Chapter 1 - The Code in the Dark
My thumb hovered over the screen of my water-damaged phone. Cold drops dripped off my nose, splashing onto the glass surface. Beside me, Diane took a slow, leisurely sip of her hundred-dollar cabernet sauvignon, her pearl earrings glinting in the warm light of a chandelier my trust fund had purchased.
Brendan tapped his fingers impatiently on the edge of the mahogany table. "Cassidy, leave the phone alone. You’re making a mess on the floor. Take the twenty bucks, get a cab, and go home before you embarrass us any further."
Jessica giggled again, leaning her head on Brendan's shoulder. "Careful, Brendan. If she stays any longer, the room's going to smell like wet dog."
I didn't look at them. I didn't utter a single word of defense.
I opened an encrypted satellite messaging application that didn't exist on public app stores. The icon was a plain, unmarked grey square. I pressed my thumb against the biometric scanner, entered a sixteen-digit alphanumeric passcode, and brought up a single, black screen with a flashing white cursor.
I typed two words:
PROTOCOL 7.
I hit send.
The response was instantaneous.
ACKNOWLEDGED. VERIFYING BIOMETRICS... VERIFIED. CASSIDY VANCE, SOLE CONTROLLING SHAREHOLDER OF AETHELARD GLOBAL HOLDINGS. PROTOCOL 7 IS LIVE. ESTIMATED DESTRUCTION OF LOCAL ASSET ACCESS: 120 SECONDS.
I closed the phone and slipped it into my wet handbag. I wiped the filthy, ice-cold water from my eyes with the back of my hand, resting my left hand gently over the curve of my stomach. My baby girl gave a soft, rhythmic nudge against my ribs, as if sensing the sudden stillness in my blood.
Hold on, sweetheart, I thought silently. It’s over now.
"Still sitting there?" Diane sneered, setting her wine glass down with a heavy click. "Honestly, Brendan, where did you find this girl? She has no dignity whatsoever. If someone poured dirty water over me, I would have the self-respect to run away weeping."
"She’s waiting for a tip," Brendan chuckled, shaking his head. "Aren't you, Cassidy? You always were obsessed with every penny. You used to clip coupons when we lived in that tiny apartment, remember? You just can't shake that broke mindset."
"I clipped coupons because you were spending your entire junior executive salary on designer suits to impress men who didn't even know your name," I said softly. My voice was quiet, but in the spacious dining room, it hit like a iron spike.
Brendan’s smile flickered. "Excuse me?"
"You wanted to look rich, Brendan. You always wanted it so badly." I stood up slowly. The brown water pooled around my worn shoes, but I didn't care anymore. My spine was straight, my shoulders back. The meek, soft-spoken Cassidy they had spent four years stepping on vanished in the span of a single breath.
Jessica scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Oh, look. The charity case is trying to sound dramatic. Brendan, call security. Get this crazy woman out of here."
Before Brendan could reach for his phone, the heavy double doors of the dining room didn't just open—they were shoved inward with immense force.
Four men in crisp, tailored charcoal-grey suits stepped into the dining room. Leading them was a tall, silver-haired man wearing gold-rimmed spectacles and holding a sleek black leather briefcase.
It was Arthur Pendelton—the chief legal counsel of Aethelard Global Holdings, a man whose hourly rate exceeded Brendan’s monthly salary.
Diane gasped, her hand flying to her throat. "Mr. Pendelton? What... what are you doing here? This is a private family residence!"
Brendan immediately stood up, adjusting his tie, his face flushing with eager excitement. "Mr. Pendelton! Sir! I'm Brendan Morrison, Senior Vice President of European Logistics! We met at the shareholder summit last year. Is there an emergency at the corporate headquarters?"
Arthur Pendelton didn't even look at Brendan. He walked straight past him, stopping three feet in front of me. He took one look at my drenched hair, my shivering shoulders, and the bucket sitting on the floor.
Arthur’s face turned into a mask of pure, terrifying frost.
May you like
He bowed his head deeply.
"Ms. Vance," Arthur said, his voice echoing off the high ceilings with absolute authority. "Protocol 7 has been initialized. All personal, corporate, and real estate privileges associated with the Morrison family have been revoked effective ten seconds ago."
