Emily asked, “Could you help me get an autograph from my favorite actress, Vincent?”
“Of course.”
As they were leaving, they saw Wesley and Sandra heading out as well.
Sandra was momentarily speechless. Wesley smiled. “You seem to be having a rather unfortunate day.”
“Only because I set out with you today. You’ve ruined my luck.”
Wesley was taken aback by such an unusual accusation.
“Hi, Sandra,” Emily called out.
Sandra considered pretending she hadn’t heard, but the confrontation was unavoidable. She sighed in resignation, offering a cold response.
“I’m not acquainted with you. No need for such formalities.”
Her words irritated Vincent.
“Emily has been kind to you, and yet you’re so rude!”
Sandra countered indifferently, “I’ve always been this way. Is this news to you?” Her tone carried the weight of her long-standing indifference to the Hill family.
Vincent was aware of the tension between Emily and Sandra. He believed Emily was the aggrieved party. To him, Sandra’s current prosperity was owed to the Hill family, and especially to Emily, who had pleaded for Sandra to be taken in.
“Sandra, if you despise us so much, why not sever your ties with us?” Vincent said.
Sandra replied earnestly, “I would be eternally grateful if you could make that happen for me.”
Vincent sneered. “You’re acting again.”
“Keep your word and make it happen swiftly, Vincent,” Sandra said.
Emily, in tears, pleaded, “Please don’t quarrel.”
Her words immediately softened Vincent’s heart. “My dear princess, don’t cry.”
Emily said, “I wish you two would get along. You share the same blood after all.”
Vincent replied, “Blood relations matter little to me; it’s the kinship of the soul that I value.”
With those words, he shielded Emily protectively behind him. “I advise you to keep your distance and stop troubling Emily!”
Sandra responded, “Had you not blocked my path, I wouldn’t have stayed at all. Now, step aside!”
Vincent gritted his teeth in anger and pulled Emily away from the scene. Emily’s tears persisted, but as she walked past Sandra, a spiteful grin betrayed her contempt.
Such behavior might provoke the weak-willed into a confrontation, but Sandra was not one to be baited by such childish games.
With her provocation falling flat, Emily’s smile turned malicious.
Sandra proceeded to the company.
A swarm of reporters besieged the company’s entrance. They accessed through a secure garage and took the private elevator.
Meanwhile, within the company, a palpable tension filled the air. Every department was on edge, anxious not to worsen any issues amidst the ongoing turmoil.
The garment department, in particular, was walking on eggshells.
That day, the technical department was equally busy. They were preparing for an imminent tech forum while also dealing with the incident in the garment department, which had sparked a wave of online vitriol directed at the company.
To protect the company’s reputation, commenting on the official website had been disabled. But cyber-attacks continued unabated, necessitating the technical department’s vigilant defense.
Against all odds, another crisis loomed on the horizon.
Previously, the firewall Sandra had designed was so secure that even Earl’s attempts to breach it from the inside proved futile. That meant that unless Sandra herself permitted it, no one could penetrate the company’s defenses.
To everyone’s surprise, alarms suddenly blared. “Our system has been infiltrated! They’re one step away from accessing it!”
At the sound of the alarm, every head in the technical department instinctively turned to Sandra. She frowned. She was confident in the strength of her firewall.
At that moment the company was in the middle of an executive meeting. The secretary who burst in to report the breach was sternly rebuked by Debra. Nearly in tears, the secretary warned, “Mrs. Cooper, if the intruder breaches our system, our company secrets will be compromised.”
Debra glanced around at the senior executives. “Sandra has always assured us the firewall would hold.”
“Earl once tried to hack our secrets using company access codes-all in vain.”
“I have faith in her abilities.”
The core issue on the table was the garment department. The celebrity collaboration had been suppressed by the Cooper Group, and two problems remained unresolved. One involved Mason, whose resistance to persuasion made him difficult to handle; if he exposed the truth, the Cooper Group would face far graver consequences. The other concerned the prominent celebrity Jessica Smith, who was motivated entirely by money. The Coopers were reluctant to fund her demands, which left the dilemma unsolved.
Suggestions offered during the meeting fell on deaf ears-nobody wanted to be the scapegoat.
The timing of the secretary’s interruption was serendipitous, shifting attention away from the garment department’s problems and toward the firewall breach. Someone quipped, “If our firewall is as infallible as Mrs. Cooper claims, who could possibly mount such an attack?”
“Even Earl couldn’t do it. It seems implausible anyone else could succeed.”
“Are you implying Sandra is the culprit?”
The secretary spoke up, “Sandra is currently in the technical department.” If Sandra were the saboteur, her presence at work now would certainly be suspicious.
A scoff of disdain rippled through the room. “Despite Sandra’s humble origins, she has tremendous mental fortitude.”
“Indeed-hidden beneath a sheep’s disguise, who could discern the wolf within?”
“She did this, then sat back to watch our reactions for her amusement?”
“Mrs. Cooper, your daughter-in-law is something else!”
Debra sighed lightly. “I hadn’t anticipated such a complication. I’ll go to the technical department.”
Management had long harbored reservations about Sandra’s sudden appointment. The silence enforced by Earl’s incident would not hold now that they had an opportunity to challenge her.
In the technical department, Sandra nonchalantly unwrapped a lollipop while choosing a playlist on her computer. Colleagues approached her repeatedly, but she sat with her eyes closed, undisturbed by the commotion.
“She’s so confident in her system, isn’t she?” someone murmured.
“I have a suspicion about this whole situation. Could it be her doing?”
“That seems unlikely. What would she gain?”
“Our system has tracking features, doesn’t it?”
“So we just wait?”
“Back then, the camera activated during Earl’s attempted hack, but now there’s nothing.”
“Look-someone’s approaching the door.”
The timing of the secretary’s interruption was serendipitous, shifting attention away from the garment department’s problems and toward the firewall breach. Someone quipped, “If our firewall is as infallible as Mrs. Cooper claims, who could possibly mount such an attack?”
“Even Earl couldn’t do it. It seems implausible anyone else could succeed.”
“Are you implying Sandra is the culprit?”
The secretary spoke up, “Sandra is currently in the technical department.” If Sandra were the saboteur, her presence at work now would certainly be suspicious.
A scoff of disdain rippled through the room. “Despite Sandra’s humble origins, she has tremendous mental fortitude.”
“Indeed-hidden beneath a sheep’s disguise, who could discern the wolf within?”
“She did this, then sat back to watch our reactions for her amusement?”
“Mrs. Cooper, your daughter-in-law is something else!”
Debra sighed lightly. “I hadn’t anticipated such a complication. I’ll go to the technical department.”
Management had long harbored reservations about Sandra’s sudden appointment. The silence enforced by Earl’s incident would not hold now that they had an opportunity to challenge her.
In the technical department, Sandra nonchalantly unwrapped a lollipop while choosing a playlist on her computer. Colleagues approached her repeatedly, but she sat with her eyes closed, undisturbed by the commotion.
“She’s so confident in her system, isn’t she?” someone murmured.
“I have a suspicion about this whole situation. Could it be her doing?”
“That seems unlikely. What would she gain?”
“Our system has tracking features, doesn’t it?”
“So we just wait?”
“Back then, the camera activated during Earl’s attempted hack, but now there’s nothing.”
“Look-someone’s approaching the door.”
Debra entered, impeccably dressed in off-white professional attire. Nude stockings and black high heels completed her look-the epitome of precision. Flanked by executives, each wore an expression taut with displeasure. Wesley and Joey, along with other onlookers, soon gathered outside.
Joey, trailing behind the crowd, voiced his concern, “Nothing is absolute. What if the attacker’s prowess eclipses that of the young madam?”
Wesley replied with quiet certainty, “That won’t be the case.”
“Really? You’re that confident in her?” Joey pressed.
Wesley said, “If there had been any cause for concern, she wouldn’t be so relaxed.” Joey peered inside, astonished by Sandra’s laid-back demeanor. He marveled at her extraordinary composure.
“Sandra,” Debra began, “you’ve boasted about the impregnability of your firewall. Now, as the intruder encroaches on the final barrier, how can you remain so detached?”
Sandra’s answer was terse. “Without internal collusion, breaching the last defense is impossible.”
Debra scoffed skeptically. “And why does that tracking function now fail us?”
Sandra twirled her lollipop and glanced up. “It’s not that the camera is inactive. I’ve used a code to obscure the perpetrator’s face.”
Realization dawned on Debra. “You know the person attempting to hack into our system?”
“Yes, but not well,” Sandra offered.
The executives behind Debra chimed in. “Have you leaked company secrets to your friends?”
“If our company suffers losses due to such negligence, you will bear full responsibility for compensation!” another warned.
“That’s the least of your concerns,” someone else snapped. “This is a matter that could land you in prison!”
Sandra looked genuinely baffled. “In prison?”
Debra nodded. “Indeed. Last time Earl was lucky enough to avoid prison, but this time we won’t tolerate it.”
“Even if you are the young madam of the Coopers, it won’t be acceptable.”
“If you want to protect your friend, then you will share the same guilt as your friend.”
Sandra still couldn’t believe it. “Is it really that serious?” she asked.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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