Chapter 4 - THE BLUE GLOW
Lara froze in the shadows of the doorway.
The blue light cast long, eerie shadows across the rows of leather-bound books.
A small tablet screen illuminated a face.
It was Grace.
The six-year-old was sitting swiveling in Damian’s oversized leather chair.
Her tiny fingers flew across the keyboard with practiced speed.
Lara blinked, unable to process what she was seeing.
A six-year-old child handling corporate security software at two in the morning?
Lara pushed the door open another inch.
"Grace?" she whispered softly.
The child didn't jump. She didn't gasp.
Grace slowly stopped typing and turned the chair around.
Her expression was chillingly calm.
"You're late, Lara," Grace said, her voice entirely devoid of childlike innocence.
Lara stepped fully into the room, her eyes wide.
"Grace... what are you doing?"
"Doing what my mother couldn't," the little girl replied smoothly.
Lara’s breath caught in her throat.
"Your... mother?"
Grace slid off the oversized chair, her patent-leather shoes hitting the rug with a soft thud.
"Viviana is not my mother," Grace said, walking toward the desk edge.
"Viviana is an employee. A very expensive, very greedy employee."
Lara stared at the child, the pieces of a terrifying puzzle beginning to snap together.
"You... you set Viviana up today," Lara realized.
"I tested her," Grace corrected, crossing her small arms. "And she failed miserably."
"She thinks she’s controlling my father, draining his accounts, and playing the grieving fiancée."
"But she doesn't realize my father keeps a second, encrypted ledger."
"And I am the only one who knows the key."
Lara looked down at the tablet screen.
Lines of code and financial routing numbers scrolled past in blinding green and blue light.
"Why are you telling me this?" Lara asked cautiously.
"Because Viviana is planning to get rid of you tomorrow," Grace said bluntly.
"Just like she got rid of Sarah."
"And my father won't lift a finger unless he has irrefutable proof."
"So, we help each other," Lara whispered, kneeling down to eye level with the child. "Right?"
Grace stared into Lara’s eyes for a long, tense moment.
Then, a small, genuine smile touched the corners of the child's mouth.
"Right," Grace agreed. "Download the transfer logs from the primary server."
"If Viviana notices, we blame the firewall glitch."
Lara reached for the keyboard.
Her fingers flew across the keys, inputting the commands Grace dictated.
Progress bars filled the screen.
Five percent.
Twenty percent.
Fifty percent.
Suddenly, the study door flew open with a deafening crash.
The hallway lights flooded the room.
Damian Hollis stood in the doorway, his face pale and thunderous.
His eyes locked onto Lara standing over his private terminal.
May you like
And then onto his daughter.
"What," Damian said, his voice dangerously low, "is going on here?"
