Chapter Eight
1544 Words
The twenty-seventh floor of Giordano Estates was a war zone.
Screens blazed from every wall, phones rang nonstop, and assistants hurried by clutching their tablets like shields. Even the security guards at the elevators kept their voices low and tense, eyes darting.
Catalina stepped out of the elevator and made a beeline for Sophia, who was waiting for her just outside the conference room. Her effortless curls were pulled into a desperate knot; her glasses hung off her face, and the dark circles under her eyes looked like tea bags.
The pit settled in her stomach as they entered the conference room. “Talk,” she asked.
Sophia handed over a tablet. “Someone has been assessing our servers after hours. Remote login that doesn’t look bad at first until you notice the frequency at which it’s happening.”
Catalina scanned the strings of numbers in front of her. “How long has this been happening?”
“We’re still trying to figure that out. Whoever this is, they are good, but we will find them.” The glass doors opened, the cybersecurity team clutching hoodies and laptops as they took different positions around the table. “But they’re after very specific things: acquisition files, investor data, financials.”
Catalina’s stomach knotted. She hadn’t seen this coming. It had been a quiet month, too quiet even, but she thought that was fate giving her an easy way out. Until she got Sophia's call this morning.
“Damage control. What leaked and what are we doing about security?” Catalina asked, moving out of the room. This was no time for a meeting; the envoy of laptops rose with her, but she stopped them with a raised hand, Sophia falling in step with her.
“We’re still figuring that out. So far, we have identified files that were copied from the proposed investors list, and the team is building fresh firewalls as we speak,” Sophia replied, her hand shaking slightly as the tablet was returned to her.
“That’s not enough!” Catalina screamed in frustration as they stepped inside her office. Pushing brunette curls from her face in a huff.
“We know the data they cloned. We’re tracing where it went.”
Catalina took a deep breath, chest rising as the red haze threatened to overtake her.
Sophia edged in. “We’re narrowing access points. All communication is on lockdown until we find the leak.’’
‘‘Try harder!’’ Catalina shouted, the anger slipping out before she could stop it. ‘‘Exactly what am I paying our cyber team for if someone can slip through and steal years' worth of data?’’ Her pulse thundered beneath her skin.
Grabbing a paperweight from the desk, Catalina threw it hard enough to crack the glass cabinet near the wall. The sharp crash echoed through the office, yet the rage wasn’t abated. The floor plans for the smart city lay open on her desk. In one furious movement, she swept the entire stack off the table.
Sophia stepped back as Catalina reached for the frame of her at the Milan summit hanging next to her chair, and applied pressure, forcing the anger onto her smiling face. The glass frame cracked and shattered in her shaking hand. Pain sliced across her palm, and she sucked in a sharp breath.
Bright red blood dripped onto the marble floor as she stared at it for a stunned second, as Sophia’s voice registered behind.
‘‘Oh my god! Go to the bathroom and put it under running water. I’ll get the first aid kit.’’
She didn’t move before the door reopened, and footsteps came to a stop next to her.
‘‘Catalina.’’
Julian.
She turned toward him sharply, furious tears burning behind her eyes. ‘‘Get Out!’’
He said nothing, taking one look at the destroyed room, her shaking shoulders, his eyes darkened when he took in the blood running down her hand.
He took her hand in his. ‘‘You are hurt.’’
She pulled her hand back from him. ‘‘I asked you to leave! Get Out!’’
Julian caught her wrist gently. ‘‘You are bleeding, Cara. Let me see.’’
He guided her toward the sofa and knelt in front of her, carefully unfolding a clean handkerchief around her bleeding palm.
Catalina watched him in silence.
His face was close enough now that she noticed the tiny scar near his jaw. The faint shadows beneath his eyes. The concentration pulled his brows together as he examined the cut.
His fingers brushed softly against her wrist.
‘‘You need stitches.’’ he muttered.
‘‘I am not going to the hospital.’’
‘‘You need to get this checked out. This is not the time to be stubborn.’’
‘‘I am not being stubborn. There is a mole in my company, I need to find out who that is, not waste valuable time sitting in some ER.’’
He gave no response, cleaning the blood carefully with bottled water from the minifridge. She hissed slightly when it touched the deeper cut.
Immediately, his grip softened. ‘‘Sorry.’’ He wrapped the handkerchief firmly around her palm before finally lifting his gaze to hers.
‘‘How can I help?’’ he said softly.
Catalina pulled her hand gently from his grasp.
‘‘You can’t meddle in this. If anyone finds out you are helping me, they will know something is wrong.’’
Julian stared at her for a long moment. ‘‘Your system’s compromised. I have the best security team this side of the sun. They can work in the shadows; no one needs to see them.”
‘‘I said no! Your people are not helping with anything. I will do this myself. You don’t have to offer help out of guilt; none of the smart home project files were accessed, so you can rest easy. I will figure this out. I always do. I don’t need you to save me.”
Julian flinched, a quiet sadness flashed across his grey eyes before he shielded it. ‘‘If you say so. What can I do then?’’
‘‘I want you to leave. Get out, Julian. I mean it.’’
He glanced at her hand, the wound had stopped bleeding, then back at her face. “If that is what you want, then call when you need me, Ms Giodarno.’’
Then he was gone. Catalina sat there, her heart felt bruised. What the hell had she just done?
Julian just wanted to help. He offered honest help, and she’d thrown him out because she was terrified.
Why was she hurting the man who kept offering her help?
‘‘Boss?” Sophia’s nervous voice pulled her from her reverie.
Catalina squeezed her eyes shut, fighting the ache. “I am sorry, Sophie. I shouldn’t have yelled at you. This has just been a f*****g awful day.”
‘‘I know, but that’s not all I wanted to show you. This just aired a couple of minutes ago.’’
Catalina’s nausea peaked as the tablet screen came to life.
Marcus took the frame. The hateful speech oozed from his lips. “I don’t want to criticize my ex-wife,” he lied. “But certain situations force my hand.”
Catalina’s hands curled into fists.
Photos flashed behind him. An image of her with Whitmore was on the split screen.
Marcus sighed. “Catalina’s been unstable since the split. Harassing my investors about matters involving DeLuca Holdings. This is just a simple concern for her.’’
A second image popped up; her with Julian at Rinaldi HQ.
“She has always loved male attention, even when we were married, and this backstabbing is right up her alley. I would encourage future investors to check her background before putting in much money. After all, what does a housewife know about building a community?”
The video cut before the reporter began asking questions.
Walking to the window, she drew in a calming breath, tears burning at the edge of her eyes.
They stood in silence for a few minutes before Sophia spoke. “You need to go home.”
Catalina shook her head. “I can’t. After that s**t show of an interview, the investors will start calling. I need to give them answers.”
“I’ll take care of the press,” Sophia promised. “Investors, too. Security’s on the leaks. Go home. Take a shower, turn off your phone, and just breathe. Okay?”
Catalina closed her eyes and gave in. Her hands reached for her phone, dialling the number without a second thought.
It rang twice.
“Catalina?” Bernard’s calm voice threatened to pull the tears from her.
‘‘I need coffee.’’ her voice trembled.
He paused for a moment. ‘‘I will make a fresh cup.’’
- Writer
