Chapter 144
Chapter 144:
Rose wrapped her arms around herself. “You think they know?”
Herod swiped through several screens, searching for evidence to confirm his suspicions. “No accident reports. No emergency responses, no unexpected shutdowns, no warnings.” He turned to face Rose. “James Walsh installed forty-seven modified components. At least one should have triggered some kind of warning by now.”
The thought that Camille might have outsmarted them again made Rose’s stomach twist.
“Maybe the effects haven’t shown up yet,” she suggested. “Walsh said the major failures wouldn’t happen until full activation.”
“We should still be seeing preliminary issues. Inconsistent power readings, system flags, technicians being called unexpectedly.”
“So, what are you saying?”
“Either our sabotage wasn’t as effective as Walsh claimed, or…”
“Or Camille and Victoria have discovered it,” Rose finished, her voice barely above a whisper.
Rose felt familiar fury rising inside her—the same rage that consumed her when she watched Camille at the gala. Powerful and pristine.
“No,” she said, slamming her palm down. “I will not let her win. Not again.”
“What do you propose?” Herod asked, studying her with cautious admiration.
“We accelerate the timeline. Move everything up.”
“That’s risky. The official launch is still two days away…”
“We can’t wait,” Rose snapped, pacing now. “If they’ve discovered our tampering, they’ll be ready for us at the launch. We need to strike now, while they think they still have time.”
Herod nodded slowly. “You may be right. Waiting only gives them more time to counter it.”
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He pressed a button on an encrypted phone and spoke without preamble. “We need to move up the timeline. How quickly can you arrange it?” After listening briefly, he added, “Double your fee if necessary. Triple it. Just get it done.”
He ended the call. “It’ll be arranged by dawn. The secondary plan will now be our primary approach.”
“And the Grid sabotage?” Rose asked.
“A diversion now,” Herod said. “Whether they discovered it or not doesn’t matter. Our true strike will come from a different direction.”
He opened a wall safe, removing a black metal case and placing it on the desk.
“This is what will destroy Victoria Kane.”
Inside lay folders and documents bearing the Kane Industries logo.
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