Chapter 722
Chapter 722:
He explained everything: the plan to infiltrate the Syndicate, the need to sever ties with Skye to protect her, the deal with Julian to act as the handler.
Parker listened, his mouth hanging open.
“So…” Parker pointed his chopstick at Liam. “You’re basically playing the villain to save the girl. That’s… dark. Even for you p>
Parker’s gaze dropped to Liam’s wrist, where blood had soaked through the cuff of his shirt.
“And you let Alistair slice you up?” Parker whispered. “You’re actually bleeding p>
“It sells the lie,” Liam said, glancing at the shallow cut. “Small price p>
Julian clapped his hands. “All right. Story time is over. Liam, your phone. The encrypted one p>
Liam pulled out the burner phone. It was buzzing.
Unknown Number, the screen read.
Liam looked at Julian. Julian nodded.
Liam answered. “This is Kensington p>
A voice on the other end—distorted, metallic, synthetic—spoke. “Mr. Kensington. You’ve made quite a mess. We admire a man who burns his bridges p>
It was the Architect.
“I didn’t burn them,” Liam said, his voice dropping into a cold, hard register. “I blew them up. I need a place to land p>
“We have a task for you,” the voice said. “Prove your loyalty. Bring us the head of Oracle p>
Liam’s blood froze. “Skye p>
“No,” the voice said. “Not the woman. The code. The source code for her predictive algorithm. We know the only offline copy is stored on a Hardware Security Module in her penthouse safe p>
“Consider it done,” Liam lied.
𝘚ha𝗋𝘦 𝘆𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝖺𝘃о𝘳𝗶tеs from 𝖻𝗲.с𝘰m
He hung up.
“They want the algorithm,” Liam told Julian.
“Give them a fake,” Parker piped up. “I can code a trojan horse that looks like the Oracle source code. Once they upload it to their network… boom. We own them p>
Liam looked at the kid. “Can you do it in twelve hours p>
Parker looked nervous, rubbing his hands on his jeans. The trauma of the last few days still lingered in his eyes. “I… I can try. I need coffee. A lot of coffee p>
The news of Liam’s escape hit the city like a meteor.
MANHUNT UNDERWAY FOR LIAM KENSINGTON. ARMED AND DANGEROUS.
Skye stood in the boardroom of Kensington Global. The room was packed with panicked directors.
“He’s gone!” one shouted. “The stock is worthless! We’re ruined p>
“Quiet!” Skye slammed her hand on the table.
The room fell silent. She looked around, her eyes blazing. She wore a white suit, a stark contrast to yesterday’s funeral black. She looked like an avenging angel.
“Liam Kensington is gone,” she said, her voice steady. “But this company is not just one man. It is thousands of employees. It is infrastructure. It is legacy p>
“And who is going to lead us?” a director sneered. “You? The CEO of our biggest competitor p>