Dangerously Yours

One Step Closer

Adrian stepped closer, studying the monitors. “Can you identify them?”

“Not yet.” Damien’s fingers moved rapidly across the keyboard. “Whoever this is knows how to cover their tracks. Every time I try to trace the source, they redirect the connection.”

“Then stop chasing them and protect the system.”

Damien glanced at him. “Thank you for that brilliant piece of advice. I don’t know how I would have managed without you.”

“Do you want me to find someone else?”

“No, thank you. I suddenly feel inspired.” Damien turned back to the screen.

His exhaustion had not disappeared, but his focus had sharpened. He immediately isolated the most vulnerable sections of the network, cutting them off from the rest of the system before the attacker could move any further.

“I’m separating the compromised servers from the main network,” he explained.

One of the cybersecurity officers watched the monitors closely. “Will that stop them?”

“It’ll slow them down. Now we need to figure out which access points they’re using.”

Several windows opened across the screen, displaying streams of data and network activity.

Damien’s eyes moved quickly from one screen to another.

“There.” He pointed toward one of the connections. “They’re trying to move through the internal database.”

Adrian’s expression hardened. “Block it.”

“I’m working on it.” Damien activated another security protocol, and the suspicious connection disappeared.

For a moment, everything seemed quiet.

Then another alert flashed across the screen.

UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS DETECTED.

Damien sighed. “They found another route.”

He redirected the suspicious traffic into a restricted section of the network, preventing it from reaching the company’s main databases.

“Keep them contained,” he instructed the officers. “And don’t shut down the entire system. We still need the important departments running.”

“Yes, sir.”

The officers immediately followed his instructions.

Damien continued working, blocking one attempted entry after another. Each time he closed a route, the attacker searched for a different way in.

“They’re persistent,” he muttered.

Adrian glanced at the screen. “Can you stop them completely?”

Damien gave him an annoyed look. “Are you doubting my skills?”

“Right now, I am.”

“What a comforting statement, Adrian.”

Adrian ignored him.

Another warning appeared.

DATABASE ACCESS ATTEMPT.

Damien’s expression immediately became serious. “They’re trying to reach the confidential database. Not if I get there first.”

His fingers flew across the keyboard as he placed another layer of security between the attacker and the database. He locked the database behind an additional authentication barrier and disabled the unauthorized connections attempting to reach it.

The warning disappeared.

Damien watched the screen carefully.

“Come on…”

Nothing happened.

He waited, his eyes fixed on the network activity.

Then another connection attempt appeared. “Got you.”

He blocked it immediately before it could progress. The cybersecurity officers watched him work in silence as he began identifying and terminating the remaining suspicious connections.

One by one, the number of active threats decreased.

“Sir,” an officer said, looking at his monitor, “the activity is dropping.”

“I see it.”

Damien initiated a comprehensive security scan, checking the external perimeter, internal servers, and affected systems.

Adrian remained beside him. “How long?”

“A few seconds.”

The scan continued.

Damien watched the progress bar until it finally reached one hundred percent.

He examined the results carefully.

“No unauthorized access to the confidential files.” He checked another screen. “Financial records are secure.”

He moved to the employee database. “Employee information is secure too. Nothing appears to have been stolen.”

Adrian’s shoulders relaxed slightly. “Are they still inside?”

Damien ran one final check, examining every active connection.

One by one, the remaining suspicious connections disappeared.

He leaned back in his chair. “They’re out.”

“Completely?”

Damien gave the screen one last look before nodding. “Completely.”

The room finally seemed to breathe again.

The cybersecurity officers exchanged relieved glances as the warning messages disappeared from their monitors.

Damien rubbed his exhausted face and let out a long sigh. “Done.”

Adrian glanced at him briefly before turning toward the head of the cybersecurity department.

A faint smile appeared on his lips. “Mr. Logan, if Damien hadn’t been in my office when you called, what would you have done to stop the attack?”

Louis Logan immediately began sweating.

The entire department fell silent.

No one dared to speak. Even Damien, who remained seated at the workstation, watched the exchange with a faint, knowing smile.

Logan opened his mouth, but no words came out.

Adrian waited a few seconds before his smile widened slightly. “No reply?”

His voice remained calm, which somehow made the atmosphere even more frightening.

“Without Damien, that hacker would have gotten further into the system and could have accessed confidential credentials and company files.”

He slowly looked around the room. “So you’re telling me that the people I’m paying to protect my company’s systems can’t even handle a cyberattack without Damien’s help?”

No one answered.

Adrian’s smile disappeared. “It seems you’ve all gotten too comfortable in your seats. Perhaps it’s time I changed the hands running this department.”

Cold sweat trickled down Logan’s back. He immediately dropped to his knees.

“Mr. Vale, please. The hacker was too strong. We tried everything we could to stop them.”

Adrian remained silent for a moment before nodding slightly. “I know.”

Logan slowly looked up, a flicker of hope appearing in his eyes.

“That hacker was skilled,” Adrian continued. “Very skilled, in fact. Even Damien had to work to push them out of the system.”

Damien glanced at Adrian but said nothing.

Adrian’s expression hardened. “But that’s exactly why I have a cybersecurity department.”

He looked around at the employees.

“You’re not here to handle simple attacks alone. You’re here to protect this company against every kind of threat, including attacks from people far more skilled than you.”

No one dared to speak.

“You were caught off guard today. You struggled to contain the attack, and if Damien hadn’t been available, I don’t know how much further that hacker would have gotten.”

His gaze settled on Logan. “So don’t mistake my expectations for me underestimating the attacker. I know how skilled they were.”

His voice grew colder. “But being faced with a skilled attacker is not an excuse for being unprepared.”

Logan swallowed hard.

“And you just said you tried?” Adrian chuckled quietly. “You were barely holding them back when we arrived. Are you telling me that without Damien, this entire department can’t protect itself?”

Logan lowered his head, unable to answer.

Adrian stared at him for another moment. “Go to the secretary and collect your pay for this month.”

Logan’s eyes widened.

“Mr. Vale?”

“You’re dismissed.”

“Please, sir! Give me one last chance. I promise this won’t happen again.”

Adrian turned away as though the conversation were already over. “Damien.”

Damien raised an eyebrow. “I need you to find a new head for this department.”

A small smile appeared on Damien’s face as he nodded. “Consider it done.”

Logan’s panic deepened. “Mr. Vale, please. I’ve worked for this company for years. You can’t dismiss me because of one incident!”

Adrian stopped walking.

For a moment, he remained silent. Then he turned his head slightly toward the security officers standing near the entrance.

“Throw him out.”

The guards immediately stepped forward.

“Mr. Vale, please!”

Two guards grabbed Logan by the arms and escorted him toward the door despite his desperate protests.

The door closed behind him.

Adrian turned toward the remaining employees, his expression cold once more. “If you can’t improve your skills and become better at what you’re paid to do, then tell me…”

His gaze swept across the room. “What use is this cybersecurity department?”

Everyone immediately lowered their heads. “It won’t happen again, Mr. Vale,” they said almost in unison.

Adrian held their gaze for another moment before turning away. “Make sure it doesn’t.”

He walked out of the department with Damien following closely behind.

Only after they had disappeared through the doors did the employees finally release the breaths they had been holding.

———

Vivian’s Office

“Done.” Claire stretched her fingers and leaned back in her chair.

Vivian, who had been standing beside her, smiled.

“Good job, Cee.”

Claire turned to her. “I broke through several layers of their security and left after I’d done enough. The hacker on the other side was good. I made him think he’d taken control of the system, then withdrew before he could realise what I was doing.”

Vivian nodded approvingly. “Hmm. Good.”

She pulled a chair closer and sat beside Claire. “The point of the attack was to expose the weaknesses in their security system. Once they realise their current protection isn’t strong enough, they’ll start looking for a cybersecurity company to collaborate with.”

Her smile widened. “And that’s when we come in.”

Claire studied her for a moment.

“Viv, what makes you think they’ll choose our company? There are other cybersecurity firms that have been around much longer than we have. Why would they choose a new, rising company over businesses with years of experience?”

“Oh, Cee.” Vivian smiled confidently. “Don’t underestimate our abilities. Blackwell Security Corporation has an excellent team, and we have the skills to compete with established companies.”

“I’m not underestimating us. I’m asking whether you have a plan for convincing them.”

“Of course I do.” Vivian leaned back in her chair. “When the time comes, we’ll submit a proposal they can’t easily dismiss. We’ll provide a professional assessment, demonstrate our capabilities, and show them exactly how we can improve their security.”

Claire considered this. “That might work, provided they actually invite proposals.”

“They will.”

“You sound very certain.”

“Because I know what we can offer.”

Vivian’s confidence was unwavering.

She had not spent five years building Blackwell Security Corporation only to hesitate when the opportunity she had been waiting for finally appeared.

And this was more than a business opportunity.

It was her way into Adrian Vale’s world.

Once Blackwell secured the contract, she would have a legitimate reason to meet him, work with his company, and gradually earn his trust.

She would discover what had really happened five years ago.

She would learn why Marcus had died and why he had named Venom as his killer.

And once she had the answers she wanted, Adrian would pay for everything she believed he had taken from her.

Vivian’s fingers rested against the arm of her chair.

“And once we get that contract…” Her smile deepened. “It brings me one step closer to my plan.”

Claire looked at her. For a moment, she considered saying something.

But the words that had been troubling her for years remained trapped behind her lips.

Five years ago, Marcus had told Vivian something that had never truly made sense to Claire.

He had claimed that Adrian had killed an innocent person and a family of three. Yet something about the story had never sat right with her.

Claire had tried investigating the incident herself, hoping to uncover something that might explain what had happened that night.

Instead, she had reached a dead end.

Every relevant camera recording she had managed to locate had been erased.

There had been no useful footage, no clear evidence, and no answer to the questions that continued to trouble her.

She had never told Vivian about her doubts.

Vivian had built her entire life around the promise she made to Marcus. Claire knew how much this revenge meant to her, and she was afraid that questioning Marcus’s account would only deepen Vivian’s pain or make her feel that the last person she trusted had betrayed her.

Still, the unanswered questions remained.

What had really happened that night?

And why had every trace of the truth disappeared?

Claire lowered her gaze, keeping her thoughts to herself.

She wasn’t ready to confront Vivian with her suspicions.

Not yet.

With a quiet sigh, she rose from her chair and walked over to the couch.

“We’ll wait for them to make their move, then,” she said.

Vivian nodded, her eyes gleaming with quiet anticipation.

“Exactly.”