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One of them commanded sharply.
Looking completely stunned, Siscaslowly raised her hands, her usual confidence nowhere to be seen. Two officers stepped forward, forcing her to the ground and handcuffing her wrists behind her back. She looked a mix of shocked and
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humiliated, her face flushed as the officers secured her. From the sidelines, Ben and Nathan rushed forward, trying to intervene, but they barely got close before being swiftly kicked down by the officers in a smooth, practiced motion. Both of them fell, each in a less–than–dignified heap on the ground.
“What is this?” Sisca shouted, her voice a mixture of indignation and fear. “I‘ m innocent! You must have the wrong person!”
Despite being pinned by the officers, Ben shouted back defiantly, “Let Sisca go!
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Arrest me if you have to, but she‘ s innocent!”
One of the officers looked at them both with a grim expression. “We received a report that the code submitted in Sisca‘ s program contained 58 viruses–half of them designed to breach the park‘ s intranet defenses and the other half aimed at extracting sensitive core data. We have every reason to believe you‘ re involved in corporate espionage!”
Sisca’s mouth fell open, utterly dumbfounded. Beside her, Ben‘ s
expression darkened, but he still defended her. “Viruses? This is nonsense! We were developing an attack–and–defense program -nothing illegal about it!”
One of the judges on the panel, a seasoned cybersecurity expert, looked furious. “Young lady, are you a patriot or a criminal? Do you understand the damage you could cause with a program like this?”
Sisca blinked, clearly flustered. “I… I
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didn’t do anything wrong. I didn’t write any viruses! This has to be a setup!”
The judge scoffed, growing angrier. “A setup? Is that your excuse? Why would you even participate in an Internet Security Contest if you don‘ t understand your own code? Programs don’t write viruses on their own. You‘ re just using this as a cover for a digital attack!”
Sisca shook her head desperately. “I swear, I didn’t write those viruses. Someone must be framing me!”
“Framing you?” The judge‘ s voice rose in frustration. “This level of code isn’t the work of a novice–it‘ s professional. Do you really expect us to believe that?”
It was Nathan who finally connected the dots, looking horrified as the realization dawned on him. “It’s that girl, Natalie! She did this!”
“Excuse me, Miss,” a voice suddenly interrupted. It was the family’s butler,
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standing just beyond the fray. “Your father is home. He’s waiting for you to join him for lunch.”
“Coming,” I replied, shaking off the day’s chaos.
After lunch, my father called me into his study. I could sense there was something serious on his mind.
“Ran,” he began gently, “back when the business collapsed, I was under a mountain of debt. The creditors were relentless and I had no choice but to send you to the orphanage for your own safety.”
I listened quietly, my heart heavy with the weight of his words.
“All these years, I’ve been hoping we‘ di be reunited, that I could make things up to you. Now that you‘ re back, I’ll do my best to make up for lost time.”
He paused, nodding toward the door. “As for your brother, Logan–he’s actually your cousin, your uncle‘ s son. He‘ 11
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support you as you prepare to take over Jo Enterprises.
I nodded, absorbing everything he was saying. Earlier, the butler had briefly filled me in on some of the family‘ s dynamics, including that I had a brother named Logan. Growing up, I’d only had friends. like Ben and Nathan, who’d felt almost like brothers to me. Now I had a real one and the prospect filled me with a strange mix of excitement and caution.
Later that afternoon, the butler informed me that Logan had come home, though he seemed to be in a sour mood. Even so, I couldn’t resist going to meet him properly.
As I descended the stairs, Logan turned to me with a friendly smile and held out his hand. “Hey, sis,” he greeted warmly.
“I’m Logan. Nice to finally meet you. Call me anytime you need anything.”
I froze, recognizing him instantly. He was the same man who had picked up Sisca in
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that flashy Bugatti. Suddenly, everything
clicked into place.
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Chapter 7
