The Ex-Wife’s Billion Dollar Comeback Novel

---- Chapter 131: Inside Job ~ Soraya ~ "Miss Azar," Cassie said while standing behind Soraya in the Montclair Group's IT control room. "The breach is worse than we thought." "Yes," Soraya acknowledged, fingers flying across the keyboard. Firewalls were reset, defensive protocols deployed, and counter-scripts launched. As always, Soraya was in disguise, careful not to risk exposing Taurus7's identity. She had asked Cassie to make sure Calum didn't walk into the control room. Only internal IT specialists were allowed inside to assist, but even then, it wasn't much help.

Soraya didn't have a good working relationship with the Montclair Group's IT employees. Some ignored her instructions, while others tried to play the hero. At one point, her patience snapped, and she ordered the entire IT team out. "Cassie," Soraya said sharply, "get me clearance for auxiliary support. Get Silas. If | don't build a decoy network within the next hour, the hackers will succeed in getting everything they need." "lL can't do this alone," Soraya admitted, her voice steady despite the sweat gathering at the back of her neck. "There are too many working on the attack.

It's very coordinated." "They must be targeting the CEO's office," Cassie suggested. Soraya's eyes narrowed as lines of code scrolled. She dug deeper into the breach and found the pattern. "Strangely, they're focusing on the finance department," she said grimly. "Files, transaction records, email correspondence. ---- They're systematically erasing and corrupting data tied to... Marvin Rowan's office." She froze for half a second and finally realized what this attack was all about. Across the screen, new infiltration attempts spiked.

She had to work faster, rerouting power, isolating corrupted nodes, and setting up shadow backups. The attackers weren't just stealing. They were covering tracks. Her handler hesitated. "Are you sure you can't-" "| didn't say | couldn't," Soraya cut in, her voice sharp. "I said | can't do it alone." Less than an hour later, Silas walked into the Montclair Group' s security room, daring not to cover his face. His best disguise was a jacket and a hat. "What the fuck are you doing, helping Calum?" he grumbled, though he took his seat next to her and began working on the counterattacks.

"He agreed. He asked me to demand fifty million from his own pocket," Soraya responded, referring to Jacob. "Well, good idea. You could have raised it to a hundred," Silas muttered. "I'll deploy a decoy server now that you're here. Up until now, I' ve only been holding the breach back from doing more damage," Soraya said, eyes fixed on the monitors. Her hands moved swiftly across the console as she spun up a false environment to lure the attackers away from critical systems. At the same time, Silas began rebuilding and hardening the firewall.

With Silas supporting her, they managed to stabilize the network after two relentless hours. The two of them stayed longer. It was imperative that Soraya ---- recover the deleted files and emails. The breach hadn't only targeted Marvin Rowan's computer but his entire office network-his assistant's workstation, shared drives, and even several accountants' terminals. Soraya also built a trace, ensuring that the cybercriminals' locations were identified. If not all, at least some would be caught. If Marvin Rowan had commissioned the hack, it was crucial to nail down the attackers' trail.

While Silas and Soraya worked double time, outside the control room, Cassie stood guard, making sure the Montclair Group's CEO didn't walk in on them. tee ~ Calum ~ "It's already morning. Why are they taking so long?" Calum asked, standing tall before Special Agent Cassie. "Our cybersecurity specialists have discovered something alarming with the attack," Cassie reported. Before Calum could answer, the agent received a call. "Yes? On Rider Avenue. The Maybank Apartment? Got it," she muttered into the phone. "Excuse me, Mr. Montclair, we've just identified the location of the hackers.

| need to send a team to the address." Calum had no choice but to step back and let the FBI do its job. After all, he wanted the hackers apprehended more than anything. Another three hours passed, and the control room remained locked from the inside. Because of the breach, the Montclair Group had declared a skeletal workforce in the office. Calum had to wait in his own office for the final report. However, news had already reached him-two of the digital thieves had ---- been apprehended, mainly because they were locals. A knock on the door made Calum stand up, alert.

His assistant walked in with Special Agent Cassie. She handed him a folder and a flash drive. He immediately reviewed the flash drive and opened the contents of the folder. "The breach originated from inside," Cassie said evenly. " Marvin Rowan paid one of your IT staff to deliberately create a vulnerability in the firewall. That was how the hackers gained access. The same employee has now been identified among those linked to the attackers' location." "The same employee has already confessed to participating in the operation and is now in custody,' Cassie added.

"On the flash drive, you'll find a full recovery of the data Marvin Rowan attempted to erase, along with files his associate had stored locally." The flash drive contained procurement records and payables that Marvin had deliberately inflated by 30%. His assistant, complicit in the scheme, had kept meticulous records of the kickbacks, documenting exactly how much Marvin pocketed in exchange for a 1% cut on every transaction. Even more troubling were the payroll records Marvin closely monitored.

The books showed several "consultant employees," as well as regular staff, listed with salaries and bonuses far higher than their actual jobs. The pattern pointed to fake consultants and padded paychecks. When the FBI compared the names with HR records, none of them had any real files in the Montclair Group. Two of Marvin's accountants also had both blank and edited receipts saved on their computers. The file history showed they had been altering supplier invoices after the fact. That was a red flag.

---- Receipts were typically created by suppliers at the time of purchase, not stored as empty templates. Having blank copies on their systems suggested they were creating fake receipts to cover up embezzlement. Calum suddenly had a headache. He put two and two together. During the first meeting with the external accountants, it was flagged that there were unexplained withdrawals. The corporate account balances didn't match the company's books. At the time, his uncle brushed it off, claiming the other Montclair Group entities were just late in submitting their receipts. But now, it was clear.

The issue hadn't come from the other entities at all. It had come from his uncle. "| hate to break it to you, sir, but you're dealing with embezzlement here. And the cyberattack was meant to cover up Mr. Rowan's crimes," Cassie said. "No." Calum's jaw tightened. His hand balled into a fist. More than anger, he felt betrayed. Marvin was... family! "Why would my uncle do this?"