Chapter 646
Chapter 646:
Lucian looked at Skye, then at the trembling girl. He weighed the risk against the billions locked in Skye’s memory.
“Fine,” he sneered. “She stays. But if you try anything, I send her son a finger p>
He kicked Skye’s leg lightly.
“Get to work,” Lucian ordered, gesturing to the laptop on the desk. “You have one hour to access the accounts. Or I start cutting p>
Skye sat down at the terminal. Her hands shook, but not from fear. The tracker was destroyed. She was truly alone in the dark.
She had to light a flare.
She opened the terminal. She began typing. Not code for a bank transfer, but a search query disguised as a command line, aimed at a specific port she knew Alistair monitored for emergency diagnostics.
System Check: Protocol X-ray. Location: Ironworks Node 4.
It was a desperate ping, a digital shout into the void.
The screams from the adjacent storage room started an hour later. Elara was thorough. Even though Skye had deflected blame, Elara was “verifying” the rest of the staff who had been brought along.
Skye sat at the desk, typing gibberish code into an interface to look busy. Lucian watched her like a hawk from an armchair, his gun resting on his knee.
“You’re typing slowly,” Lucian noted.
“Encryption takes time,” Skye shot back. “Unless you want to trip the biometric lockout and lose the money forever p>
Lucian grunted but didn’t push.
The door opened. Elara dragged Tessa in.
The girl was a mess. Her lip was split, and her apron was torn. She was sobbing, her legs dragging uselessly behind her.
“She’s clean,” Elara announced, wiping blood from her knuckles. “Just scared p>
𝗥𝗼𝘮𝘢𝗇𝗰𝘦 n𝘰𝘷е𝗹s оn 𝗯𝗲𝘭ոov𝗲𝗹𝗌.cоm
“Good,” Lucian said. “Make her useful. Get the Oracle a drink p>
Tessa scrambled to the sideboard, her hands shaking so hard the plastic pitcher rattled. She poured water and brought it to Skye.
As she handed the glass to Skye, their fingers brushed.
“My son,” Tessa whispered, barely moving her lips. “Is he p>
“Safe,” Skye breathed back. “Alistair has him p>
Tessa’s eyes widened. The fear in them vanished, replaced by a sudden, terrifying clarity. The leverage was gone. She was free.
“Don’t react,” Skye whispered. “Wait for my signal p>
Tessa nodded imperceptibly and stepped back.
“What are you whispering about?” Lucian demanded, standing up.
“She asked if I wanted ice,” Skye said smoothly, taking a sip.
Lucian narrowed his eyes. “I don’t like secrets p>
“Then you shouldn’t have kidnapped a cryptographer,” Skye retorted. “Secrets are my trade p>
Lucian walked over to the reinforced door. He looked at the heavy steel bolts.