Chapter 43


    Tihetetective on the case


    fiancée has just found proof that this poor bastard is lying.”


    First battle


    First battle


    I couldn’t believe the luck I had! If Davies had used any otherputer, no camera would have been


    able to catch him. Of course, Davies could deny that he had anything to do with the hacker’s attack, but


    the facts spoke for themselves-he was the mole. I was certain that knowing whichputer had gotten


    infected first, I could match the exact second the spyware had been downloaded, and I bet it would


    match the time mark on the video footage. I couldn’t help but be crazily excited. For the first time in my


    life, I was using my skills and my intelligence for something that mattered. I loved that feeling of being


    useful…


    I strode through the Lan Diamond Corporation’s entrance like a general going home after a victorious


    battle. I was armed with myptop and tablet, and I wouldn’t hesitate to use them against the one trying


    to steal from my contract fiancé. Neil greeted me as I passed the sliding ss door and stepped into the


    corridor. He led me to the back of the interrogation room. Aren was inside, along with two technicians,


    recording Davies’s questioning. Aren smiled as I got closer, and then his eyes shifted to the back side of


    the two-way mirror that allowed us to observe the interrogation.


    I took out my tablet and yed the cleared fragment of the footage. “Here, this is what I’ve found.” I


    turned the screen to Aren.


    He took the tablet from my hand and watched the part I selected closely. I could see his lips curving into


    a proud grin. “Excellent work, beautiful.”


    “Thank you,” I replied, as a blush surfaced on my cheeks.


    Neil’s eyes ping-ponged between Aren and me, our reactions to each other turning his lips into a


    mischievous smirk. He could barely stifle augh, but considering the situation and the fact that I was in


    a good mood, I decided to pretend I didn’t see it.


    Aren passed my tablet onto Neil. “Give it to Ronald. Time to finish this farce.” Neil nodded and ran out of


    the room. Once he closed the door, Aren grabbed my hand and ‘intertwined our fingers. “You must be


    tired, aren’t you?” he asked, looking into my haggard


    eyes.


    He looked no better than I did. I doubted if he even found time to sleep that night. Yet, my heart fluttered


    at seeing his genuine concern. “You look tired too. Shouldn’t you rest so that you can manage your


    company properly?” I raised my eyebrows, giving him a mental nudge. He chuckled. “So you are not


    worried about me, but you are worried about mypany instead?”


    My eyes narrowed. “I worry about yourpany because I know that you are more concerned


    about your business than your health.”


    He shot me an amused nce. “Guilty as charged.”


    A minuteter, we could all observe Mr. Ronald rk in action as he entered the interrogation room with


    my tablet in his hand. He showed the footage to Davies, and our mole finally broke down. He saved us


    all some time and confessed that he was the one who had given the hacker a chance to get into the


    system, but he refused to say who it was. He only said that he got paid


    1/3


    First battle


    twenty thousand dors for the job.


    “Saying the name of the one who hired you won’t save you from losing your position at thepany, but


    it can lower your sentence in jail. Come clean, and it can be good for you, refuse, and you will stay in


    prison longer,” Mr. rk persuaded.


    Davies burst out into hystericughter. “Prison?! I can stay in prison! But I will lose my life if I tell you


    anything else!” Mr. rk nced at the two-way mirror, a grimace twitching in his mouth before his eyes


    turned back to Davies. “We can grant you protection,” he proposed. Davies’sughter became more


    taunting and cold. “Protection?! Are you serious?! I’d rather stay for a year or two in prison than spend a


    lifetime looking over my shoulder!” “It’s your choice then,” Mr. rk hissed and walked out of the room,


    mming the door shut behind him.


    Aren squeezed my hand, a deep frown forming on his forehead. I knew that it wasn’t the result he was


    hoping for. Davies was about to be taken by the police, but the hacker and those who wanted to steal the


    files were still unknown. Even though I used n’s program to track back the one who broke into the


    system, the traces were too weak to follow.


    “So… what now?” I asked hesitantly.


    Aren shrugged. “We’ve already sent announcements considering the stolen project, making sure that if


    anypany on the market used our ideas, they could be instantly changed of giarism. The real


    problem is that the project managers reported that the hacker corrupted some of the files, and it could


    take time to restore them.”


    I turned to stand fully in front of him and touched his arm in aforting gesture. “I’m sorry…”


    Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org.


    “What are you sorry for?” He smiled faintly. “I am truly grateful for all you did.”


    “I wanted to catch that bastard,” I muttered, lowering my head.


    He chuckled and pulled me into a tight embrace. “We will catch that fucker and everyone who stood


    behind this attack… just not today.”


    I smiled inwardly at the word “we” he said. I rested my head on his wide chest while my arms slid around


    his waist. I couldn’t care less whether someone was looking at us or not. I feltfortable with Aren’s


    touch, and I could feel my embrace was what he needed at that moment as well. We were bing a


    team, and I was beginning to like every aspect of it…


    After leaving Davies for the police to handle, Aren and I got back to his office. Neil ordered something


    from the restaurant for us to eat. I didn’t realize how tired I was before I ced my butt on the sofa. Aren


    sat beside me, and I knew that he was even more drained than I was. Since the drop in adrenalin


    revealed the true level of our exhaustion, we ate lunch in silence. I hated this half-victory. I had always


    been ambitious, but Aren might have been much more ambitious than I was. He kept smiling at me


    whenever our eyes met, but his mind was elsewhere. I knew that he was trying to find a way to find out


    who jeopardized his business. Of course, I was aware that he had a long list of enemies, but not


    everyone could pull off a frontal attack on him while covering most of the tracks.


    “I’m sorry,” he said suddenly, pulling me out of the daze. “I know that I promised to listen to your


    presentation, but I don’t think I could give the attention your project deserves.” with everything that had


    been going on recently, I hadpletely forgotten about the presentation I prepared for him. I smiled


    wryly. “That’s OK.”


    Then it hit me. What if I could use my security program to deal with this hacker? Of course, my software


    wasn’t designed to trace back the ones who tried to break into the system, but it was designed to learn


    and apply a type of defense the system needed. If I could add n’s tracker, it would be like giving my


    program a trained watchdog that could bite any hacker in the ass… “I have an idea… We need to make


    some bait for the hacker. We’ll catch him if he tries to steal the files again,” 1 imed agitatedly. Aren


    thought for a moment before replying, “That can be done. Tell me about your n.” “I will ask n, my


    friend from the workshop, to give me his program so I can turn it into a part of my security software.


    n’s baby has already caught the scent of this hacker and will remember it the next time that jerk tries


    to get it. When that happens, the thief will be caught in the system long enough for n’s program to


    track the exact IP address,” I exined. Aren burst outughing. “I love your intelligence and


    wickedness.”


    “I thought that you weren’t capable of loving,” I teased.


    He leaned over me, a smug smirk forming on his full, sexy lips. My heart thundered as he moved closer


    to me, his lips parting. He took a deep breath as if he was preparing to tell me something when his


    phone rang. He frowned in an instant, but we both were aware that he couldn’t afford to not answer


    phone calls in thepany’s current situation. Nheless, his frown deepened when he saw the


    caller’s ID. He exhaled with a growl of annoyance before taking the call.


    “Hello, Grandfather,” he said curtly. I raised my eyebrows. I would say that the old man had chosen the


    worst possible moment to call, but I also knew that he would be ecstatic to find out that Aren’spany


    was in crisis.


    “This Wednesday?” Aren nced at me with question marks in his eyes.


    I wasn’t sure what his question was, but I gave him a faint smile and a nod. He smiled back at me before


    replying to his grandfather. “All right, we’lle to dinner. See you at eight o’clock on Wednesday.”