Chapter 106
Robert’s point of view
Julie said nervously, avoiding eye contact:
"Not yet... but I will finish soon."
She returned to her seat with a quick movent and drowned in the papers again to escape my gaze.
I sat in my leather chair and began watching her from the corner of my eye; I followed the knitting of her brows every ti she encountered a suspicious number, and how she bit the end of her pen while lost in thought, as if she were in a battle with those numbers.
Not long after, her movent froze completely at the file of "Digital Ops" company.
I saw her reread the page three tis, then she whispered, pointing to the data table with a hesitant voice:
"Mr. Robert... can I ask you about sothing here?"
I pointed with my hand to the small space beside my seat and said in a calm voice:
"Co here."
She rose from her chair and stepped toward with cautious steps, then stood right beside .
She placed the file on the desk in front of and leaned her body slightly to point at the numbers; the scent of her delicate perfu wafted the sa lavender scent, I think this is her favorite perfu.
She asked in a tone shrouded in caution:
"This tech company... why are they paying massive amounts for ’ergency updates’ on official holidays? And why are there no detailed invoices for these updates?"
I looked where her small index finger was pointing, and felt a sting of genuine interest running through my body; she had laid her hand exactly on the "wound" without realizing it.
Those mysterious updates were nothing but a cover for planting that damn code Sterling had told about.
I said in a deep voice, trying to test the pulse of her intelligence and intuition:
"Perhaps it is just an administrative flaw... what do you think?"
She shook her head in absolute refusal and turned to spontaneously, making the strands of her hair almost touch my shoulder, and said:
"I don’t think so... this looks like soone was trying to enter the system stealthily and paying for the programrs’ silence. Look, Mr. Robert, the amounts were withdrawn from the ergency account, sothing companies only do in cases of disasters... or scandals."
My eyes glead with a spark I couldn’t suppress; she was amazing in her analysis.
I remained silent for seconds, watching her professional enthusiasm, while her proximity to ford a different kind of pressure on my nerves.
I said as I slowly pulled the file from under her hand, trying to maintain that stiff, official look despite my internal admiration for her precision:
"Good observation... leave this file to , and continue with the rest of the statents."
She nodded calmly and went back to sit in her place, where she imrsed herself in work again in silence.
As for , I began auditing the numbers she had pointed out with doubled focus, feeling my jaw tighten strongly; the threads were connecting with terrifying clarity.
I muttered to myself threateningly:
"Today, the matter of this company will end."
I pulled my phone from my jacket pocket and pressed Daniel’s number. As soon as the line opened, I said in a low voice, sharp as a blade:
"Daniel, listen to well... we have a filthy breach in ’Digital Ops.’
They exploited a loophole in the ergency accounts to pass phantom updates, and the goal was to pull highly sensitive encrypted files belonging to the protected witnesses database.
I want you to put the cybersecurity team on high alert; trace the financial path of those ’ergency’ updates, and find the programr who signed off on those orders before he disappears. I want his na and address on my desk before sunset."
I paused for a second, then added in a tone that accepted no argunt:
"Close the digital exit points of the company; I don’t want a single bit of information to leave their servers from now on... move!"
Julie’s Point of View
I raised my head slowly, watching his stiffened features as he spoke with a terrifying coldness to soone nad "Daniel."
He was talking about a "witness data breach" and "closing exit points," as if human lives and destinies were nothing but numbers he moved on a chessboard.
I muttered to myself in astonishnt:
"What is this man? His influence seems to know no bounds."
I couldn’t pull my eyes away from him; he looked eerily calm despite the gravity of the situation, a calm that precedes the storm.
Even the way he held his phone was strange and different; he was pressing his thumb on the screen with focus, while the rest of his long fingers were closed tightly and firmly, as if he were gripping the neck of an invisible opponent.
Suddenly, as he was closing the phone, he raised his gaze directly toward with a hawkish glint.
I froze in my place, and felt my heart’s blood gathering in my face, which ignited with embarrassnt.
He said in a deep voice that pierced the silence of the office:
"Is there a problem?"
From my sheer confusion, the pen slipped from between my trembling fingers to strike the desk surface, producing a tap that exposed my tension, before rolling and falling to the floor.
I said in a hoarse voice that I struggled to keep from trembling:
"No... not at all."
I imdiately buried my head in the papers, feeling my breath quicken as I tried to pretend to be busy.
My God, did he see while I was staring at him with all that amazent? Did he notice how I was contemplating the details of his hand and his features?
I reprimanded myself inwardly as I felt the heat of my cheeks:
"No, I wasn’t staring at this monster... impossible! I was only listening to what he was saying, it was curiosity that drove ... yes, just curiosity."
But despite myself, the image of his strong grip and his commanding tone of voice was still echoing in my mind.
Robert straightened up and took one last look at the watch on his wrist before saying in his deep voice:
"Alright, I’m going out now... will you finish the files soon?"
I raised my gaze to him with difficulty, feeling the heaviness of my eyelids, but I nodded my head:
"Yes, I will... not much is left."
He settled for saying "Alright" before turning and exiting the office with his majestic calmness.
As soon as the door closed, I exhaled air I had been holding in my chest and drowned again in the sea of numbers.
It took two full hours of lethal concentration; I felt my feet like blocks of numb wood, while the pain in my shoulders extended like cold knives reaching my neck.
I gathered the papers in precise order, making sure to attach every note to its specific file, my hand trembling slightly from the sheer exhaustion.
I wondered to myself spitefully:
"Where did that bitch Olivia disappear to today?",
but I quickly dismissed the thought of her; the absence of her provocative face was the only reward I had received.
I exited the office, my body staggering in search of a bed, but suddenly... I froze in the hallway.
A mad idea sprouted in my mind, an idea that made the blood rush in my veins and temporarily drove away the sleepiness:
"I will go to Robert’s room... maybe I’ll find a hidden phone there."
I swallowed hard, feeling my heart thumping loudly against my ribs.
Robert is out, and this is my golden opportunity that will not be repeated.
Despite my certainty that this step might lead directly to hell or end with a bullet in my head, my curiosity and despair were stronger.
I moved with cautious steps, ignoring the sting of pain in my tired feet that led , as if they possessed a mind of their own, toward his private suite.
I was looking behind with every movent, my breath coming out disturbed and short, while my hand extended toward his cold door handle... and the trembling controlled my entire body.
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