Chapter 162: Chapter 162
Leonardo had no expression on his face. None. As if Jay hadn’t just said the most embarrassing thing in the world. He continued slicing into his toast, his jaw calm, his eyes on his plate as if nothing could ever touch him.
But Bella didn’t miss it.
The way his fingers had stilled for a second.
The way the knife had pressed a little harder than necessary into the toast.
She gulped.
Jay, meanwhile, looked far too proud of himself.
And Bella looked down at her dress, tugged nervously at the ribbon on her waist, and mumbled to herself.
I should’ve just stayed upstairs.
Bella finally gathered her courage and sat down at the breakfast table. She placed her phone beside her plate, her fingers still warm from embarrassment after Jay’s teasing. The sunlight poured through the large windows, casting soft gold across the room. The table was filled with warm toast, scrambled eggs, and fresh fruit. She sat quietly between Jay and Leonardo, pretending to be very focused on her Apple slice—though her eyes occasionally peeked at Leo’s calm profile.
As soon as she sat, Alessandro leaned forward and started the conversation like they’d already been mid-way into it.
"Let’s talk about Ford and that hacker he supposedly found."
Jay rolled his eyes. "Ugh, yeah. He said it was Stella’s friend, right? The one who helped block the breach and protect our internal network?"
Leonardo didn’t look up. His voice was quiet but sharp.
"I doubt she’s the one who actually helped. They think we’re stupid enough to fall for that."
"Exactly," Alessandro added, his tone calm but firm. "The timing’s too perfect. Stella reappears out of nowhere, Ford magically finds a hacker, and now they’re acting like she saved the company."
Jay scoffed. "It’s damage control. Ford’s just trying to make himself look useful. And Stella? She probably thinks this will earn her a free pass back into Leo’s trust."
Bella stayed quiet, eyes fixed on her plate as if the toast had suddenly become fascinating. She bit her lip gently, trying to keep her expression calm, but her shoulders were tense. Without even realizing it, her fingers had curled tighter around her phone.
Leo spoke again, his tone casual."I checked Ford’s logs last night. They’ve been edited. The timestamps don’t match the firewall behavior."
Alessandro frowned slightly. "You think he’s trying to cover his tracks?"
"Or rewrite the narrative," Leo replied calmly. "Either way, he’s not being honest."
Jay leaned closer, his voice dropping. "What if this hacker isn’t real? Or worse—she’s real, but just a face they’re using to mask who actually saved us?"
Bella’s breath caught for half a second.
She didn’t look up, didn’t move, but inside her mind ran wild.
Leo added quietly, "They’re building a lie. And I don’t like when people lie to me."
Alessandro nodded once. "We’ll see how she handles direct questions. If she can’t explain what she fixed... then we’ll know."
Leonardo’s fingers drummed once on the table. "And if they’re trying to take credit for someone else’s work..." he said, voice cool and razor-sharp, "I’ll make sure neither of them walks out with their name intact."
Bella blinked and glanced at Leo.
He wasn’t looking at her, but something about his calm voice and the way he tapped his fingers on the table made her heart thump.
Alessandro shifted in his seat and leaned back, arms crossed. "More importantly—have we found the traitor yet? The one who fed Pablo our intel?"
Leonardo’s tapping stopped. His jaw tensed ever so slightly.
"I’m investigating," he said, his tone clipped but steady. "It’s not someone from the house. I’m sure of that. But someone inside the company... someone close."
"Someone close always hits the hardest," Alessandro muttered, shaking his head. "I don’t care if they’re a friend or an executive. If they tried to sell us out again, I’ll bury them myself."
Bella blinked, her spoon paused in the bowl of fruit salad. She looked between them, a little stunned by the shift in atmosphere. Jay noticed and nudged her gently with his elbow under the table, giving her a small wink to lighten her nerves.
Just then, the kitchen door creaked open and Aunt Clara, stepped in with a silver tray.
"Miss Bella," Aunt Clara said sweetly, her tone motherly and gentle. "I made orange juice fresh this morning. light sugar, just how you like it."
Bella smiled brightly. "Thank you, Aunty Clara." She reached out and took the glass with both hands, genuinely touched.
But Jay gasped dramatically, clutching his chest. "Aunty Clara!" he whined. "We’ve known you since we were in diapers! You used to swat my head when I ran in the kitchen, and now you’re here pampering Bella Bell like a princess?"
Aunt Clara chuckled as she set down the tray. "That’s because Miss Bella behaves like a lady. Unlike you, young master Jay, who once tried to hide a lizard in the flour sack."
"That was one time!" Jay cried. "And it was for science!"
Everyone laughed, even Alessandro’s lips twitched in amusement.
Leo reached for his water glass but paused when he glanced at Bella.
She was sipping her juice with both hands, her eyes wide and her cheeks puffed from holding it in. Her ponytail swayed a little as she leaned forward to reach for the toast.
She didn’t even realize Leonardo had been watching her the entire time.
After Leo, Jay, and Alessandro left for the company, the house felt strangely quiet.
Bella walked back to her room slowly, her slippers making soft, muffled sounds against the floor. She clutched her phone to her chest, biting her lip as she closed the door behind her and leaned against it, a quiet sigh slipping from her lips.
She padded over to the bed and sat down, eyes drifting to her laptop on the nightstand.
Should she?
She shouldn’t.
But...
Her fingers reached for the laptop anyway. She flipped it open and tapped a few keys. The screen lit up at once, casting a soft glow on her face. Her fingers moved quickly, almost like instinct.
She had built a secure system for herself—one that didn’t leave traces, didn’t alert any IT bots, and masked her presence like a shadow.
She wasn’t going to do anything illegal. She just wanted to... see.
She wanted to watch. To make sure Leo wasn’t being tricked.
Her fingers hesitated for a split second above the keys.
"I’m only checking," she whispered to herself, heart pounding softly in her chest. "Just making sure..."
She bypassed the firewall gently like slipping past a sleeping guard and opened the live security camera feed inside Leo’s office.
The camera view was crystal clear.