hard.

The screen shattered. Plastic cracked.

Lucas picked up the pieces and threw them in the trash. Buried them under coffee grounds and leftover birthday cake.

Some ghosts needed to stay dead.