Chapter 272 Infuriating
Employees trickled in, spotting their CEO, Nathaniel, glaring daggers at the time clock. No one dared to get close, and soon enough, a crowd had gathered at the entrance.
With his hands on his hips, Nathaniel snapped, "Who’s responsible for this time clock machine?"
Zack, worried about the HR team, stepped up. "Mr. Heilbronn, the time clock system is handled by the admin department. It must be broken. I'll get someone on it."
Nathaniel finally moved and stormed into the building. As he walked away, the time clock machine beeped again. "Clock-in successful."
Zack followed quietly, not wanting to make a sound. Everyone else clocked in just fine, but the CEO’s clock-in triggered a nasty error message.
Zack hit the button for the HR floor in the elevator and got off early. He needed to personally oversee this mess.
Nathaniel headed straight to his office on the top floor, where a mountain of documents awaited his signature.
He hadn’t even started when Zack and a cybersecurity colleague knocked on the door. "Mr. Heilbronn, our time clock system got hacked again. The hacker messed with the info so the alert goes off. It’s J again; he left his signature in the code."
Nathaniel, buried in paperwork, froze. "Are the other systems secure?"
"Yes, just the time clock system was hit," Zack replied.
Nathaniel crossed his arms, furrowed his brows, and dialed Chris’s number. "Chris, hook me up with the best hackers you know. Name your price."
He was at his wit's end. J was clearly targeting him. J was in the shadows, leaving him helpless. J would pop up every few days to mess with him, never causing major damage but always driving him nuts.
Chris chuckled on the other end. "Got hacked again, huh?"
Nathaniel’s silence said it all. Chris couldn’t resist teasing. "J’s got a good rep in the hacker world. He usually goes after scam sites and online gambling. Why’s he targeting you?"
Nathaniel, clearly annoyed, shot back, "What kind of logic is that? It’s like blaming a woman for being harassed because of her clothes. I pay my taxes and do charity work. What did I do wrong?"
Chris laughed again. "Since J hasn’t caused any financial loss to the Heilbronn Group, why not just tolerate him? It’s not a big deal."
Nathaniel was livid. Instead of helping, Chris was telling him to be more tolerant. He couldn't let J insult him every few days.
"Are you going to help or not?" Nathaniel demanded.
Chris had been joking. It was rare to see Nathaniel so flustered. He was also curious about J, who dared to mess with Nathaniel without fear of getting caught.
Chris said, "Don’t be mad, bro. I’m in Coral Bay and can’t help you right now. I’ll send some capable people your way."
Chris was in Coral Bay with Nova. Between his friend and his wife, he chose his wife. Even though he knew Nathaniel was fuming, he let him wait.
Chris had been coding for years and knew a ton of top hackers. He had good relationships with them too.
After hanging up, Chris immediately reached out to a few skilled hackers to help Nathaniel out.
Nathaniel, itching to get to Coral Bay, wanted to wrap up his work quickly and fly over to see Aurelia. This whole mess was delaying his plans, and he was determined to unmask J.
That afternoon, the hackers Chris contacted showed up at the Heilbronn Group.
Zack led them to the top-floor conference room, saying, "Alright, hacker gurus, we need you to find out who J really is. Name your price. Mr. Heilbronn won’t be stingy."
The lead hacker, who worked for Chris’s company and didn’t dare ask for payment, said, "Zack, we’ll do our best."
They set up their gear and got to work, first fixing the system and then waiting for J to come online for a direct showdown. They were confident they’d win.
Nathaniel canceled all his meetings, brought his work to the conference room, and waited for them to catch J.
The trap was set, just waiting for the prey.
Meanwhile, in Coral Bay.
Aurelia got a call from Ulysses. "Aurelia, there’s a situation at Norman’s company."
Aurelia had brought Brenda back to Coral Bay and had no time to deal with Norman’s company. She was now the largest shareholder of Thompson Enterprises, having invested almost all her savings four years ago.
With Norman in custody, the company must be in chaos.
"How’s Thompson Enterprises doing?" she asked.
Ulysses hesitated. "Aurelia, brace yourself."
He gave her a heads-up before continuing, "Chelsea is back. She’s claiming to be Norman’s designated successor and is leading the shareholders’ meeting. Some of Norman’s loyal old subordinates support her, while others with significant shares want to take over. Opinions are split."
Hearing Chelsea’s name again, Aurelia couldn’t believe she’d have to deal with her. She thought she’d never see Chelsea again.
Aurelia paused. "I understand. Keep an eye on her. I’ll handle my current tasks and head to Imperick."
Ulysses was excited to hear she was coming back. "Aurelia, let me know when you’re coming. I’ll pick you up at the airport."
Aurelia didn’t stand on ceremony. "Got it, I’ll definitely tell you."
She immediately arranged her work, handed over unfinished tasks to the design department, and drove to Joe’s company.
Aurelia was low-key and rarely visited Joe’s company. When she did, she’d call Joe’s assistant to escort her, and only a few people knew she was the heiress of the Semona Family.
This time, she called Joe’s assistant as usual. Joe happened to be free, so the assistant brought her directly to the CEO’s office. "Joe, I need to borrow an assistant. I have to go to Imperick."
Joe’s mind went on high alert. "Why are you going to Imperick?"
"Norman is in custody now, and his company has issues. I need to send someone I trust to manage it. The company’s success up to now is largely thanks to my mother."
Joe’s eyes darkened. "Indeed."
He picked up the phone and dialed. A few minutes later, someone knocked on the door.
Patrick Prescott walked in, saw Aurelia, and nodded in greeting.
Joe said, "Aurelia, this is Patrick."
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