Chapter 4 - The Bugatti Was a Trojan Horse for a Cyberattack, and Isabella Learned Her Own Security System Had Been Designed to Turn Against HerI examined the Bugatti again.
The car wasn't just a custom vehicle.
It contained a network interface connected to Isabella's private infrastructure.
Whoever installed the transmitters had used the vehicle as an access point.
The car wasn't meant to explode.
It was meant to open the door.
The digital door.
I explained it to Isabella.
She listened.
“Can you disconnect it?”
“Yes.”
“But?”
“It already connected once.”
“To what?”
“Everything.”
She looked at the security screens.
I traced the network.
The attack had entered through the vehicle.
Then moved into the hotel.
Then into her private network.
Then into corporate accounts.
Then into property systems.
Someone could potentially control the entire empire.
Ports.
Warehouses.
Banking.
Vehicles.
Security.
All remotely.
Isabella looked at Dominic.
“How did you know about the architecture?”
He hesitated.
“I helped build it.”
“You?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because your father ordered me to keep it secret.”
Her face changed.
She realized.
Her father had been preparing for years.
I asked Dominic:
“How long has he been alive?”
“Since before the crash.”
Isabella stared at him.
“You knew?”
“I suspected.”
“Why?”
“Because his money never disappeared.”
She was furious.
But she didn't blame him.
Not yet.
We needed to stop the cyberattack.
Lily sat beside me.
She watched the code scrolling across the screen.
Then she said:
“Daddy.”
“Yes?”
“This number repeats.”
She pointed.
I looked.
A hexadecimal sequence.
Repeated every 47 seconds.
“That's not possible.”
“What?”
“The system is masking an external connection.”
She shook her head.
“It's a clock.”
I froze.
“What?”
“The number changes like a clock.”
She was right.
The sequence represented a countdown.
Nine minutes.
The attack wasn't random.
It was scheduled.
I traced it.
The destination was the central banking server.
Isabella's reserve accounts.
If the transfer happened, billions could disappear.
I worked.
I isolated the network.
Built a firewall.
Countered the intrusion.
The timer continued.
Six minutes.
Five.
Four.
I found the command.
It required a biometric authorization.
Isabella's.
But her fingerprint hadn't been used.
Her voice.
I recorded her voice.
Then stopped.
“It's not her voice.”
“What?”
“The system expects both.”
Biometric and voice.
Impossible.
Unless the attacker had recorded her voice.
They had.
I searched.
Found the audio file.
Someone had recorded Isabella at a private meeting.
The date:
Three weeks earlier.
The attack had been planned long before tonight.
Two minutes.
I rewrote the authentication.
The system rejected it.
Lily leaned closer.
“Daddy.”
“What?”
“Try backwards.”
I stared at her.
The sequence.
The code.
Reverse authentication.
I tried.
The system accepted.
The attack stopped.
The screens came back.
Isabella exhaled.
“How did you know?”
Lily shrugged.
“It was backwards.”
I laughed.
My seven-year-old had just saved billions.
But before anyone could celebrate, security alarms activated.
Someone was inside the hotel.
Isabella's guards ran.
I grabbed Lily.
“Stay close.”
The elevator opened.
A man stepped out.
It was Samuel Voss.
Or someone wearing his face.
He smiled.
“You're very clever, Ethan.”
I stared.
“How do you know my name?”
“I built you.”
“What?”
“You think Dominic destroyed your career?”
He laughed.
“I did.”
I felt sick.
“Why?”
“Because you wouldn't sell.”
“Sell what?”
“The architecture.”
“The security system.”
“Yes.”
He stepped closer.
“You designed the engine.”
“And I built the machine.”
Isabella raised her gun.
“Where's my father?”
He smiled.
“You're looking at his work.”
Then his voice changed.
“Not his face.”
“His legacy.”
He pressed a button.
Every locked door opened.
Every weapon system activated.
The hotel belonged to him.
At least temporarily.
Then he spoke to me.
“You have a choice.”
“What?”
“Help me complete the system.”
“Or?”
He looked at Lily.
“Your daughter disappears.”
I stepped forward.
“No.”
His smile vanished.
May you like
“Then we'll see how much your principles cost.”
The lights went out again.
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