Chapter 102 Screw Up
The pressure in his head was driving him insane.
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With things blown up this big, trying to sweep it under the rug was damn near impossible. <fnd7db> This content belongs to find?novel</fnd7db>
A thought suddenly shed through Dominic’s mind. Almost without thinking, he muttered, “Hacking …
Everyone snapped their eyes to him.
“If Tilda knew her way around hacking–if she had some kind of app on her phone–then using the campus Wi–Fi, she could’ve copied every single video before they were deleted.”
Dominic wasn’t just throwing words around. He’d studied hacking himself–ranked 11th on the dark web board and rumored to be the apprentice of the infamous Queen.
Other than this exnation, Dominic couldn’t think of any possibility.
“Tilda … a hacker?”
Russell was stunned.
<i>Just </i>how <i>many </i><i>masks </i><i>is </i><i>this </i><i>girl </i><i>hiding </i><i>behind</i><i>? </i>
“It’s very possible,” Dominic went on, his voice sharp, eyes narrowing with a cold glint. “I’ve seen her talent and obsession with coding firsthand. If she’s capable of beating my records so easily, then her being a top- tier hacker wouldn’t surprise me at all.”
Who would’ve <i>thought</i>…
<i>Tilda </i>has <i>been </i>hiding <i>this </i><i>card </i><i>all </i><i>along</i><i>. </i>
It wasn’t just Russell who had underestimated her.
Even Dominic had.
Who would’ve thought a so–called “ordinary college girl” could have that kind of power?
But if she did have it, then suddenly it made sense–her close ties with Andy, the renownedwyer.
It all lined up.
“I’m sorry, Dad, Dominic … it’s my fault. I got careless and never checked Fiona’s phone…
Howard’s gut twisted with regret.
The way things had blown up, the way it had gotten so tangled–that was on him.
He’d gone soft. Let guilt get in the way.
He wanted to m his own head against the wall.
“It’s not on you, Howard,” Dominic said tly. “If Tilda’s really working at that level, you never would’ve
Chapter 102 Screw Up
caught her by scrolling through her phone. She’d have hidden it sixyers deep.”
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Dominic leaned forward. “What I need to know is–how much time did you actually have to clean things up?”
“Barely any. Dad walked out of the dining hall, and I jumped in with campus security right after. The first order of business was wiping the surveince.
“I checked my watch–under five minutes, tops. I’m sure of it.”
Five <i>minutes</i>…
<i>That </i><i>wasn’t </i><i>enough </i><i>time</i><i>. </i>
Dominic’s jaw tightened.
<i>Hacking </i>into a <i>student’s </i><i>phone </i><i>and </i><i>ripping </i><i>the </i><i>videos- </i>
And <i>on </i>top <i>of </i><i>that</i><i>, </i><i>breaking </i><i>into </i><i>campus </i><i>surveince</i><i>? </i>
<i>With </i><i>all </i><i>the </i><i>chaos </i><i>flying </i><i>around</i>, <i>five </i><i>minutes </i><i>was </i><i>nothing</i>. <i>Hell</i><i>, </i><i>it </i><i>was </i><i>probably </i><i>less</i>.
<i>Pulling </i><i>off </i><i>both </i><i>hacks </i><i>at </i><i>once</i>? <i>Even </i><i>I</i><i>–</i><i>Mr</i><i>. </i><i>11th </i><i>ce </i><i>on </i><i>the </i><i>dark </i><i>web </i><i>boards</i><i>—</i><i>couldn’t </i><i>have </i><i>done </i><i>it</i>.
<i>But </i>Tilda <i>had</i>. <i>She’d </i><i>actually </i><i>pulled </i><i>it </i><i>off</i><i>. </i>
<i>What </i><i>else </i><i>is </i><i>she </i><i>keeping </i><i>under </i><i>wraps</i>? <i>What </i><i>the </i><i>hell </i><i>else </i><i>had </i><i>she </i><i>buried </i><i>so </i><i>deep </i><i>even </i><i>I </i><i>couldn’t </i><i>sniff </i><i>it </i><i>out</i><i>? </i>
Looking <i>at </i><i>her</i><i>, </i><i>you’d </i><i>never </i><i>guess</i>… <i>She </i><i>blends </i><i>in </i><i>like any </i><i>other </i><i>college </i><i>kid</i>. <i>But </i><i>underneath</i><i>? </i><i>She’s </i><i>something </i><i>else </i><i>entirely</i>.
“Dom…
Rose’s voice cut through the silence.
He forced himself to pull back from his shock over Tilda and turned to face her. “Sorry, Rose. We screwed this up badly. I’ll make it right and cover the loss.”
“You really dropped the ball this time. Forget going toe–to–toe with Andy–evidence like this means even if Tilda had hired someone else, any halfway decentwyer would’ve had you dead to rights.”
She let out a quiet sigh. “But<i>… </i>you and I go back a long way. So I’ll let it slide this time, and I’ll help you figure out how to cut your losses.”
“Thank you, Rose,”
When Wade and K got the news, they dropped everything at Orica University and rushed back home.
The only one waiting in the living room was Howard.
“Where’s Dad?” they asked in unison.
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Chapter 102 Screw Up
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“He’s in the study with Dominic. They’re handlingpany business and trying to figure out how the hell to manage this mess,” Howard muttered, rubbing at his scalp until his hair stood on end. His eyes were bloodshot.
He’d never hated his own uselessness more than he did right now.
At a moment like this, he couldn’t do a damn thing to help.
“Howard, Wade–how did it get this far? We had Rose on our side. We were supposed <i>to </i>have the upper hand in this trial!”
K’s voice cracked; her eyes were already brimming with tears.
Howard opened his mouth, but nothing came out.
His chest clenched so tight it hurt.
This was on him. All of it.
Wade saw the guilt written all over his face and put a hand on K’s shoulder. “Enough. Stop ming him. None of us wanted this. All we can do now is trust Mom and Dad to figure it out.”
“B–But, Wade…” K sobbed, grabbing onto him.
“This is my fault,” she cried. “It’s all because of me. If I’d never been part of this family, none of this would’ve happened. Tilda wouldn’t have … wouldn’t have
“I hate myself for it! I shouldn’t even be alive!”
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Out of the Shadows: Tilda’s Brilliant Second Life