Chapter 237

Chapter 237:

“The press is already at the scene,” Alexander added. “They’re calling it a terrorist attack on the Grid.”

Camille felt a sickening weight in her stomach. After all their work, all their success, Rose had managed to cast a shadow over the Grid’s triumph. If public confidence in the system faltered, everything they had built could collapse.

“Incoming power surge!” Hannah suddenly called out. “Junction 17 is overloading!”

Everyone turned to the main display. Junction 17—a key connection point for the northern sector—flashed red.

“It shouldn’t be surging,” Camille said, rushing back to the controls. “We rerouted away from that section.”

Hannah’s fingers flew over her keyboard. “Someone’s tampering with the load balancers remotely. They’re forcing power into that junction.”

“Shut it down!” Camille ordered.

“I can’t! The controls aren’t responding!” Hannah’s voice rose with panic. Alexander moved to another terminal.

“It’s a secondary attack. They’re hacking the system while we’re distracted by the explosion.”

Cold dread spread through Camille’s chest. Rose hadn’t just planned a physical attack; she’d coordinated a cyberattack to follow, hitting them when their defenses were focused elsewhere.

“Manual override,” Camille decided. “We need to physically disconnect Junction 17 before it overloads and takes down the northern sector.”

“That would mean going on-site,” Hannah said. “The junction box is in the Riverside facility.”

“I know,” Camille grabbed her jacket. “Alexander, stay here and coordinate with Hannah. I’m going to Riverside.”

Alexander caught her arm. “It could be a trap.”

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“Of course it’s a trap,” Camille replied, her eyes steely. “But if we lose the northern sector, hospitals will lose power. People could die.”

He held her gaze for a long moment before nodding. “Take security with you.”

“No time,” she said, already heading toward the door. “Send them after me. And keep working on the remote override. If you get control back, shut down Junction 17 immediately.”

The drive to Riverside took twelve agonizing minutes. Camille kept Hannah on speakerphone, listening as the situation continued to worsen.

“Junction 17 at one hundred ten percent capacity,” Hannah reported. “Safety systems failing. We’re losing control of the connected relays.”

Camille pressed the accelerator harder, weaving through the early morning traffic. “Hold it together. I’m almost there.”

The Riverside facility loomed ahead—a concrete building surrounded by a chain-link fence. Camille screeched to a halt at the gate, swiping her security card. The gate slid open too slowly, and she drummed her fingers on the steering wheel, counting each precious second.

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