Chapter 244
Chapter 244:
“Good morning,” she began, her voice clear and unwavering. “Last night, Kane Industries’ Phoenix Grid substations were attacked in what authorities are investigating as acts of terrorism. I want to be clear: these were not accidents. These were not system failures. These were deliberate attacks designed to destroy what we have built.”
She paused, scanning the room, meeting the gaze of several reporters directly. “They failed.”
The simple statement hung in the air. A reporter from the Wall Street Journal broke the silence.
“Ms. Kane, how can you claim they failed when two substations are completely destroyed?”
Camille nodded at the question. “Because destruction was not their only goal. Whoever did this wanted to prove that the Phoenix Grid was vulnerable—that our promise of reliable, safe power for New York was empty.” She gestured to the large screen behind her, which flickered to life, showing a real-time map of the city’s power grid. “As you can see, power remains stable across all five boroughs. Hospital systems, emergency services, public transportation—all operating normally.”
Another reporter raised her hand. “But what about the safety concerns raised last week? Could those vulnerabilities have been exploited in these attacks?” Camille felt a flash of rage at the mention of the fabricated safety concerns Rose and Herod had planted. She pushed it down, keeping her expression professional.
“Those concerns were based on falsified documents, as we demonstrated at our stockholder meeting. In fact, it was our advanced safety systems that prevented these attacks from having their intended effect. The Phoenix Grid was designed with multiple layers of protection precisely because we understood the critical nature of the infrastructure we were building.”
“What about the cost of repairs?” shouted a man from the back. “Will Kane Industries’ stock take a hit?”
Camille allowed herself a small smile. “The Phoenix Grid was named for a reason. The mythical phoenix burns and is reborn stronger. By this afternoon, our repair teams will have restored the damaged sections to eighty percent capacity. By this time tomorrow, we expect full restoration.”
She leaned forward slightly, her voice dropping so the reporters had to lean in to hear her. “Whoever attacked us clearly doesn’t understand what we built. The Phoenix Grid isn’t just infrastructure, it’s a new way of thinking about power. Distributed. Resilient. Self-healing. You can knock down parts, but the whole remains strong.”
The questions continued for twenty minutes. With each answer, Camille felt the mood in the room shifting. The initial skepticism gave way to something else—a grudging respect, even admiration. She answered everything directly, never dodging difficult questions, never making promises she couldn’t keep.
When she sensed the moment was right, she played her final card.
“Before I take my last question, I want to share something with you.” She nodded to Hannah, who tapped her tablet.
The large screen behind Camille changed to show the Kane Industries building. “As of four a.m. this morning, this building—our headquarters—is running entirely on Phoenix Grid power. Not backup generators. Not the city grid. Our grid.” A murmur ran through the assembled reporters.
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