Chapter 3 - The Woman He Needed Back
Emily woke because someone was pounding on her apartment door.
She opened her eyes.
Emma was standing beside her.
“Mommy?”
The pounding came again.
Emily checked the clock.
12:07 p.m.
She had slept less than five hours.
“Stay here.”
She opened the door.
Daniel stood outside.
Behind him were two men in dark suits.
Emily’s expression hardened.
“No.”
“Emily—”
“No.”
“We need you.”
“You fired me.”
“I didn’t.”
“You stood there.”
Daniel winced.
“Fair.”
Emily started closing the door.
Daniel caught it.
“The restart happened.”
She froze.
“What?”
“They restarted it.”
Emily closed her eyes.
“Of course they did.”
“We’re losing accounts.”
“How much?”
“Over eighty million.”
Emily immediately walked toward the kitchen.
Daniel followed.
“What are you doing?”
“Coffee.”
“You’re coming?”
“No.”
“Emily.”
She turned.
“You humiliated me in front of thirty people.”
“That was Alessandro.”
“And Bruno stood there while it happened.”
Daniel lowered his voice.
“Bruno buried your warning.”
“I know.”
“Alessandro knows now.”
“Good.”
“Emily, the network may collapse.”
She stared at him.
“Then Alessandro should ask the man he trusted instead of the woman he refused to hear.”
A small voice came from behind them.
“Mama?”
Emma stood in the hallway holding the old rag doll.
Emily’s anger disappeared immediately.
“Hey, sweetheart.”
“Are you going back to work?”
Emily crouched.
“I don’t know.”
Emma looked at Daniel.
“Did Mama save the computers?”
Daniel blinked.
Emily looked away.
Emma continued.
“She said bad people were trying to steal things.”
Daniel crouched too.
“She did save them.”
Emma frowned.
“Then why did they send her home?”
Nobody answered.
A phone rang.
One of Alessandro’s men answered.
“Yes.”
He listened.
Then held the phone toward Emily.
“Mr. Moretti.”
Emily stared at it.
Finally, she took it.
“Emily.”
Alessandro’s voice sounded different.
No authority.
No accusation.
Only urgency.
“You were right.”
Emily said nothing.
“I read your notebook.”
“After you fired me.”
“Yes.”
“And after you restarted the server.”
“Yes.”
“At least you're learning the correct order.”
Daniel nearly smiled.
Alessandro accepted the hit.
“I need your help.”
“You needed my help at 5:47.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
A pause.
Then Alessandro said, “Tell me what you need.”
Emily looked toward Emma.
“A guarantee.”
“Name it.”
“Daniel controls the technical floor while I work.”
“Done.”
“Bruno touches nothing.”
“Done.”
“Every command goes through me.”
“Done.”
“And nobody interrupts me because they think they know better.”
“Done.”
Emily took a breath.
“One more thing.”
“What?”
“When this is over, you and I are going to have a conversation about how you treat people who work for you.”
Daniel’s eyebrows rose.
Alessandro answered without hesitation.
“Agreed.”
Emily looked at her daughter.
Emma held out the rag doll.
“You need her again.”
Emily smiled faintly.
She took it.
Twenty-seven minutes later, Emily Carter walked back into the operations center.
Nobody spoke.
Alessandro stood beside her old desk.
Emily stopped in front of him.
He held out her silver badge.
She didn't take it.
“Later.”
Then she sat down.
“Daniel.”
“Ready.”
“Kill all automated outbound routing.”
“We tried.”
“You tried from the administrative layer.”
Emily’s fingers moved across the keyboard.
“We’re going underneath it.”
Alessandro watched.
“How long?”
Emily glanced at the screen.
“If the attackers haven’t changed the payload?”
“Yes?”
“Forty minutes.”
“And if they have?”
Emily looked up.
May you like
“Then you should start making peace with being poor.”
---
