Chapter 301
“Fine,” Dallas said at last, turning to look at her. His gaze was impersonal. “Go to the Gala. Take Bella — she knows who hates whom. It is your duty as my wife. Fulfill it.”
“I know my duty,” Eliza said, her voice tight.
He nodded once, then turned back to the window, dismissing her.
The conversation was over.
The next morning, the S&D offices were frantic. The quarterly board meeting was twenty-four hours away, and the presentation for Project Phoenix — a billion-dollar urban renewal initiative — was the centerpiece.
Bella Rose hadn’t slept in two days. Her desk was a disaster of coffee cups and sticky notes.
“Cathey!” Bella called. “Where is the USB drive with the rendering files?”
Cathey’s head appeared above her cubicle. “Oh! I have it. I was just backing it up. Like you said.” She walked over and held out the silver drive, plugging it into Bella’s computer.
“Thanks,” Bella muttered, clicking on the folder.
She opened the main file.
Error. File Corrupted.
Bella frowned. She tried again.
Error.
“What did you do?” Bella asked, her voice climbing.
“Nothing!” Cathey’s eyes went wide. “I just copied it. Maybe I pulled it out too fast?”
Bella felt the blood drain from her face. “You pulled it out without ejecting?”
“I was in a hurry!” Cathey’s eyes filled with tears. “Is it bad?”
“Bad?” Bella stood up, her hands shaking. “This is the master file, Cathey. The cloud backup hasn’t synced since yesterday’s revisions. This is twelve hours of work — gone.”
“I’m sorry!” Cathey burst into loud, ugly sobs that drew the attention of the entire floor. “I didn’t mean to!”
Bella wanted to scream. She wanted to fire her on the spot. But she couldn’t.
Across the city, in his office, Anson Hyde read the incoming text from Dosha.
Done. The file is toast.
Anson smiled. “Perfect.”
He dialed a number. “Make sure the board members hear about a technical delay with the Koch presentation. Start the rumor that Dallas is losing his grip on the details.”
Back at S&D, Bella was barely breathing. She called IT — they were backed up for hours. She ran a recovery tool — it stalled halfway through.
She looked at the clock. Ten in the morning. The meeting started at nine tomorrow.
She needed a miracle. Or a specialist.
She grabbed her phone and dialed Eliza. She knew Eliza worked with digital restoration for art archives. The principles might be the same. She might know someone.
“Eliza,” Bella whispered when the line connected. “I’m dead. I killed the project.”
“Calm down,” Eliza said, pacing the penthouse living room. “Send me the corrupted file. I know a guy — a top digital forensics expert who consults for the Met.”
She hung up and looked at Dallas. He was watching her from the sofa.
“I have to go in,” Eliza said.
“No,” Dallas said instantly.
“Bella is drowning,” Eliza said. “Cathey sabotaged the file — it wasn’t an accident. It’s Project Phoenix, Dallas. The board needs to see that presentation, or they’ll lose confidence in you.”
“I can send a team,” Dallas said.