Page 135 of Auctioned Innocence
“North gate secure, sir. All quiet here.” His voice carries the same submissive tone it always has, but now I can hear the subtle satisfaction underneath. “No movement detected on our perimeter.”
My heart pounds as I pull up multiple camera angles, showing Marco the empty north gate, the real position of TeamTwo, and the timestamp discrepancies that prove James has been feeding us false information for who knows how long.
“He’s lying,” I whisper, the betrayal wrapping around my throat like a noose. “He’s been feeding them our positions while misdirecting us about theirs. James knows every detail of our security protocols, every weakness in our defenses.”
Understanding dawns in Marco’s eyes—the same sick realization I'm having. James Burton, his head of security for five years, the man he trusted with family safety, with my protection, with the most sensitive operational details—he’s been working with Lorenzo this entire time.
“How long?” Marco asks quietly, but rage crackles underneath.
I dig through the logs, my fingers flying as I trace James’s access patterns over the past months. What I find makes my heart sputter.
“Since before the auction,” I report, the scope of the betrayal becoming clear. “He’s been logging our movements, documenting our capabilities, reporting our plans. Every security meeting, every tactical decision, every protective detail—Lorenzo’s known about all of it.”
“Son of a bitch,” Dante growls, already moving to secure additional weapons.
Before any of us can react, the first explosion rocks the building above us. The reinforced ceiling shudders, dust raining down as Lorenzo’s forces begin their coordinated assault on our home.
“North gate breach!” There’s unmistakable glee in James’s voice, the pretense finally dropped. “Multiple hostiles, requesting immediate backup!”
“That’s not the north gate,” Dante says sharply, already reading the displays that show the real point of attack. “They’re hitting us from three sides simultaneously. Using our owncommunication system to coordinate while feeding us false intelligence about their positions.”
More explosions, closer now. The hidden command center’s defenses are holding, but I can hear the methodical destruction happening above us as Lorenzo’s forces implement the attack plan James helped them develop.
“Move!” Marco shoves me toward the emergency exit as the sound of automatic weapons fire echoes through the reinforced walls. “Get her out?—”
“No!” I break free, grabbing my laptop and the portable drive containing all our intelligence. “I can shut down their access completely. Cut off James’s ability to coordinate with them, blind their intelligence gathering, turn their own tactics against them. I just need two minutes.”
“Sofia—” Both men start to protest, their protective instincts overriding their senses.
“Trust me!” I meet their eyes, seeing fear and love and respect warring in their expressions. “This is what I do. This is what I’m good at. Let me use it.”
A silent understanding passes between them, old loyalty overriding new conflicts. Then, as one, they move to defensive positions that will cover me while I work, their differences forgotten in the face of immediate danger.
I dive back into the system, my fingers flying across the keyboard as I build the most sophisticated cyberattack of my life. Not just defensive measures now, but an active counter strike. I’m going to turn Lorenzo’s own network against him, use James’s access to feed them false information, and create chaos in their coordinated assault.
The work requires every technique I know, every trick I learned during sleepless nights in college and running cons in hostile territories. I’m not just hacking systems—I’m conducting digital warfare.
I’m almost through Lorenzo’s primary firewall when the distinctive crack of a sniper round echoes through the command center. The sound is impossibly loud in the enclosed space, followed immediately by the spider-web fracturing of reinforced glass.
“Get down!”
Dante slams into me as the bulletproof window explodes inward, safety glass raining down like deadly confetti. We hit the ground hard, my laptop skittering across the floor as I struggle to breathe with Dante’s weight pressing me into the concrete.
When I look up, Marco is staggering backward, blood blooming across his shoulder like a crimson flower. His face is white with shock and pain, but he’s still returning fire with his good arm, using his body to shield us from the sniper’s position.
“Marco!” I scream, terror and rage coursing through me in equal measure. This is my brother, my protector, the man who’s always stood between me and danger.
“I’m fine!” he shouts back, though he struggles to aim and apply pressure to his bleeding wound at the same time. “Keep working! We need those systems back under our control!”
The sight of my brother’s blood sends something cold and deadly flowing through my veins. Not panic this time, not fear, but crystalline focus. These bastards hurt my family. They violated our home. They think they can break us with violence and betrayal.
They’re about to learn exactly how wrong they are.
I grab my laptop, ignoring the cuts on my hands from the broken glass, and plug back into the system with renewed determination. My fingers blur over the keys.
“No more running,” I mutter to myself. “No more hiding. No more letting them hurt the people I love.”
The security system comes back under our control in a cascade of green lights and restored feeds. But I don’t stop there.I keep pushing, infiltrating Lorenzo’s communication networks, James’s personal systems, even the coordination protocols Viktor’s men are using.
