MARRY YOUR KILLER
Chapter Fifty-Two: The Hack
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The morning started like any other.
Jay was in the study with Keifer, going over the final reports from the Batangas warehouse. Victor had escaped. The men were captured. The weapons were seized. But the war was not over. Victor was still out there. Waiting.
Keifer's phone rang. He looked at the screen. His face went still.
"What is it?" Jay asked.
He didn't answer. He answered the phone. His voice was low. "What?"
Jay watched his face change. The calm. The control. The mask he wore when something was wrong.
"How much?" he asked.
Silence. His jaw tightened. His hand tightened on the phone.
"I'll be there in an hour."
He hung up. He looked at Jay. His face was pale.
"What happened?" she asked.
He stood up. His hands were steady. His voice was not. "The company accounts. They've been hacked. Everything. The main accounts. The offshore accounts. The accounts we set up after Singapore. All of them."
Jay stood up. "How much?"
He looked at her. His eyes were dark. "Everything."
---
The news spread fast.
Percy was in the kitchen when Keifer walked in. He saw his face. He put down the pan. "What happened?"
Keifer walked to the table. He sat down. His hands were flat on the wood. "The company accounts. All of them. Someone hacked into the system. They drained everything."
Percy's face went white. "Everything?"
"Everything."
Aries was at the door. Yuri was behind them. Ci N was on the sofa, his phone in his hand. Felix was beside him.
"Who?" Percy asked.
Keifer shook his head. "I don't know. The security team is looking. They can't find anything. No trace. No signature. Nothing."
Ci N stood up. "That's impossible. There's always a trace."
Keifer looked at him. "Not this time."
---
Mica was at her laptop when Jay found her.
She was in the dining room, her fingers flying, her face focused. Calix was beside her, his hands on the keyboard, his voice low.
"What do you have?" Jay asked.
Mica didn't look up. "Nothing. That's the problem. Whoever did this knows what they're doing. They used layers. Proxies. Encryptions I've never seen before. Every time I get close, the trail disappears."
Calix pointed at the screen. "Here. Look at this. The money moved through Hong Kong. Then Singapore. Then Macau. Then—"
"It disappears," Mica said. "Every time. Right when I'm about to find it."
Jay stood behind them. She looked at the screen. At the numbers. At the accounts. At the money that was gone.
"Who has the skill to do this?" Jay asked.
Mica looked at her. Her face was pale. "Someone who's been planning this for a long time. Someone who knows our systems. Someone who knows—" She stopped.
"Someone who knows us," Calix finished.
---
The house was quiet when the team arrived.
Freya came first. Her face was sharp. Her hands were empty. Erdix was beside her. Rakki came with Mayo. Her chaos was gone. Her face was serious. Kit came with them, their voice low, their eyes scanning.
Care came with Cole. Grace came with Denzel. They stood in the living room, waiting, watching.
Lyra was in her corner. Alex was beside her. Her face was blank. Her hands were steady.
Jay stood at the center. Keifer was beside her.
"Someone hacked Keifer's company accounts," Jay said. "They took everything. Every account. Every dollar. Everything we had."
The room was silent.
Mica stood up. Her face was pale. "I've been tracking the money. It moves through Hong Kong, Singapore, Macau. Then it disappears. No trace. No signature. Nothing."
Freya's voice was sharp. "Who has the skill to do this?"
Mica looked at her. "Someone who's been planning this for a long time. Someone who knows our systems. Someone who knows us."
Rakki stood up. "Someone inside?"
The room went still.
Jay looked at the faces around her. Her girls. His boys. The people she trusted with her life.
"We don't know," Jay said. "We don't know who did this. We don't know how they did it. We don't know why."
She walked to the window. The garden was green. The flowers were blooming. The steps where she had sat with Keifer were empty.
"But we're going to find out," she said. "We're going to find them. And when we do, we're going to make them pay."
---
The investigation started immediately.
Mica and Calix worked through the night. Their screens were bright. Their fingers never stopped. Honey was on the line, her voice steady, her eyes sharp.
"I've been watching the feeds," Honey said. "The hack happened at 3:47 AM. Three days ago. The security system was down for exactly four minutes. That's when they got in."
Mica looked at the screen. "Four minutes. That's not enough time to drain everything."
Honey's voice was cold. "It is if they've been planning. If they've been watching. If they know exactly what they're looking for."
Calix pointed at the screen. "Here. The money moved through a shell company in Hong Kong. Then another in Singapore. Then another in Macau. Then—"
"It stops," Mica said. "Every time. Right when I'm about to find it."
She looked at the screen. At the numbers that were gone. At the accounts that were empty.
"Whoever did this is good," she said. "Better than me."
Calix put his hand on her shoulder. "We'll find them."
She looked at him. Her face was pale. "Will we?"
---
The days passed.
The money was gone. The accounts were frozen. The company was struggling. Keifer spent hours on the phone, with the banks, with the lawyers, with the security teams. His face was tired. His eyes were dark.
Jay watched him from the doorway. He was standing at the window, his back to her, his hands in his pockets.
She walked to him. She stood beside him. "We'll find them."
He didn't look at her. "Will we?"
She took his hand. His fingers were cold. "We will."
He looked at her. His face was tired. His eyes were dark. "What if we don't?"
She pulled him close. Her arms were around him. His face was in her hair. "We will."
He held her. His arms were tight. His heart was steady. "I love you," he said.
She held him. "I love you too."
---
Percy was in the garden when Yuri found him.
He was sitting on the steps, his hands empty, his face turned toward the house. The flowers were blooming. The grass was green. The fence where Jay had thrown mud at Keifer was still stained.
Yuri sat beside him. "You're thinking."
Percy looked at him. "I'm always thinking."
Yuri was quiet for a moment. "They're going to find who did this."
Percy looked at the house. At the window where Keifer was standing. "I know."
Yuri's face was cold. His eyes were not. "What if it's someone we know?"
Percy looked at him. His face was serious. "Then we deal with it."
Yuri nodded. He stood up. He walked back to the house.
Percy watched him go. His face was calm. His eyes were not.
---
Lyra was in her corner when Alex found her.
She was standing by the window, her back to the room, her face to the street. Her hands were empty. Her face was blank.
He stood beside her. "You're thinking."
She looked at him. "I'm always thinking."
He took her hand. "They're going to find who did this."
She looked at the street. At the cars. At the people. At the shadows. "I know."
He pulled her close. "You're worried."
She leaned against him. "I'm always worried."
He kissed her hair. "We'll find them."
She held him. "We will."
---
The weeks passed.
The money was still gone. The trail was still cold. Mica and Calix worked every day. Honey watched every feed. Freya tracked every lead. Nothing.
Jay stood at the window of her room. The garden was dark. The steps were empty. Keifer came in behind her. His arms went around her waist.
"You're thinking," he said.
"I'm always thinking."
He turned her to face him. His hands were on her face. His eyes were steady.
"We're going to find them," he said.
She looked at him. The man she loved. The man she had promised to stay with. The man who was losing everything.
"I know," she said.
He kissed her. Soft. Slow. A kiss that promised everything.
She kissed him back.
But in the shadows, someone was watching. Someone was waiting. Someone was planning.
The war was not over. It was just beginning.
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END OF CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO