The terminal screen blinked, went black, and then bypassed the login screen entirely, dropping me directly into Aura Beauty’s central directory.
I worked fast, my fingers flying over the keyboard. I bypassed the marketing folders and went straight for internal communications. I searched for emails containing the keywords “burn,” “reaction,” “Apex,” and “settlement.”
Hundreds of results populated. I clicked on the most recent thread between Chloe and her legal team.
From: Legal Dept
To: Chloe Sterling
Subject: URGENT: Focus Group 4 - Hospitalizations.
Message: Chloe, three women from the test group for the new Luminous Eye Cream have suffered severe chemical burns to their corneas. The cheap filler from Apex is highly acidic. We must recall the batch immediately and issue a warning before retail distribution.
Reply from: Chloe Sterling
Message: Bury it. Offer them non-disclosure agreements and $10k each. Do NOT issue a recall. If Arthur Vance sees a recall, he cancels the buyout. The Vance deal closes tomorrow. Let Vance Retail deal with the liability once it's on their shelves.
The sheer cruelty of it made my stomach turn. She was going to let Vance Retail unknowingly sell acid to consumers, destroying my family's legacy and blinding innocent women just to pay off her own debts.
I initiated a mass download of the entire email server directly to my encrypted phone. A progress bar appeared on the screen.
10%... 30%...
The downloading was slow. The files were massive.
50%... 70%...
Suddenly, the heavy metal handle of the server room door rattled loudly.
I froze, staring at the door. Someone was trying to get in.
80%...
The handle rattled again, violently. Then, the sound of a keycard sliding into the scanner beeped loudly.
“It’s jammed, swipe it again,” a gruff, male voice commanded from the other side. It was Dave, Aura’s massive head of security.
“I’m trying,” Zara’s voice complained.
90%... 98%... 100%.
The file transfer completed. I yanked the USB cord out, shoved my encrypted phone deep into the pocket of my jeans, and stepped away from the terminal.
The door beeped a solid green. It swung open.
Dave the security guard stepped in, followed immediately by Chloe and Zara. The moment Chloe saw me standing in the restricted room, the color drained from her face, instantly replaced by a blinding, murderous rage.
“What the hell are you doing in here?!” Chloe shrieked, lunging forward. Dave grabbed my arm roughly, pinning me in place.
My mind raced. If they searched me and found the encrypted Vance phone with the downloaded files, my father’s entire operation would be exposed before we could legally isolate Vance Retail from the fallout. I had to pivot, using the only thing they expected from me: absolute incompetence.
“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!” I stuttered, forcing my eyes to widen in genuine-looking panic. I gestured wildly toward a stack of cardboard boxes in the corner. “Zara told me to set up the trash perimeters! I was looking for the extra garbage bags! The door was unlocked, I swear!”
Chloe stepped up to me, her face inches from mine. I could see the frantic paranoia in her eyes. “You little liar. You were looking at my servers.”
“I don’t even know how to turn that computer on, Ms. Sterling!” I cried out, shrinking back against Dave’s grip. “Please, I just needed bags! I didn’t touch anything!”
Chloe stared at me, searching my face for any sign of deception. But all she saw was Mia Harper—the pathetic, bruised girl in a cheap sweater who she had slapped hours earlier without consequence. Why would a girl like that know how to hack a corporate server?
Zara sighed in exasperation. “She really is an idiot, Chloe. She’s too stupid to know what a server even does.”
Chloe’s breathing slowed, her paranoia shifting back into arrogance. She looked at me with profound disgust.
“Check her,” Chloe ordered Dave. “If she has anything on her, break it.”
Dave roughly patted down my sweater pockets. He reached into the front pocket of my jeans and pulled out my cheap, prepaid burner phone. The one I used to take pictures of the binder earlier. He handed it to Chloe.
“Hey! That’s mine!” I protested weakly.
Chloe didn’t hesitate. She threw the burner phone onto the concrete floor and stomped her heavy stiletto heel directly through the glass screen, shattering it instantly.