Her Blind Billionaire Daddy

Chapter 2: Beneath the Surface

[Sophia's POV]

Silence had always been my enemy.

Not the kind of silence that came after a productive meeting or a quiet moment of reflection. No, it was the kind that gnawed at you, that wrapped itself around your chest and made it hard to breathe. The silence that followed a question you weren’t ready to answer, a pause too long for comfort, an uncertainty too loud to ignore.

It was exactly that silence that hung in the air of the Voss Industries boardroom.

I sat at the head of the long mahogany table, the heavy weight of my father’s legacy pressing down on my shoulders, as always. My father had built this company from the ground up, shaped it into the tech giant it was today, and then left it to me when he passed. It was supposed to be a moment of triumph, of inheriting something that most people could only dream of. But the truth?

It felt more like a trap.

I could feel their eyes on me—Charles, Thomas, the others—eyes that didn’t quite believe I was capable of handling the responsibility. They might not have said it directly, but it was always there, like a thick fog in every meeting, every conversation. The expectation that I would either rise to the challenge or fall flat. And if I failed? They would be right, wouldn’t they?

"Ms. Voss, are you sure you’re comfortable with this direction?" Charles’s voice sliced through the quiet, the words dripping with the kind of doubt that had become a staple of these meetings. His gray mustache twitched slightly as he folded his arms, his posture always one of authority, one of someone who was used to being listened to. "You’ve only been running things for a few months now. Are you sure you want to push for this merger with TitanTech? There’s a lot on the line here."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. It wasn’t the first time someone had questioned my decision to take this route, and it probably wouldn’t be the last. The merger with TitanTech was bold, but it was the future. If I didn’t act, someone else would.

"Yes, Charles. I’m sure," I said, my voice smooth and unwavering. "Voss Industries needed to evolve, and we needed to lead in the next wave of technology. This merger wasn’t just an option—it was the only way forward."

The tension in the room thickened. I could feel it, the unease of every board member who was still trying to decide whether I had what it took to guide this company. But I wasn’t about to back down. Not now. Not after everything I had done to get here.

I leaned forward slightly, my fingers tapping the surface of the table in a slow, deliberate rhythm. "We’ve spent too long sitting on the sidelines, waiting for the perfect opportunity. We needed to make moves, and we needed to make them now. TitanTech was the right partner, and I wasn’t going to let anyone—" I paused, meeting Charles’s gaze directly, "—convince me otherwise."

There was a moment of silence, the kind that stung, the kind that made it clear I was being watched, evaluated. I could see the doubt in their eyes, but I wasn’t about to give them the satisfaction of seeing me flinch.

Charles opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, the door to the boardroom slammed open with a force that made the table rattle. Ethan, my head of security, stood in the doorway, his face drawn tight, his eyes scanning the room with an intensity that immediately told me something was wrong.

"Ms. Voss," Ethan said, his voice low, urgent. "We’ve got a situation."

My stomach clenched, and for a brief moment, the room felt like it was closing in on me. I didn’t need to ask what kind of situation—it was always something. But never like this.

I stood up from the table, pushing my chair back with a soft scrape. "What’s going on?" I demanded, my tone sharp, focused.

Ethan didn’t hesitate, but his words hit me like a punch to the gut. "There’s been an unauthorized access attempt to the company’s mainframe. But that’s not the worst part."

A cold wave of dread washed over me. Unauthorized access? That wasn’t just a breach; that was an attack. The kind of thing that could cripple everything my father had built. The kind of thing that could bring me down faster than I could blink.

I felt the weight of their eyes on me, the board members suddenly shifting in their seats, whispering to one another. I ignored them, focusing entirely on Ethan.

"What do you mean, that’s not the worst part?" I pressed, my voice steady but my mind racing.

"The access point wasn’t external," Ethan continued, his jaw tight. "It came from inside the building. Someone on the inside, someone who had clearance."

The words echoed in my mind, but they didn’t make sense. An insider? How was that even possible? There were only a handful of people in the company who had the kind of access that would allow them to get that close to our mainframe, and all of them were... trusted. Or so I thought.

I felt a knot form in my stomach, and for the first time in a long while, a wave of doubt crept into my mind. Who could it be? Who would betray me, betray the company?

I couldn’t let myself show it. Not here. Not now.

"Is the situation contained?" I asked, though the words felt hollow in my mouth.

"For now," Ethan said. "But we need to act quickly. We’ve isolated the breach for the moment, but there’s no way of knowing what they took, or what they were looking for."

A chill settled over me, colder than the air in the room. If someone on the inside was involved, this wasn’t just a technical issue—it was personal.

Before I could ask another question, my phone buzzed on the table. I glanced at the screen, the message immediately catching my eye.

We know what you’re planning. And we won’t let you win.

My heart skipped a beat. The message was encrypted, the sender unknown. But that wasn’t what made my blood run cold. It was the tone. The certainty. Whoever had sent it knew exactly what I was doing—knew exactly what was at stake.

I stood abruptly, the chair scraping against the floor as I pushed it back. "Get me the full details on the breach. Now," I snapped, already moving toward the door.

Ethan followed close behind, his face tense. "Right away, Ms. Voss."

But as I turned to leave, something shifted. A cold, creeping sense of unease settled in my bones. Someone was coming after me—after Voss Industries. And I had no idea who.

The room seemed to stretch as I walked toward the exit, my footsteps echoing, the weight of my father’s legacy pressing heavier than ever before.

As I stepped into the hallway, my phone buzzed again. This time, it wasn’t a message. It was a call.

The screen flashed, and I froze. The name on the caller ID made my blood run cold.

Unknown Caller

I hesitated for only a second before answering.

"Hello?"

A cold, mocking voice on the other end sent a shiver down my spine.

"You thought you were safe, Sophia?" it sneered. "You thought you could run the company your father built? Let’s see how long that lasted. Your little merger? It was already too late."