The Real Heiress Is Coming Back (Hannah Carter) novel Chapter 69

Chapter 69

Chapter 69

# 65 your her

The conference room at Baker Group was filled with young techs glued to their computer screens.

About half of them were fighting back yawns, while several had resorted to the desperate measure of propping their eyelids. open with toothpicks. Exhausted as they were, not a single person dared to rest their head on the desk.

Gemma sat at the front of the room, her simmering anger casting a palpable tension that made even the thought of dozing off unthinkable.

That afternoon, she’d received Raven’s response. Her temple throbbed with suppressed fury.

She hadn’t expected the hacker to treat a transaction starting at 300 million with such casual disregard.

But with their firewall security hanging by a thread, she had no choice. She immediately returned to headquarters, prepared the requirements, and gathered every available hacker.

“I need you to track this person’s location through their digital footprint,” she commanded.

“Yes, madam.” A unified response echoed through the room.

Yet after Gemma sent over the details, hours passed without a response.

The team remained stationed in the conference room from noon until ten in the evening before the reply finally came through.

Raven: [Offer accepted. 350 million. Transfer within 30 minutes to the account below. No extensions.]

Gemma, who had even skipped the Scepter House auction for this, felt her blood run cold. The asking price had jumped from 100 million to 350 million in just days.

Suddenly, the pattern became clear. This had been a trap from the beginning.

Ever since the surveillance footage leaked, someone had been manipulating her into this exact position.

“Track their location now!” Gemma slammed the table as she stood.

The hackers sprang into action, fingers flying across keyboards in a frantic race against time.

“Location found. 66°34′ South, 160° East,” one called out.

“30 North, 20° East here,” another reported.

“34 South, 151 East,” came a third voice.

As each person reported different coordinates, they exchanged bewildered glances.

The realization dawned on them simultaneously. They hadn’t been tracking Raven, but Raven had been tracking them.

“The bank account traces back to the Scepter House’s auction platform,” one of the hackers reported.

“Find out what sold for 350 million tonight and who bought it,” Gemma ordered before turning to her secretary. “Get the car. We’re going to the Scepter House immediately.”

“Yes, ma’am,” the secretary replied, hurrying after her. “Should we proceed with the transfer?”

Gemma was tempted to refuse, but Raven’s warning felt unnervingly final.

Chapter 69

They’d already invested too much time to back out now, and their firewall couldn’t withstand further delays.

Besides, the Scepter House’s involvement lent the transaction a layer of legitimacy.

“Authorize the payment at the last possible moment. Keep full records of the transaction,” she said, her eyes narrowing with calculation.

“Got it,” the secretary replied.

By the time Gemma arrived at the Scepter House thirty minutes later, the auction had long concluded.

A security guard blocked her path. “I’m sorry, madam. The event is over. No re-entry is permitted.”

“What?!” Gemma bit back her frustration. This wasn’t some ordinary venue where she could force her way through.

She opened WhatsApp instead and sent Raven a message.

Gemma: [You’re at the Scepter House? So am I. Let’s meet.]

There was no reply.

“Mrs. Baker, the transfer has been completed,” her secretary informed her, ending a call.

She added, “Also, we’ve confirmed no single item sold for 350 million tonight. The highest bid was 290 million for the Obsidian Pearl, won by the Nameless Healer.

“The 350 million may represent multiple purchases. There were over a dozen lots sold, and we found five possible combinations matching that total. Unfortunately, bidder details are confidential, so we can’t narrow it down further.”

The complexity of the calculation made an ordinary bidder unlikely.

If not a buyer, the simplest explanation remained that the account belonged to the Scepter House, and Raven was connected to the auction house itself.

At that moment, a WhatsApp notification chimed. Gemma opened it immediately.

Raven: [Payment confirmed. Task completed.]

A screenshot followed, showing nothing more than Raven’s reply “Task accepted” under their original request on the hacker forum.

Gemma was speechless. Two words and a screenshot were sold for 350 million.

Gemma: [Is that all? Did you even look at the requirements I sent?[

Gemma: [You can’t be serious, charging that much for a short reply. This is outright fraud.]

She sent several more heated messages, but as expected, she was met with silence.

Raven’s unresponsive demeanor felt almost automated, like a bot programmed to ignore complaints.

“Mrs. Baker,” the secretary ventured timidly, watching Gemma’s thunderous expression, “do you think we’re dealing with scammers?”

Even her secretary thought this looked like a scam. The observation only deepened Gemma’s suspicion that she might have been thoroughly duped.

10:53 Mon, Dec 22

Chapter 69

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Yet if she went to the police, their chat history would prove utterly useless as evidence. If anything, it would show her eagerly soliciting services and transferring funds willingly.

The thought of this becoming public made her cringe. Her carefully cultivated reputation for business acumen would be ruined overnight.

In the end, threatening to involve the authorities was just a bluff. She had far too much to lose.

At that moment, the secretary’s phone rang again. She answered, and her face instantly brightened with excitement at whatever was being said on the other end. “Really? That’s fantastic!”

Hanging up, she immediately turned to Gemma. “Mrs. Baker, the cyberattacks on our company’s firewall, they’ve completely stopped.”

“Are you sure?” Gemma questioned, her voice laced with doubt.

The secretary nodded firmly. “Absolutely. That was the head of IT. He said they were in the middle of defending against the attacks when suddenly, all malicious activity ceased. The team is now fully focused on repairing the system vulnerabilities.”

Just then, another WhatsApp message came through.

Raven: [Acceptance confirmed. Transaction closed.]

Gemma was taken aback. How could everything be resolved in a matter of minutes? The speed and precision behind it sent a chill down her spine.

She hurried back to the company at once. Only after personally confirming the firewall’s security did she try messaging Raven again.

But the message showed only one gray checkmark. Raven had already deleted her.

*****

Meanwhile, Hannah had returned to Scott Villa. Fresh out of the shower, she toweled her damp hair as she opened the WhatsApp chat with Gemma.

A faint, cool smile crossed her lips.

She picked up the conch pearl bracelet she had left on the dresser before her bath, her fingers gently tracing its smooth surface.

Memories rushed back, Gemma knocking over the soup Rosalie had painstakingly prepared overnight for Leopold, not only refusing to apologize but also staining Rosalie’s gown, leaving her to face Leopold’s blame alone.

A cold, sharp glint flickered in Hannah’s eyes.

“This is only the beginning,” she thought, her expression hardening with resolve.

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