Chapter 9
The smart-home terminal in the kitchen chimed with a cheerful, melodic tone that jarred violently against the tense, life-or-death atmosphere of the dark mansion. The green indicator light on the wall-mounted console blinked rhythmically, signaling an automated system event that could not be stopped.
"Attention: Asset migration sequence initiated," a synthesized robotic voice announced through the house’s integrated speaker system. "Transferring eighty-two percent of Vance Enterprises holdings to Swiss accounts ending in zero-four-nine. Time to completion: ten minutes."
Jonathan sprang to his feet, dropping the scattered ledger pages onto the marble floor. He sprinted toward the kitchen archway in the dark, guided only by the green blinking light of the console.
"Cancel transfer! Override code: Vance-Nine-Zero-Alpha!" Jonathan yelled at the voice recognition sensor, slamming his hand against the touch screen.
"Error," the system replied coolly. "Master administrative privileges have been revoked by user Victoria Vance. Override denied."
From the top of the glass staircase, Victoria’s silhouette shifted against the flashing red emergency strobes. She laughed, a sound dripping with absolute triumph.
"Don't bother, Jonathan! You gave me full administrative access to the corporate network on our fifth anniversary remember? You called it a token of absolute trust. Turns out, trust is just another word for stupidity."
Elena stood motionless at the base of the stairs, still cradling the baby, who had finally drifted off to sleep despite the chaos. Her mind raced. She knew technology; before taking the job as a domestic worker to pay off her mother’s medical debts, she had completed three years of a computer science degree before life derailed her plans. She looked at the smartphone still inside the police evidence bag resting on the counter near the door. Maya’s device wasn't just recording video—it was actively connected to the home’s local mesh Wi-Fi network.
"Detective Miller," Elena called out, her voice calm, clear, and steady, cutting through the panic in the room. "Please, give me Maya’s phone from the evidence bag."
Miller turned, frowning in the dim red light. "Ma'am, that's evidence. I can't just hand it over."
"If you don't hand it to me in the next sixty seconds, every cent the Vance family owns will vanish into an unrecoverable offshore account!" Elena insisted, her dark eyes flashing with an authority that left no room for argument.
Maya looked at the police officer urgently. "Give it to her, Officer! She knows what she's doing!"
Miller hesitated for a fraction of a second, then unzipped the plastic bag and handed the glowing device over to the maid.
May you like
Elena caught the phone, her fingers flying across the screen with practiced speed. She bypassed the photo gallery, swiping down to access the developer network diagnostic menu. Her eyes scanned the local IP addresses pinging the router. There was the primary server, there was Victoria’s backup phone, and—hidden deep within the subnet—was the physical override port located inside the master fuse box behind the living room art wall.
"I found the backdoor," Elena whispered to herself, her heart pounding as she began typing a rapid sequence of terminal commands into Maya’s phone.
