Chapter 164: Chapter 164 Fake hacker
Jay felt it. Every time he moved, he could feel her eyes on him like heat rays. Why is she looking at me like she’s want to devour me like anaconda?
Even Stella wasn’t this intense.
He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Let’s... go into the office."
Leonardo’s gaze briefly rested on Cassidy, unreadable, before he turned and started walking away.
Jay gestured for them to follow, muttering under his breath, "This is getting weirder by the second."
Cassidy happily trailed behind Jay, taking tiny steps in her heels to stay close.
He picked up the pace.
Behind them, Stella whispered, "Just be natural. Don’t look at him like that."
Cassidy whispered back, "I’m not! He’s just so handsome."
Inside the spacious office, Leonorado sat at the head of the long black table, his expression unreadable. The blinds were drawn just enough to let light in, casting thin stripes across the floor. Jay was sitting beside him, spinning a pen between his fingers as he leaned back, watching like he had better places to be—but didn’t want to miss this drama.
Opposite them, Stella and Cassidy had taken their seats. Stella’s eyes were glued to Leo, unable to hide the hunger and regret in her gaze. Cassidy, on the other hand, looked poised, her hands neatly folded on the table, her legs crossed in her fitted black skirt.
"So," Leonorado spoke first, his voice deep, calm, with the kind of control that always made people sit straighter. "You’re the one who helped us?"
"Yes," Cassidy replied with a confident smile. "That day Stella called me and said your company was under attack by a high-level hacker. I logged in remotely and helped stop it."
Jay raised an eyebrow and muttered, "Remotely? That sounds easy."
Cassidy smiled at him. "Well, not for everyone. But I do have a Bachelor’s in Cybersecurity. Ethical hacking is my field."
Jay didn’t reply, but he gave her a look that clearly said we’ll see about that.
Leonorado, however, leaned forward slightly, resting his arms on the table.
"And how exactly did you help us?" he asked.
Cassidy’s smile didn’t waver. "Your firewall was strong but outdated. The attacker used a recursive proxy trap, so I reverse-traced the spoofed IP paths. Then I forcefully blocked multiple entry points and isolated your backdoor breach before it could reach internal files."
Jay blinked. "That’s a lot of big words."
Cassidy laughed politely. "Sorry. I mean, I closed the digital windows before the thief could crawl in. Simple terms."
Leonorado stared at her for a moment. She didn’t flinch. Stella looked pleased.
"And you’ve done this before?" he asked.
"A few times for small firms," Cassidy said. "But never for someone this high profile. I was surprised, honestly. The breach was clever."
"Was it?" Leonorado asked flatly, exchanging a brief glance with Jay.
Cassidy’s confidence flickered for just a second.
Jay tilted his head. "Then tell me—which of our data centers was attacked first?"
Cassidy blinked. "Sorry?"
"Which server. We have multiple centers. You worked remotely, so you should’ve known where the entry breach began, right?"
Cassidy shifted slightly. "I—it was the core server. The main one."
Jay smiled slowly. "That’s not an answer."
Stella cut in quickly, "Does it matter? She fixed it, didn’t she? She’s the one who helped—"
Leonorado raised a hand. Stella shut her mouth.
"You said you blocked the proxy trap," Leo said. "What was the root exploit code signature? What protocol did they hijack?"
Cassidy looked confused now. "You mean—like—the IP?"
Jay burst out laughing. "Okay, okay! She’s just saying words now."
"I’m telling the truth," Cassidy said sharply, but her voice had lost its edge. "I did help!"
Leonorado leaned back in his chair, expression blank, cold. "You didn’t even touch the breach."
Cassidy froze.
"The hacker who helped us used a trap chain looping system with code references I haven’t seen outside private government programs," he said. "We tracked their pattern. And it wasn’t you."
Cassidy swallowed.
"I investigated you. You haven’t worked on anything outside school labs," he continued calmly. "So, who told you to lie?"
Cassidy’s lips parted, but no words came out.
Stella, panicking, grabbed Cassidy’s arm. "You said you could handle this! You said—!"
Leonorado stood up slowly. His aura shifted, colder.
"Let me tell you what I think," he said, walking closer to their side of the table. "I think you knew someone powerful was behind the rescue. You thought if you showed up and took the credit, you’d get access. Connections. Money. Maybe even my time."
Cassidy looked at the floor.
"You don’t know what kind of person you’re pretending to be," Leo added. "And it’s not a game you should’ve played."
Jay stood up too, folding his arms. "Security will walk you out. Don’t worry—we won’t press charges. We’re just... not interested in frauds."
"I’m not a fraud," Cassidy whispered, standing. But even she didn’t sound convinced anymore.
Stella stood with her, face pale and humiliated.
Jay opened the door for them. "Next time you fake your résumé, at least google the job title properly."
They left the room.
A few seconds of silence passed. Then Jay muttered, "She really thought she could get away with it."
Leonorado didn’t respond immediately.
The tension in the room slowly faded after the door clicked shut behind Stella and her so-called friend. For a moment, the only sound was the soft hum of the monitor and the ticking clock on the wall.
It was now clear—the girl Cassidy wasn’t the one who had saved them. She knew a few technical words, sure, but anyone could learn enough to fake it. Leonorado could’ve tested her further, maybe even hired her just to see how far her bluff would go. But he didn’t have the time or the patience for snakes—especially not now.
Too many masks were walking freely around him already. He didn’t need to add another one inside his company walls.
**
Stella slammed the door behind her as soon as they exited the elevator and reached the parking lot.
Her heels clacked furiously against the pavement, her fingers tightening around the strap of her designer purse. The moment they reached her car, she turned, eyes blazing.
"You’re useless!!" Stella snapped, her voice shrill. "You said you could fake it! You said you’ve done this before—what the hell was that in there?!"
Cassidy blinked, startled. "What? I answered everything—"
"Barely!" Stella hissed, jabbing a manicured finger toward her chest. "You froze up when he asked about the firewall. Your explanation sounded like a script from Google. You embarrassed me in front of him!"