Chapter 904
Lucian rolled in on a motorized wheelchair, his face drawn and pale, an IV drip attached to the armrest. He looked like death — but his eyes burned with vengeance.
Arthur’s face went white. “A ghost…”
“Not yet,” Lucian said, his voice weak but steady. “But you might be.”
“It’s over, Arthur,” Skye said. “We have the logs. We have the wire transfers. We have Travis’s recording of you admitting to the bribery.”
𝘔𝗈𝗋𝖾 𝗻𝗈𝘃el𝘴 𝗼n 𝘨а𝗹ո𝗈𝗏𝘦𝗅s.co𝗺
Arthur backed against the wall, cornered, looking every bit the trapped rat he was.
“You think you’ve won?” he sneered. “You think I’m the head of the snake? I’m just a scale, Skye. The Architect Protocol has contingencies you can’t even imagine.”
“We’ll deal with it,” Skye said. “But first, we deal with you.”
Sirens wailed in the distance. Real ones.
“I called the Feds,” Skye said. “Corporate espionage, attempted murder, embezzlement. You’re going away for a long time, Arthur.”
Arthur slumped. He looked at her with undisguised hatred. “He will break you, Skye. He broke your father, and he will break you.”
“My father broke because he was alone,” Skye said, her gaze moving to Alistair, then Lucian, then Parker. “I’m not.”
The police burst in. They cuffed Arthur and dragged him out into the flashing lights.
When the sirens finally faded, Skye stood on the porch and breathed in the quiet.
“We did it,” Parker cheered, high-fiving Felix.
“One head cut off,” Alistair said, watching the last police car disappear down the drive. “But the Hydra is still alive.”
“Let’s go home,” Skye said. “I need a drink. And I need to apologize to Julian.”
The celebration at Oracle was subdued. Champagne was poured, but eyes stayed on the exits.
Julian was back at his desk, typing furiously. Travis was asleep on the couch in the corner, worn out from his double-agent role.
“The stock is rebounding,” Julian reported. “With Arthur arrested and Lucian’s miraculous recovery announced, confidence is high.”
“And Liam?” Skye asked.
“Silent,” Julian said. “He hasn’t made a statement. But he did sell the debt on the Tech Park back to us. At cost.”
Skye frowned. “He didn’t make a profit?”
“Not a cent. In fact, considering the legal fees, he lost money.”
“Why?” Skye whispered.
“Maybe he’s not the monster you think he is,” Alistair said quietly, from his place beside her.
Skye looked at him. “Don’t defend him.”
“I’m not,” Alistair said. “I’m just looking at the data. He saved Parker. He protected the land from Arthur. He gave it back. Those are the actions of an ally, Skye — not an enemy.”
“Or a guilty conscience,” Skye said.
The main screen flashed red.
ALERT. UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS.
“What is it?” Lucian snapped, suddenly alert.
“Someone is hacking the mainframe,” Julian said, his fingers flying across the keyboard. “It’s coming from inside the building.”
“Impossible,” Felix said. “We swept the place.”
“It’s a hardline connection,” Julian said. “Server Room B.”
Skye and Alistair ran.
They burst into Server Room B to find it empty — no people, but a laptop sat connected to the main console, its screen scrolling rapidly with code.
“There’s no one here,” Skye said, spinning around.