CHAPTER 60
The hallway at Greenville Hospital was calm, almost too quiet for a place that had seen panic just hours earlier.
Tina adjusted the strap of her handbag, returning from the restroom, her thoughts busy with messages and errands. As she turned the corner, her eyes landed on a familiar figure standing near a private ward.
Tall. Still. Suited in deep charcoal. Hands in his pockets. William.
Her eyebrows shot up.
"William?" she called out, her voice laced with surprise and curiosity.
William turned. His face, though calm, carried a subtle weight—a softness she wasn't used to seeing.
Tina walked briskly toward him. "What are you doing here?" she asked, halting in front of him. "Isn't your wife about to give birth?"
"She fainted," William answered gently. "Stress. But she's okay now. She and the baby are safe."
His voice was low, softer than usual. Emotional, even. It caught Tina off guard.
"I'm glad to hear that," she said, her tone easing.
"I didn't know you were here," he added.
Tina nodded. "I came to pick up Liam. He's finally being discharged today. Should've left weeks ago, but Dr. Raymond wouldn't let him go until he got real rest."
William gave a small nod of understanding.
Then Tina tilted her head, arms folding. "But you… you never came to check on him."
William's expression tightened for a second.
Tina continued, not harshly, but honestly. "You two used to be like brothers. What happened?"
William didn't answer immediately. He looked down the hallway, then back at her.
"Work. Kate. Everything. It's been… a lot."
Tina gave a dry little laugh. "Hmm. Keep it up then."
William didn't reply. Instead, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.
"Tell Liam to come to the mansion once he's stronger," he said. "I saw his message. I want to speak with him. In person."
Tina raised a brow, then slowly nodded. "Alright. I'll let him know."
She walked past him toward Liam's ward, glancing back once before disappearing around the corner.
---
Inside the ward, Liam sat on the edge of the hospital bed, zipping up a small duffle bag. His face looked rested, but the shadows under his eyes spoke of things that hadn't healed.
He looked up as Tina walked in.
"There you are," she said brightly. "Ready to escape this place?"
Liam grinned faintly. "I've never been more ready."
She handed him a bottle of water and flopped into the visitor's chair.
"Guess who I just ran into outside?"
Liam blinked. "Who?"
"William."
Liam stilled. "Here?"
"Yep." She unwrapped a candy and popped it into her mouth. "Said Kate fainted from stress. But she and the baby are okay."
Liam's expression shifted slightly. Concern flashed across his face, but he said nothing.
"He also said he saw your message," Tina added. "He wants to see you. At the mansion. When you're strong enough."
Liam looked down at his hands, fingers loosely laced together.
"I didn't think he'd reply," he said softly.
"Well, maybe it's time," Tina said. "You two have a lot of unfinished stuff."
Liam lifted his gaze. "And you? Why didn't you send a nurse to wheel me out?"
Tina laughed. "Because I knew you'd act all strong and stubborn, dragging yourself out like you didn't just almost die. I came to make sure you didn't faint in the parking lot."
He chuckled. "Bossy as ever."
"Someone has to be," she teased, helping fold the last of his shirts into the bag.
Their smiles lingered, comfortable, but something deeper simmered beneath the surface.
Liam glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "You've been here… a lot."
Tina shrugged. "Someone had to look after you."
"Why?" he asked suddenly.
Tina paused, surprised by the question. "Why?"
"Yeah," Liam said, facing her now. "I mean… I've been out for weeks. The world's spinning. Everyone's busy. But you… you stayed."
Tina looked down at the folded blanket on the bed.
"Because I care," she said after a long moment. "You're my friend, Liam. I wasn't going to let you be alone."
Liam's throat tightened.
He looked away, then back at her, voice quieter. "Feels like I'm back at square zero. Everyone moved on. And I'm… starting over."
Tina stood up and walked to the window.
"You're not back at zero," she said. "You're just starting again. And that's okay."
He stared at her.
The words settled between them like a seed.
---
The air was dense in Jeremy's downtown apartment.
Emma sat hunched over the main desk, eyes fixed on the lines of code flickering across the monitors. Coffee mugs, pizza boxes, and printouts littered every surface. The room felt like a bunker, lit only by LED screens and the glow of tension.
Jeremy walked in from the tiny kitchen and handed her a steaming mug. "Here. You're gonna fry your brain."
Emma took it gratefully, but didn't look away from the screen.
"I'm on step six," she said flatly. "Almost at seven again."
Jeremy leaned over her shoulder, his brow furrowed.
The system before them was Donovan Corp's encrypted vault—seven levels of military-grade authentication, each one nastier than the last. They'd been working on this for three weeks straight. And still hadn't cracked it.
"Step seven is the problem," Emma muttered. "The QR code changes every ten seconds. Even with the mirror scanner running, it's practically a moving target."
Jeremy sat beside her. "This thing's eating our time like popcorn."
"It's not just a firewall," Emma said. "It's alive. Someone is rewriting the code—on the fly. It's evolving."
Jeremy blinked. "You mean Donovan has someone working live on this system?"
"Or he's paying someone who does," Emma replied.
She cracked her knuckles and got back to typing, fingers moving like lightning. Within twenty minutes, she passed through step one again. Then step two. Then three.
By hour three, they were at six. Again.
"Ready?" Jeremy asked.
Emma didn't respond. Her eyes were narrowed, calculating.
She began decoding the seventh step—the ever-shifting QR encryption. She activated a temporary bypass program, feeding in an adaptive response tool, and crosslinked a packet-splitter.
The system hesitated.
A green light flickered.
They were in.
Almost.
And then—
ALERT!
The screen flashed red. Sirens blared from the speakers.
The system reset—instantly.
They were bounced back to step one.
Emma let out a strangled sound. "No. No no no—don't do this to me."
Jeremy cursed and punched the desk.
"Donovan's ready for everything," he said bitterly.
Emma sat back, breathing hard.
"It's not just his system," she murmured. "It's government-level encryption. Blockchain cross-patterns. Rotating sequence layers. This isn't a businessman's firewall—this is a fortress."
"Which means he's not alone," Jeremy said.
Emma nodded slowly. "He's got help. Probably someone big. Very big."
She rewound the screen recording and froze it at a critical moment. The QR algorithm—they'd seen that style before. In an ex-government cloud vault.
"Whoever's helping him," she said, "they're dangerous. And well-funded."
Jeremy rubbed his chin. "But we're still in. We cracked six levels. That's progress."
Emma stared at the blank screen.
"I need to develop an adaptive mirror system," she whispered. "Real-time simulation. If I can predict the next ten shifts…"
"Isn't that risky?" he asked.
Emma gave a dark smile. "So is war."
Jeremy handed her another cord. "Then let's reload."
The two of them settled in again, side by side, staring at the reset system.
The tension was higher now. The danger felt closer.
But their fire burned brighter too.
Emma sipped her coffee and cracked her knuckles.
"Donovan may have help," she muttered. "But so do we."
Jeremy looked at her.
"We've got time," he said.
"And fire," she added.
They shared a small grin before diving back into the code.