111 — “Did you find the culprit?”

When the sun rises with the start of another week, I feel an extreme sense of foreboding. It’s as if my body had already sensed a chill even before winter arrived. A terrible nausea forced me to look for a stomach medicine, but that didn’t do much good, as my intuition kept screaming in my head that the day would be tough.
Things seem calmer with my father, but not between him and Julian... not that they’ve really tried to make any other contact. That worries me, honestly... I never wanted to shake their friendship, but I feel responsible for it now.
Hah, I just hope this storm vanishes soon...
Just like this discomfort of mine.
For now, I just need to put on a smile and get through this day, dealing with the bomb that’s to come. However, the moment I arrive at the office — *late because of the morning sickness*, I sense a great tension in the air.
The employees are gathered in small groups, spread around each other’s desks, chatting. Even when I arrive, they don’t disguise it; they just keep talking. This gives me a deep feeling of strangeness that makes me search for my phone in the bag as I make my way to my workstation.
My anxious fingers open the forum, looking for a photo or something, but there’s nothing different. And instead of causing me some relief, this only makes me feel more anxious.
I throw my bag on the table, nibbling on my thumbnail as I continue to search the forum, scrolling through topic by topic, but there’s really nothing here.
*Was I really wrong about Laura?*
Suddenly, the door to Julian’s office opens, and I notice that he takes a step, looking around, finally glimpsing at me. His serious expression sends shivers down my spine, especially when his voice sounds deep and serious, “Angelee, one moment, please.”
I nod slowly, feeling their eyes burning into me as I grip my phone a little tighter and walk toward Julian, my heels clicking on the floor... But while I walk towards him, I feel a vicious gaze on me, so malicious that it sends shivers through my body. Inevitably, my eyes search for the source of this discomfort, and I find Laura sitting at her desk with a discreet smile on her lips, unlike the cold eyes that stare at me.
Julian makes way for me to enter the room, and just as I do, he closes the door. The large glass window allows me to see the staff’s attention on us, and this makes me feel weird because being in this room reminds me of some things, like the orgasm I achieved on his desk... the first time he showed me the pink egg.
But my thoughts are soon interrupted when Julian walks in without lowering the curtains. The air is tense, so palpable that I find myself almost hyperventilating. I take a deep breath and follow him, moving through the room that suddenly seems too small.
“What happened?” I can’t resist this agonizing wait and ask impatiently. “Why do people seem so anxious today?”
Julian takes a deep breath, leaning against the table but insisting on this silence that makes my heart beat even faster.
“Tell me, Julian.”
“The reason people are anxious isn’t the reason I called you here... There are more urgent things to deal with, Angel.”
Gosh, there’s more? I really feel like I’m in the middle of an apocalypse trying to come up with a contingency plan.
“The I.T. has finally found an important clue.” He says, making my heart skip a beat and an intense chill spread through my chest. “It’s promising.”
I stagger and quickly hurry to the couch. I know that people keep looking at me through the window and that I shouldn’t show weakness, especially when Laura is on the other side, but I can’t help feeling a strange mixture of nervousness, happiness, and fear.
“Jackson is coming all this way to show us what he’s found,” Julian says, looking beyond his office, and I find myself also peeking through the glass with anxious eyes. Then, I see the arrogant young man approaching with large steps and a laptop in his hand. His serious expression makes me hold my breath, which I let out only the next moment when he stops and knocks on the door.
Julian gives a loud permission for him to come in, and the man enters the room without paying me a glance. His attention seems totally focused on Julian, and I understand why, after all, his influence as one of the biggest shareholders remains the same, as does his former position as Vice President. Still, I’d appreciate it if this asshole wasn’t so rude.
“Mr. Adams, I brought what I said before.” He stops next to Julian and places the laptop on the table. Julian steps back, crossing his muscular arms that mark his tight shirt. This attracts my eyes, but not for long because Jackson says it again, interrupting the sinful turns my thoughts had almost taken...
“Honestly, I didn’t know if it would work, but it was worth a try... I thought that if the person was careful to use accounts that were supposed to be inactive and didn’t take the phone out of the building, they should be smart enough not to click on malicious links — but they did.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, confused by the man’s quick voice that knots my mind.
He looks at me with disdain, as if he doubts my intelligence, then rolls his eyes and presses a button on his laptop, displaying something I don’t know exactly what it is, but it doesn’t look easy.
“The person didn’t take the phone out of the building, and I know this because not only did it not connect to the internet at any other place, but the signal didn’t move for a single instant. There are only two points... This company’s and the first one, probably when it was bought, as it’s a few days before the first post was made.”
“So this was planned,” I mutter, lowering my eyes, slowly understanding what these words mean.
“I looked at the map, and it’s a big department store. That’s where they bought the phone, probably. It’s a big store, lots of people shop there. Even if it were the day it left, there would be many hours of security cameras to watch, and it would still be impossible to know who to look for.”
“Okay, but?” Julian rushes him, impatient, his eyebrows low and frowning.
“The person was careful, I have to respect that... but it wasn’t enough.” Jackson gives a proud smile, and this is the first time I’ve really seen him smile. He presses another button, and now it looks like a cell phone screen but on a laptop.
My stomach flutters.
“I’ve been watching it ever since, waiting for the moment when the phone turned on... And it did this morning. Exactly one hour and seventeen seconds ago.” He turns to me, finally looking at me. “And I used that opportunity to do something.”
Then Jackson turns his attention to Julian as if explaining his great work to him alone... “I used a bait... and the person fell for it.”
Both Julian and I remain silent, waiting for him to continue. And seeing our almost apathy, Jackson finally adds, “Using an existing account of an employee, who gladly allowed it, I had sent a message to the last account that was used to make the posts. It was a long shot; he could have logged off and not seen it, but it was there... and the person read the message. I told them I had compromising photos of Angelee O’Neil that they could use, and I sent a link with RAT malware and...”
“What’s that?” I ask as he pauses dramatically to emphasize how great his plan worked out. But I know absolutely nothing about computers, so everything is confusing and knotted up in my head.
But Jackson’s look of disgust makes me frown. He’s no longer doubting my intelligence; *he’s looking at me like I don’t have any neurons left.*
“It’s software made with malicious intent.” He says, and, faced with my still evident confusion, he snorts, saying harshly, “I made the person open a link that automatically downloads a tool that allows me to take control of that device remotely. I can also access all the data, everything.”
*Why didn’t he make it simple from the start?*
I bite my lip, noticing that he’s getting impatient, shrug, and turn his attention back to Julian, who is watching everything in silence, although his expression gives away how much he dislikes the man’s attitude.
“Anyway, I got full control and access. I dare say the person noticed the mistake because it was turned off a while later. It’s possible that it was discarded right now, far from the building, in some junkyard.”
I sigh, disappointed, angry, stressed, and tired. A million different feelings explode in me.
“But, of course... I’ve seen everything there is to see.” Jackson says, catching my surprised, expectant, anxious eyes.
“So you found it?” I say in a high-pitched voice, anticipation burning through me, racing my heart. “Did you find the culprit?”
“Yes, I found it... After all, if the phone didn’t leave the building, they must have transferred the photos somehow...” He smiles proudly, then shrugs. “I found a trail... The real source of the first picture.”
I take a short breath, asking with a trembling voice... “Tell me... Who’s doing all this?”
Jackson looks at me, then presses a button that shows exactly the details of a second account... And a familiar face.
“Well, the culprit is...”