The Enticing CEO’s Chosen Bride novel Chapter 2046

"Hey, Emiliana."

"Where have you been? Everything okay? When are you coming down?"

The light dimmed on Cicely's face as she inhaled a quiet breath, "I'm fine, just give me a moment more. I'll be right there."

"Make it snappy."

"Will do."

She hung up the phone and tucked it into her purse. Her palms slick with a sheen of cold sweat.d2

"Ms. Cicely, I've always said we have a certain fate, haven't I?"

Ray's demeanor was eerily calm, as if being caught in the act was the most natural thing in the world for him.

Cicely forced herself to relax, offering a hesitant smile as she slowly approached him.

"Mr. Ray, aren’y you in the wrong place?"

A light chuckle escaped Ray, "Not at all. It's rare for you to be here at this hour on a weekend, Ms. Cicely. What brings you?"

She didn't reply immediately, taking a moment before she retorted, "You don't seem too bothered about getting caught, do you?"

Ray leaned casually against a nearby desk, legs crossed, the picture of ease. "Since your call just now didn't blow my cover, does that mean we could perhaps strike a deal?"

Cicely fell silent for a beat, then burst into laughter. "So, you overheard what I said to Seth that day outside the hospital?"

He didn't deny, "Pure coincidence. I was just there to see Danielle discharged."

She closed the distance between them, their conversation as casual as if they were discussing the weather. "To be honest, our first encounter left a bad impression, and I might have misunderstood you. I wouldn't have pegged you for the romantic type, Mr. Ray."

Ray's smile widened as he removed his face mask, "Ms. Cicely, I am in the middle of a shady deal, so could you hand over your phone? Just in case you've called for backup, and then I'd really be in trouble."

Hesitating, Cicely reached into her purse to retrieve her phone. When she accidentally pressed the unlock button, the screen lit up, revealing a simple USB drive that had been lying there, forgotten.

However, the moment the phone's screen illuminated, Ray snatched the purse from her hands. He checked the phone and saw no calls made, and no other signs of tampering. Still not satisfied, he emptied her purse, scattering cosmetics, tissues, bank cards, and other daily essentials across the desk, along with the unassuming USB drive.

Picking up the drive, he raised an eyebrow with a smirk, "Can I assume that you're here for the same reason as me today, Ms. Cicely?"

Cicely curled her fingers, her gaze fixed on the USB drive before shaking her head, "Not sure."

"Hmm?"

She leaned against the desk, face-to-face with Ray, her voice laced with sarcasm. "Everyone knows that Seth is cold and aloof. The most important things to him are his mother and Diaz International, left to him by his father. My affection for him is no secret, and even though we're set to marry, he's never said he loves me. I don't know when he might leave me, so I thought, if I could control something so important to him, he wouldn't just walk away. You're well aware his mother favors Danielle, and to this day her desire to set him up with Danielle is still alive and well. There was no way for me to break in from his mother, so my sights were set on Diaz International."

"I've mentioned transferring Diaz International to my name a few times, but he's resisted, saying that if the software development fails and the company faces losses, then Diaz International would easily fall into my hands. Honestly, compared to the Ellis Group, Diaz International is small fry. Whether it fails or not, its value is irrelevant to me; I just want it."

Cicely finished, her eyes on Ray who had been listening quietly, and she smiled. "So, I'm not sure if your goals align with mine. I intend to completely sabotage the software. Diaz International will then face a huge debt crisis, and with the Ellis family's help in repaying it, the company will be mine. If you're planning to take the software and start anew, I'm sorry, but I won't let you. Ruining it is one thing. Helping you profit is another."

“But I assume with all your planning, you've left no room for error, so you don't need to take it and reap any benefits. Even if you do develop it further on your own, Seth will eventually catch on, and he won't let you off easy. So, wouldn't destroying it be the best option?"

Ray listened to her, his expression contemplative, then he suddenly burst into laughter. "A woman in love can be terrifying, willing to go to such lengths for a man. Your analysis isn't wrong. I've kidnapped Camden's son; I've made it so there's no turning back. Seth destroyed the most important thing to me, my family, so I'll make sure he tastes the loss of his most prized possession, Diaz International”

“I have no intention of making a quick buck with this worthless program. If I'm dead, what's the point of money? Better to obliterate it. However..."

Ray's voice trailed off, his gaze on her, "Aren't you worried that if Seth finds out you're behind this, he'll leave you?"

A pang struck Cicely's heart, "You had the audacity to walk in here today, weren't you afraid of the cameras catching you?"

Ray scoffed, "With the head of engineering Camden in my grasp and, tampering with the surveillance was a piece of cake, wasn't it?"

Cicely nodded, "Exactly. No cameras, no evidence, no reason for him to suspect me."

Ray fixed his gaze on her, a sardonic grin playing on his lips. "So, we go in together?"

Cicely straightened up and strode toward Camden's office. Following her, Ray used another access card to unlock the door to Camden's office. He then settled into the swivel chair, powered up the computer, and keyed in the password Camden had given him—spot on.

Next, he fished out his own flash drive from his pocket, aiming to plug it into the port, but Cicely's voice, cool as a cucumber, stopped him in his tracks. "Mr. Ray."

Ray's hand paused mid-air as he looked up at her. "What, getting cold feet?"

Cicely just smiled. "If I'm going to sabotage, I'll do it right. I know a bit about programming. You moving files with that plain Jane flash drive? Any engineer here could recover the lost files without breaking a sweat. What's the point of your little exercise?"

Ray's face blanched. So Camden had a backup plan? Almost had him fooled.

"What should we do, then?"

"Destroy the computer itself."

Ray, puzzled, asked, "Smash it?"

Cicely chuckled. "You seem to be a bit out of your depth with computers, Mr. Ray. As long as the hard drive remains intact, smashing it is just an invitation for them to recover the data more easily."

Ray was starting to panic. "Then what do we do?!"

Cicely gestured towards the flash drive he had placed aside, the one he had rummaged from her bag. "That flash drive is loaded with a virus, custom-made for today's escapade. Once it's in the system, it'll shred everything, including the computer's core operational data. The files will be destroyed, and the computer will be rendered useless."

The concept sounded like something out of a cyberpunk novel to Ray, but he had heard of legendary hackers before. It wasn't outside the realm of possibility. "Why should I trust you?"

"Do you have a better option? We're both in too deep now. If I'm playing you, do you think you'd let me walk away?"

Ray pondered long and hard, and finally, through gritted teeth, decided to trust Cicely.

"And after we're done, give me back the flash drive. It cost me a pretty penny. Who knows? Maybe I'll use it to get back at someone else down the line."

"If it truly wipes the computer as you claim, then it's useless to me."

Cicely arched an eyebrow but said no more.

Ray took a deep breath and inserted the flash drive into the port. The computer screen flickered, then went black, showcasing a flurry of white code dancing across the darkness.

In about two minutes, the display halted, and five seconds later, the screen went pitch black. The central unit ceased to hum, and even the monitor's power indicator light faded to nothing.

It worked.

Cicely's tense heart finally eased a bit. She had thought Joel's program might fall short of her bold claims, but it seemed there was no need for concern.

Ray also exhaled deeply, pressing the power button of the central unit in vain. No response, and the same went for the monitor. She hadn't fooled him.

He looked up at Cicely, easily noticing the faint smile playing on her lips. He chuckled, realizing just now that love indeed could drive people to madness. A woman's wrath is a force to reckon with.

Cicely lowered her gaze to meet his, raising an eyebrow, "What’s on your mind?"

"Nothing much. Just that Seth really did a number on you. To push the P City princess to this extent."

Cicely walked over, reached over and tried the computer switch to make sure it didn't come back on, and bent over to pull the flash drive out. "To me, it's not a big deal. Diaz International could put up a fight, but they can't hold a candle to even a sliver of the Ellis Group shares. Worst case scenario, I'll compensate him with some of the Ellis' stock."

"Ms. Cicely, always generous," he said with a laugh as he stood up. "Well, now that the deed is done, the rest is up to you. Take care of yourself. I'm heading out. And I'll be taking your phone for now. Once I'm safely out of Diaz International, I'll leave it by the fountain downstairs. Remember to pick it up."

Cicely remained stone-faced.

Five minutes after Ray left the building, Cicely made her exit from the engineering department. She found Emiliana and Issac waiting in the parking lot.

Emiliana hurried over. "Cicely, you were gone for so long, what happened?"

Cicely's energy was nearly spent from the standoff with Ray, and she shook her head with a pale face, "Nothing much. Where are you staying tonight? I can have Issac drive you."

Emiliana, seeing Cicely's pallor and realizing she wouldn't get far with questions, shook her head. "No need, I've booked a hotel nearby. I'll take a cab. You don't look wel. You should head home and rest up."

Cicely nodded. "Be careful on your way."

Emiliana nodded, urging Cicely into the car.

Once in the vehicle, Cicely leaned back, closing her eyes. "Miss, what happened?" Issac inquired.

Cicely took a deep breath and responded with a faint "hmm" before slowly opening her eyes. "Didn't you see anyone else leaving the building while you were downstairs?"