PART 10:

People make mistakes every day. They don’t usually stake their entire career on fixing them. Scarlett met his eyes. What if I told you I’m tired of being the person who sacrifices people for convenience? What if I told you I want to be someone who does the right thing, even when it’s hard? Then I’d say you’re about 4 years too late.

The words hit harder than they should have. Scarlett felt something crack inside her. Some carefully maintained wall that had been holding everything together. You’re right, she said quietly. I am. But I’m here anyway. And I’m asking for your help anyway, because maybe being late is better than never showing up at all.

Mason studied her for a long moment. Then he sighed and pulled the tablet back toward him. The old Helix systems were built on a layered architecture, he said. Most of it got integrated into Orion’s current infrastructure, but there are legacy components that still run in the background.

If Leonard wanted to hide something, he’d put it in those legacy layers where no one thinks to look anymore. Can you access them? Not remotely. You’d need to be physically in the building, connected to the internal network. He pulled out his phone and started typing. I’m sending you coordinates for three server rooms that house the old Helix equipment.

You’ll need admin credentials to get in. I have those. And you’ll need to know what you’re looking for. Leonard’s smart. He won’t have left obvious files labeled evidence of fraud. It’ll be buried in system logs, authentication records, maybe encrypted backup files. Can you walk me through it? Mason looked up from his phone. You want me to help you break into your own company’s servers? I want you to help me find the truth.

He was quiet again, his expression unreadable. Then he finished typing and put his phone away. “I’ll send you a detailed guide tonight,” he said, “step-by-step instructions for accessing the legacy systems and where to look for anomalies. But I’m not going to be there. I’m not setting foot in that building again.

” I understand. Do you? Mason stood up dropping a few bills on the table. Because once you start this, there’s no going back. If Leonard finds out what you’re doing, he’ll come after you the same way he came after me. And you might have more resources than I do, but that doesn’t make you invincible. I know. I hope you do.

He paused at the edge of the booth. For what it’s worth, I hope you find what you’re looking for. Not for me, for whoever his next target would have been. Then he walked out, leaving Scarlet alone with two cups of cooling coffee and the weight of everything she just committed to doing. She sat there for a while longer watching snow fall past the diner windows and thinking about the look in Mason’s eyes when he talked about his daughter.

That fierce protectiveness, that absolute clarity about what mattered. Scarlet had spent her whole life chasing success, building empires, proving she was as good as anyone who’d ever doubted her. And somewhere along the way, she’d forgotten to ask herself why any of it mattered. She paid the check and headed back to Manhattan, where Leonard Graves was probably sitting in his corner office right now thinking he’d won.

He had no idea what was coming for him. Mason’s guide arrived at 11:00 p.m. that night, a 40-page document that read like a treasure map written in code. Scarlet sat at her kitchen counter scrolling through detailed instructions on accessing legacy server systems she didn’t even know still existed in her own building.

The message that came with it was short. “This is everything I can give you. Good luck.” She wanted to write back to thank him, to say something that might bridge the gap between what she’d done and what she was trying to do now, but her fingers hovered over the keyboard until the screen went dark. And in the end, she said nothing at all.

Sleep was impossible. She made coffee she didn’t need and went through Mason’s instructions line by line, memorizing access routes and authentication protocols. The legacy Helix systems were buried three floors below the main server rooms in a part of the building most employees didn’t even know existed. According to Mason’s notes, the equipment was still operational but largely ignored.

A digital ghost town that Leonard had apparently been using as his personal hiding place. At 2:00 a.m. her phone buzzed. Sarah Chen Still working on those encrypted emails. Found something interesting though. Leonard made three trips to the Cayman Islands in the past 6 months. All of them right after major company announcements.

Scarlett wrote back, “Keep digging. I’m going into the legacy systems tomorrow night.” “Are you sure that’s smart?” “If he’s monitoring access logs, he won’t be looking at systems everyone thinks are obsolete.” “Famous last words.” Scarlett almost smiled. Then another message came through from Sarah. “Be careful.

Whoever threatened you wasn’t bluffing.” The memory of that empty parking garage came back. The footsteps that might have been real or might have been her imagination. The fear that had followed her home and stayed. “I will.” She wrote back. Then she turned off her phone and spent the rest of the night preparing for what she was about to do.

👉 [Tap here for the Next Part ] 👈