The Divorced Military Queen Awakens (by Sadie Baxter) novel Chapter 459

Quinn turned toward the doorway. Jacqueline’s proud silhouette filled the threshold, arrogance radiating from every step. On the conference screen, the director and several executives brightened the instant they saw her.

“Ms. Jacqueline worked on the system’s core modules. If she joins us, we might still repel the hackers.”

“Exactly–she’s a computer prodigy, decorated with awards at home and abroad!”

“Mr. Fane, let Ms. Jacqueline lead the defense!”

Everett pressed his lips together, then gestured to the laptop on his desk. “Fine. This machine‘ has full access to the cybersecurity system. You and Quinn will-”

Jacqueline lifted a hand, stopping him. “Uncle, I refuse to work alongside Quinn. She’ll only blunder around and slow me down, and we cannot afford delays tonight.”

“I won’t slow you down,” Quinn answered, her tone firm but even.

Jacqueline scoffed. “Your word isn’t enough. This concerns the entire corporation.”

One of the collateral uncles sneered, “Quinn, don’t think you can deal with a cyber assault just by pressing a few keys.”

Another relative chimed in, “Everett, indulge your niece if you wish, but don’t gamble the company’s future for it.”

Everett ignored the chorus of doubts and fixed his gaze on Quinn. “How confident are you?”

“About fifty–fifty,” Quinn replied.

Jacqueline let out a short laugh. “How convenient! If you fail, you can claim you only had fifty percent certainty. Quite the strategy.”

Turning back to Everett, she declared, “I want the Information Security Department to follow my commands, and…”

Her eyes flicked over Quinn with open disdain. “Quinn must stay out of it. I won’t allow dead weight on my field.”

Rowan’s temper snapped. He lunged forward, shoulders tight and jaw clenched, as though one more breath would send him barreling into the fray.

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Quinn shot out a hand and snatched his sleeve, anchoring Rowan where he stood. Eyes still burning, she pivoted toward Jacqueline. “All right. If you’re really capable of repelling those intrusions, then I won’t lift a finger.”

Between the two women, Jacqueline understood the corporation’s labyrinthine cybersecurity system far better than Quinn ever could.

So in a crisis this large, Quinn had no interest in wasting precious minutes wrestling over control. The casualties would fall squarely on the Fane family and the company.

Jacqueline arched an eyebrow and let out a little scoff, the sound sharp enough to cut glass. Confidence radiated off her like perfume.

She had disgraced herself at the gala, but this was her chance to polish the nameplate again. If she succeeded, tomorrow’s headlines would trumpet her triumph above Quinn’s.

So what if she’s the direct heiress? They still need me, someone from a collateral branch. And with that, I can finally seize real authority over the Information Security Department.

Jacqueline slid into the chair before the primary console, the glow of twin monitors turning her features a cool, electric blue. She opened the video–conference window and began barking orders to the scattered analysts of the Information Security Department.

At first, victory came easily. Her face wore a smug half–smile as she deflected each probing spike, convinced the breach would be patched before the coffee on her desk cooled.

Encouraged, the onlookers murmured praise, their voices swelling like applause after every successful block.

But praise soon gave way to silence. The color drained from Jacqueline’s cheeks, and on the conference screen, the distant analysts slipped from jubilant shouts to stunned quiet.

Someone finally broke the hush. “What happened? Is the assault over–is the firewall holding?”

Jacqueline could not make herself answer.

Beads of sweat gathered on her brow, slid into her lashes, then dropped onto the keyboard like rain. Her hands felt heavier by the second, fingers sluggish, almost too numb to keep dancing across the keys. How is this possible?

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