SCORNED EX WIFE Queen Of Ashes (Camille and Stefan)

Chapter 223

The Phoenix Grid control center erupted into chaos at 3:47 AM when every screen in the facility turned bright red and began flashing warning messages. Hannah Zhao sat at her workstation, watching months of careful engineering work being attacked by malicious code that spread through the system like wildfire.

"Full system intrusion detected," she announced, her voice steady despite the panic rising in her chest. "Someone's released a virus into the Phoenix Grid's core network."

Alarms blared throughout Kane Industries as automated safety protocols kicked in, isolating infected sections of the power grid to prevent cascading failures across the city. The emergency lighting cast eerie shadows across the control room where Hannah's team scrambled to contain damage that could affect millions of people.

Stefan burst through the control room doors, still wearing yesterday's clothes after spending the night monitoring James's movements. "How bad is it?"

"Bad," Hannah replied, her fingers flying across multiple keyboards as she fought the digital invasion. "The virus is targeting our backup systems, trying to cause complete grid failure during peak morning usage."

On the main display screen, a map of Manhattan showed sections of the Phoenix Grid going dark one by one. Red warning indicators spread across the boroughs

like blood poisoning, each failure representing thousands of homes and businesses that would lose power if Hannah couldn't stop the attack.

"This is James," Stefan said grimly, pulling up a chair beside Hannah's

workstation. "He's escalating to infrastructure attacks."

Hannah nodded without taking her eyes off the scrolling code. "The virus is sophisticated, military-grade. But whoever designed it made one mistake - they assumed our security architecture followed standard protocols."

"What does that mean?"

"It means I designed the Phoenix Grid's security system myself, using non- standard encryption and isolation protocols that most hackers wouldn't expect." Hannah's voice carried fierce determination as she initiated countermeasures. "The virus can't spread as fast as it was designed to because it keeps hitting barriers that shouldn't exist."

Stefan watched Hannah work with something approaching awe. Her hands moved across the keyboards like a pianist performing a complex symphony, each keystroke deliberate and precise. The stress of fighting a cyberattack that could cripple the city's power infrastructure showed in the tight line of her shoulders, but her focus never wavered.

"How can I help?" Stefan asked.

"Monitor the communication channels. If James is watching this attack in real time, he might try to communicate with his virus or send additional instructions." Hannah gestured toward a secondary workstation. "And Stefan? Stay close. I might need someone to physically disconnect systems if the virus tries to jump to our backup generators."

As Stefan settled at the monitoring station, he felt the weight of responsibility settle on his shoulders. Hannah was fighting to save the city's power grid, and he was the only person here who could support her efforts. The woman he was falling in love with was engaged in digital warfare against a man who had already proven willing to kill anyone who stood in his way.

Across the city, Camille's phone buzzed with emergency alerts as she sat in the Kane Industries crisis management center. Alexander stood beside her, both of them watching news reports of rolling blackouts affecting downtown Manhattan. "The Phoenix Grid is under attack," Camille said, reading updates from Hannah's team. "James released a virus designed to cause complete system failure."

realized the scope of James's escalation. "He's not just targeting us anymore. He's willing to leave millions of people without

corporate response," Camille said, already reaching for the phone to contact their legal team. "If the Phoenix Grid fails, Kane Industries will face lawsuits, regulatory investigations, criminal

"I'll

Camille felt something familiar settling between them. The easy partnership they had once shared, the way they could anticipate each other's

statement about system security," Alexander said, covering the phone receiver. "What should

with multiple redundancy systems specifically to prevent attacks like this," Camille replied without looking up from her own call. "That our engineering team

and returned to his conversation, impressed by Camille's quick thinking under pressure. This was the woman he had fallen in love with - brilliant, decisive, unshakeable in a crisis. Working with her now reminded him why he had been so attracted

countermeasures. Sweat beaded on

watching the virus probe for new vulnerabilities. "The

looked up from his monitoring station. "Can you stop

this virus was designed by someone with military-level resources, it might have capabilities I haven't discovered yet." Hannah's voice carried strain as she fought to stay ahead

mean admitting

innocent people from the consequences of his revenge." Hannah turned to look at Stefan, her eyes blazing with

of Hannah's commitment to protecting others, even at the cost of their professional reputations. This was why he was falling in love with her

me to

systems manually. If we can disconnect the

save sixty percent of

the next hour, Stefan following Hannah's

reroute power through

the heat of overworked computers and the tension of a

from the main display. "The virus is contained in isolated systems. It

the red warnings that had painted the map of

the first time in hours, exhaustion and relief making her look younger and more vulnerable. "We did

@cyberattack that could Rave left millions without power, and she was already focusing on the next steps rather than celebrating

had saved the

"Hannah," Stefan said quietly.

"Yes?"

you fought that virus, the way you protected all those innocent

surprise, seeing genuine awe

were doing much more than your job. You were protecting the entire city from a