Chapter 3 — A Crack in the Glass
Delilah Kane
The hum of technology reverberated through the Lumina Tower conference room, where polished glass and steel collided with the palpable tension in the air. Delilah stood at the head of the long, sleek table, her sharp hazel eyes scanning the three-dimensional holographic display that hovered above its surface. Lines of code, system diagnostics, and heatmaps flickered in a frenzied dance, each one a testament to the gravity of the breach. The patterns told a story she didn’t want to believe.
This wasn’t brute force. It was surgical—a scalpel, not a hammer, carving through layers of security with predatory precision.
Her heels clicked a sharp rhythm against the pristine floor as she paced, the sound amplifying the weight of her authority. Around the table, engineers and analysts hunched over their stations, fingers flying across keyboards in synchronized urgency. The room buzzed with muted whispers and the occasional sharp intake of breath. The weight of her presence pressed down on them like an approaching storm.
“Let me be absolutely clear,” Delilah said, her voice slicing through the hum of activity. She stopped mid-stride, her hands resting flat against the table’s edge as she leaned forward. “This was not the work of an opportunistic amateur. This was planned. Coordinated. And executed with resources we’ve never encountered before.” Her gaze swept across the room, sharp and unyielding. “I need answers—now. How did this happen?”
Evan, her chief systems architect, cleared his throat, his wiry frame looking even smaller under the room’s sterile lighting. He hesitated, avoiding her gaze, before finally speaking. “The breach targeted Nexus directly. Whoever did this… didn’t just bypass our firewalls. They neutralized them. Almost as if…” He trailed off, his words faltering.
Delilah’s tone was razor-edged as she finished his sentence. “As if they had a roadmap.”
Evan nodded reluctantly, his unease evident. “Yes, ma’am. It’s possible they had internal knowledge—or worse, access.”
Her jaw tightened for the briefest moment, a crack in her otherwise unshakable composure. She turned back to the holographic display, her mind racing. Nexus wasn’t just another project—it was the crown jewel of Lumina Innovations, a system that represented years of relentless innovation and the trust of global investors. No, this wasn’t just an attack on her company. It was an attack on her.
“You’ll find the source,” she said, her words crisp and absolute. “Suspend access where necessary. Conduct a full sweep of every terminal, every log, and every server connected to this building. Bring in external penetration testers if you have to. Use everything at our disposal. I want answers by the end of the day.”
Evan nodded briskly and returned to his workstation. Around the table, the team followed suit, their collective focus shifting into overdrive. Delilah lingered for a moment longer, her gaze heavy with expectation, before turning on her heel and striding out of the room.
The glass doors whispered shut behind her, sealing her in the hushed corridor. The walk to her private office was long and deliberate, her heels echoing against the polished floors. Through the open spaces, she caught glimpses of her employees: heads bent over desks, hushed conversations flaring into brief moments of tension. Normally, their diligence was a source of quiet pride. Today, it felt fragile, as though the foundation of her empire had been shaken by tremors only she could feel.
Her private office greeted her with its usual calm precision. Floor-to-ceiling windows framed the city skyline, its gleaming towers basking in the afternoon sun. The light reflected off the glass, painting the room in golden hues. On any other day, this view stood as a testament to her success—a reminder of how far she’d risen. But now, it felt like an illusion, a shimmering surface ready to shatter under the weight of unseen threats.
Her fingers brushed the edge of her desk as she leaned against it, the smooth surface cool beneath her touch. The anonymous message from the gala replayed in her mind: *You’re being watched.* Delivered through an encrypted channel, it had been impossible to trace. At the time, she’d dismissed it as a calculated scare tactic. But now, with Nexus breached, it felt less like paranoia and more like inevitability. Someone was coming for everything she’d built.
Her gaze drifted to a framed photograph perched in the corner of her desk—a younger version of herself, standing beside her mother, a woman with kind eyes and an indomitable strength. The sight anchored her. Her mother’s voice echoed in her mind: *Control what you can, Delilah. The rest is noise.*
The soft chime of her tablet cut through her thoughts. Delilah straightened, tapping the screen to reveal Sophia Tran’s composed face.
“Ms. Kane, you have a visitor,” Sophia said, her usual lighthearted energy replaced by a quiet seriousness. “Victor D’Aragon.”
Delilah’s brow arched. “Did he have an appointment?”
“No, ma’am. He asked to see you in person. Said it was urgent.”
Victor D’Aragon. The enigmatic investor who had unsettled her at the gala not even twenty-four hours ago. His arrival now, in the immediate aftermath of the breach, was either impeccable timing or a calculated move. Delilah didn’t believe in coincidences.
“Send him to the executive lounge,” she said after a beat. “I’ll be there shortly.”
“Understood.” Sophia nodded, her image vanishing from the screen.
Delilah exhaled slowly, adjusting the cuffs of her charcoal-gray suit. Her mind was already racing through scenarios, calculating risks and countermeasures. Victor D’Aragon might think her vulnerable, but if he thought he could exploit this breach to gain leverage, he was in for a rude awakening.
Moments later, she entered the executive lounge, her posture a study in quiet authority. Victor stood by the window, his back to her. The golden afternoon light cast long shadows across the room, but he seemed untouched by it, as though he existed just beyond its reach.
He turned at the sound of her entrance, his silver-gray eyes locking onto hers with unsettling intensity. His tailored three-piece suit was immaculate, every detail exuding a timeless elegance that made the air around him feel heavier.
“Mr. D’Aragon,” Delilah said, her tone measured, her expression neutral. “You have an uncanny knack for showing up unannounced.”
Victor inclined his head in greeting. “My apologies, Ms. Kane. But given the circumstances, I felt it necessary to speak with you directly.”
“The circumstances?” she echoed, her tone laced with dry humor. “You mean the chaos currently unfolding thanks to a coordinated cyberattack on my company?”
His faint smile was composed, though his eyes carried something darker. “Precisely. I understand you’ve encountered difficulties.”
“Difficulties,” Delilah repeated, crossing her arms as her gaze sharpened. “That’s an interesting way to put it. So, tell me—are you here to offer solutions, or are you just here to observe the fallout?”
Victor stepped closer, his movements deliberate, as though every step carried the weight of a decision. “I assure you, my intentions are cooperative. I have resources that may prove invaluable to you.”
Delilah’s skepticism deepened, though she kept her expression carefully controlled. “Resources you conveniently didn’t mention at the gala. Why now?”
“Because I didn’t yet have enough information to act,” he replied, his voice calm. “But now, I believe I can provide context to the threats you’re facing.”
“And why would you do that?” she asked, her tone sharp. “Out of the goodness of your heart?”
His gaze didn’t waver. “Let’s just say I have a vested interest in ensuring certain forces do not gain the upper hand. Your work represents a fragile balance—one that must remain intact.”
Delilah’s pulse quickened, though she refused to let it show. “These forces—do they have names?”
Victor hesitated, a flicker of something unreadable crossing his face. “Names I cannot yet share.”
“How convenient,” she said dryly. “You’ll forgive me if I don’t take you at face value, Mr. D’Aragon. Trust isn’t something I give lightly.”
“Nor should you,” he replied, his faint smile softening. “All I ask is that you consider my offer.”
Delilah studied him in silence, weighing the tension between his cryptic words and the unshakable sense that Victor D’Aragon was a man who straddled two worlds—one grounded in reality, the other steeped in shadow. She didn’t trust him, but there was something in his calm certainty that made her curious. And curiosity, she knew, was often the first step toward answers.
“I’ll think about it,” she said finally.
Victor inclined his head, a ghost of a smile playing at his lips. Without another word, he turned and left, his footsteps impossibly silent against the polished floor. Delilah watched his reflection in the window as he disappeared, her mind a storm of calculations and unanswered questions.
Alone in the lounge, her hand drifted to the Chronos Pendant around her neck, her fingers brushing the cool metal. Its weight was steady, grounding her. Her mother’s words whispered in her mind: *Time is a gift, but it is also a test.*
Victor D’Aragon might hold answers, but she would uncover them on her terms. There was too much at stake to let anyone distract her—not Victor. Not anyone.
