Heiress’s Return 307
Shakira didn't reply but turned to Xanthe, "Xanthe, can I borrow your laptop for a moment?"
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"Oh, sure." Xanthe quickly stepped up, grabbing the laptop from Steven's desk and handing it to Shakira.
After unlocking it, Shakira moved to the front, her fingers flying rapidly across the keyboard. The dialog box on the screen filled with a long string of unfamiliar code, and the three of them watched in awe. Xanthe was surprised. "Holy crap! Is this the hacker code?"
Larry came in carrying a packed lunch and noticed many people stretching their necks to look into the cubicle from the doorway.
As he entered, he saw Shakira working on code on her laptop. He calmly blocked the doorway and closed the door behind
him.
Colleagues waiting outside for some juicy gossip were very disappointing.
Larry handed the takeout box to Xanthe. "You eat first."
Xanthe's eyes brightened with gratitude. The dark clouds from being scolded by Steven were dissipating, thanks to Shakira and the others. She smiled, "Oh my gosh. Thank you all."
With friends supporting her, carefree Xanthe immediately opened her food and started eating.
Steven was about to start scolding when Shakira interrupted him "I've got it."
With those words, everyone turned their eyes to the screen in front of Shakira. They all stared in disbelief at the image on the screen. It was a view from the finance department's office surveillance camera, pointed right at Xanthe. Steven gasped, looking at this scene as if it were something out of a fairy tale. "How is this possible? How did you do it?!"
No wonder he was so shocked. The Lopez Group's cybersecurity was among the best in the country. Yet Shakira, a rookie intern, somehow managed to effortlessly hack the company's internal firewall, as if she owned the place, checking out the company's surveillance. Steven thought, 'Is she really just an intern?'
Shakira was unfazed and soon discovered the problem. "Look here. Before 11:30, Xanthe was at her desk working on some spreadsheets."
As she spoke, Shakira pressed a key, zooming in, clearly showing that Xanthe was working on spreadsheets on her screen.
Excited, Xanthe took a big bite of her chicken leg and exclaimed "Right here. This is my
work."
Steven squinted slightly, noticing this detail as well, and his expression gradually turned serious
Twenty minutes later, employees began heading to the canteen. Xanthe saved her work, closed her laptop, and left her desk with her water cup.
Recalling the events, Xanthe said, "Before I went to find Steven, went to the break room to get a drink."
At that moment, someone reappeared on the screen. She quickly opened Xanthe's laptop, deleted the spreadsheet contents, inserted a USB drive, copied files into it, and then stealthily left.
The whole process was executed with great skill, fully aware of the surveillance angles and avoiding them completely.
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Xanthe's eyes nearly popped out. "Darn it, someone set me up! Who could it be?" She blinked, taken aback. "Could it be Fiona?"
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After thinking it over, it suddenly made sense to her. "I knew she wouldn't just change and start helping me for no reason. So this is what she was waiting for."
Upon hearing the name, Shakira frowned. She tapped a few keys on her keyboard and switched the view to the cameras near the entrance.
Steven watched her move effortlessly through the Lopez Group's secured network and the surprising part was that the company
hadn't even detected the intrusion or raised an alarm yet.
Steven's heart skipped a beat. He thought, 'A genius. She has to be a dangerous genius.Exclusive © content by N(ô)ve/l/Drama.Org.
He kept silent, quietly slipping behind his desk. Taking advantage of no one noticing, he pressed a black button underneath it.
After switching through several angles, they finally caught a clear side view of the person sneaking away from Xanthe's desk.
Xanthe hurried over, gasping in disbelief. "It's actually her?"
It wasn't Fiona, but Sophia, the coworker sitting next to Xanthe.
Steven glanced over, his expression quickly becoming serious. He said, "The person who reported Xanthe for using Fiona's spreadsheet was Sophia too."
"So it was her setting me up all along." Without hesitation, Xanthe rushed over to confront Sophia, who was having lunch at her desk. She forcefully pulled her up.
"Why are you setting me up? How did I offend you? Reporting me wasn't enough, you even secretly deleted the spreadsheet I worked on all morning." Xanthe's eyes were red with anger. She was genuinely upset after getting scolded for no reason. Sophia saw the aggressive people approaching and was panicked. She pretended to be oblivious. "Xanthe, what are you talking about? I don't understand..."
Shakira brought out her laptop. "The surveillance recorded everything; the evidence is clear." She paused, then went straight to the point. "You were also the one who deleted the spreadsheet Xanthe saved yesterday, right?"
Seeing the video on the screen, Sophia was shocked. She knew she couldn't deny it, so she forcefully pushed Xanthe aside. A moment ago, she looked lost, but now her expression was full of selfish distortion.
"I did it. So what? You messed with my probation review. Everyone will be evaluated, and my score is low. I can't secure a permanent position because of you," Sophia said.
Pointing at Xanthe, Sophia with an entitled tone justified her actions, shocking everyone.
"Aren't you rich? If you can't handle this job, just go home and inherit your family wealth. Why compete with us regular workers?" Sophia said.
"Shameless!" Steven scolded furiously, "You couldn't even manage simple reports and got penalized for your errors. Yet, you still try to drag your coworkers down with you. Someone with your lack of ethics doesn't deserve to stay with the Lopez Group!" The other colleagues all stepped back from her, whispering to each other, "I never expected her to be like this. She always seemed so friendly and easy to get along with...".
"That's really scary, smiling while stabbing someone in the back. Luckily I'm not close to her, or I'd be in trouble," one man said.
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"Fortunately, Xanthe had someone to help her, or she'd have been the scapegoat for sure. If we keep people like that around, won't we all be in trouble later?" another man said.
"I'll report this to HR as it happened. You can leave right now." Steven pointed at the door firmly.
Sophia's face visibly turned red with shame. She hurriedly picked up her things and rushed out.
Xanthe hugged Shakira tightly. "Shakira, I'm so glad that I have you, otherwise I'd be blamed for sure."
Shakira patted her shoulder and smiled.
At that moment, a few security team members entered the finance department. Steven quickly went to greet them, "Thank goodness you're here. She is the one who sneaked into the secure network to check the cameras. So blatant." In an instant, everyone turned to lo