The Contract Ex-Husband of Wealthy Widow

Chapter 17: Ghost in the Machine

"This doesn't make sense!" Raka snorted, his eyes sweeping across the endless rows of numbers on the laptop screen.

His hands trembled as he poured coffee into a cup, even though it was nearly midnight. The data he had copied from the data tap flooded the screen—thousands of lines of seemingly ordinary financial transactions, stock reports, investment portfolios—it all felt like a pile of meaningless garbage. Ms. Thorne had given him a cold smile earlier, a piercing smile, and a bad premonition kept gnawing at him. Sensitive reports. What did that woman want?

His head throbbed. He had tried to analyze it, looking for patterns, but all of this was just like an ocean of numbers drowning him. Where is the key, Elena? Where is the common thread? Frustration choked him. He wasn't a hacker; he was just an ordinary financial analyst now caught in a war he didn't understand. Every wasted second felt like Darma was one step closer. Raka remembered Ms. Thorne's threatening gaze, the bad premonition that continued to gnaw at him. That woman knew something.

If only Leo were here, he thought. Leo could surely cut through this chaos. However, he had promised himself not to drag Leo into danger anymore. The guilt of involving his friend still haunted him. No, I have to be able to do this myself. This is my job. He took a long breath, pressing his forehead.

"You look like a cat that lost its ball of yarn." A message appeared on Raka's burner phone, making his heart leap. Raka flinched, dropping his coffee cup. Fortunately, the cup was empty. He gripped the phone, his eyes widening. The message was from Lena, the Ghost. How did she know? Was she watching me? A sense of dread mixed with a slight relief. He wasn't entirely alone.

"What do you know?" Raka typed quickly, his fingers trembling.

"I know you've been up for two nights trying to read the data we gathered from your tap," Lena replied, incredibly fast. "And I know you're about to give up, right? Don't worry, that's normal. The Architects design their systems to confuse. It's a labyrinth, Raka."

A labyrinth. Raka stared at his laptop screen, truly feeling like he was lost in a maze. "So, are you going to help me?" he asked, half-hoping, half-suspicious. Elena had said Lena would help him, but this was how? Appearing suddenly like a ghost.

"Of course," Lena replied. "We're a team, remember? It's just that I prefer working from behind the scenes. I don't like it if Darma knows I exist." There was a slight tone of amusement in her message, or perhaps Raka was just imagining it. "Look, I've already downloaded the raw data you sent through your secure channel. It seems your tap is working well."

Raka felt a bit proud. At least that worked. "How do I know this isn't another trap from Elena? Or from the Architects themselves?"

"Good question," Lena answered, her message suddenly feeling more serious. "Elena is indeed an expert at manipulation. And the Architects... they are everywhere. But I'm different. I'm here because I hate what they do, Raka. I'm here because I was once their victim."

Those words hit Raka hard. A victim? Lena, the mysterious Ghost, who was so cold and efficient, had also been a victim of the Architects? It added an unexpected layer of vulnerability to the Ghost's image. She wasn't just an ally; she was also a victim. Just like Bianca. Just like Mrs. Anya. Raka's empathy surged, momentarily overcoming his suspicion.

"What did they do to you?" Raka asked, unconsciously.

There was a long pause this time. Raka waited, tense. Had he crossed a line? Maybe Lena wouldn't answer.

"It's not important right now," Lena finally replied. "What matters is what we can stop them from doing to others. Listen. I've analyzed the fund flow patterns. Focus on transactions involving subsidiaries with names similar to... mythological creatures. Or weapons."

Raka frowned. Mythological creatures? Weapons? Was there dark humor there, or did the Architects just have a strange taste in art? He scrolled through his laptop screen, starting to search for the keywords Lena suggested. It was like looking for a needle in a very, very large haystack.

He scrolled through the data, his eyes tired. Pegasus? Hydra? He began to feel desperate. "Nothing," he typed. "Just numbers that make my eyes sting."

"Try 'Chimera'," Lena suggested. "That's the code for their most recent operation. A terrifying hybrid creature, right?"

Raka typed "Chimera" into the search bar. One... two... three... His heart pounded. A result appeared. Then two. Then dozens. The entire spreadsheet lit up with yellow highlights. Project Chimera. A name that kept appearing in massive fund transfers, small company acquisitions, and strange market research reports.

"I found it!" Raka typed, a mix of disbelief and adrenaline. This wasn't nonsense anymore. This was real.

"Good," Lena replied. "Now, look at the data related to this Project Chimera. Their target companies. There's one pattern there that is absolutely horrifying."

Raka followed Lena's instructions, separating the Chimera data from the rest of the chaos. He saw a row of strange company names, all medium-sized, all on the brink of bankruptcy or serious financial trouble. The Architects, through Cerberus, deliberately weakened them, then took over. And now, there was a new name that kept appearing, more frequently than the others, more prominent. A struggling tech company with great potential, yet burdened by suspicious debt.

VanceTech.

Raka read VanceTech's financial reports. Nonsensical debt, misguided investments, and a series of very poor management decisions, all within a short period. Too perfect to be a coincidence. Just like Bianca's case, just like Mrs. Anya's case. The Architects didn't just destroy individuals; they destroyed companies, plundered innovation, and oppressed visionaries.

"VanceTech," Raka typed, his voice low, like a whisper. "And its CEO... Julianna Vance."

"Bingo," Lena replied. "Julianna Vance. A tech genius who suddenly made a series of strange, bad decisions. The company is dying. The Architects have already trapped her."

Raka remembered Julianna. The woman with golden hair and sharp green eyes he had met at the gallery. The woman who looked at him with curiosity. Good art can make people think hard. Especially about things they don't want to think about. Raka remembered her slight smile, her dazzling intelligence. Regret washed over him. She was the next victim.

"Darma," Raka typed. "Is he involved in this Project Chimera?"

There was another short pause from Lena. "Darma is a shadow. He's always involved if there's a 'liquidation' that needs to be done. He ensures the targets don't make a scene." The message felt cold, terrifying.

Raka stared at the VanceTech data, then at Julianna Vance's name. So, that woman, whom he had once talked to about art, who made him feel a little... human again in the midst of all this madness, was the next target? Darma must have been watching Julianna too, just as he was watching Raka. Their meeting at the gallery—was it a coincidence? Or had the Architects already planned something?

I have to warn her. The urge arose, strong and urgent. He couldn't let Julianna become another Bianca. He couldn't just watch the Architects destroy again. Anger burned within him, a rage stronger than his own fear.

"How can the Architects be so cruel?" Raka asked Lena, more of a complaint than a question.

"They see the world as a chessboard, Raka," Lena answered. "And we are just pawns. But sometimes, a pawn can become a queen." There was a strange note of optimism in her message. "You've opened the gate, Raka. Now we must go in and destroy their nest."

Raka stared at his phone, then at the laptop screen filled with Project Chimera data. Lena was right. This was no longer just about gathering evidence. This was about saving someone. Saving Julianna. A heavy responsibility rested on his shoulders, the responsibility not to repeat past mistakes. He couldn't let Darma get to that woman.

He opened the secure communication app Elena had given him. His fingers danced across the screen. He had to report this. To Elena. But the thought of Darma getting closer made his stomach churn.

What would Elena say? Would she tell him to just observe? Or... did she already have another plan for Julianna? Raka closed his eyes. He thought of Darma, then Elena's mysterious face, and the image of the brilliant yet now threatened Julianna Vance. A high-stakes gamble had just been placed.

"Project Chimera. Target: Julianna Vance," Raka typed to Elena, feeling a cold shiver down his spine. "We must move fast." He knew the Architects' cycle of death and deception would never stop unless someone stopped it. And he, Raka, might be the only hope. But as he sent that message, a strange feeling washed over him. Not just the danger from the Architects, but also an inevitable sense of attraction to Julianna. Was this a mission, or was another destiny at play?