Chapter 472
Mark’s gaze bore down on Oliver as well, making it clear that if Oliver couldn’t give a reasonable explanation, he wouldn’t let this go.
Bowen held Aubree in his arms, feeling her body tremble slightly. A surge of self-reproach burned in his chest. If only I’d been faster.
But it wasn’t really his fault.
It wasn’t that Bowen hadn’t moved swiftly. The moment Vincent was released after processing, he’d immediately alerted Bowen.
The Turner family’s influence was vast, but after Chris’ departure, their political and military leverage had undeniably weakened. With the Lawson family involved, Bowen knew this had Isla’s fingerprints all over it. Ordinary pressure wouldn’t have sufficed, so he’d cashed in a monumental favor with Mark King, calling in the most formidable members of the King family.
But that wasn’t enough. He needed to get Aubree out unscathed and dismantle the charges against her.
The Lawson family pinned the blame on Aubree, accusing her of leaking information security based on the fact that GrabCheap’s servers had crashed after a hacker attack. They claimed she was working with foreign entities, injecting malicious code into users’ phones, forcibly accessing their data, and sending it overseas.
Bowen moved fast and used some special means to get his hands on the evidence. It turned out GrabCheap’s servers really had been hacked, which led to the customer data leak.
This could be framed as corporate sabotage… or, if escalated, a deliberate assault on national data security.
He called in a lot of favors and made a big fuss, so the government stepped in and managed to stabilize the situation at GrabCheap for the time being.
Oliver was sweating bullets. “The investigation is still ongoing.”
“Seems to me you shouldn’t bother investigating at all,” Ronald’s voice was calm, but the authority in it was undeniable.
He added, “We’ve already confirmed GrabCheap was attacked by a foreign hacker syndicate. This was premeditated, an attack on national data security. And yet, as a military officer, instead of mitigating the damage, you detained the very person who could’ve contained the fallout.”
“Oliver, this negligence falls squarely on you.”
Oliver was starting to crack under the pressure, unable to get a word out. But he wasn’t overly concerned. With the Lawson family’s backing, the worst he’d face was a slap on the wrist.
“I’m sorry, Aubree. This was my mistake,” he said.
Just when he thought the whole thing was finally over, a sudden commotion erupted again.
“Where is she? What kind of operation are you running here?” someone barked.
All eyes turned as a middle-aged man in uniform strode in, flanked by officers.
“Ricky, what brings you here?” Bowen asked, clearly surprised.
It was Hugo’s father, Ricky.
Ricky glanced around, immediately assessing that everything had already been taken care of. “Oh, Bowen, Hugo asked me to come check on things.”
But anyone could tell he was ready to pull some strings if needed.
Oliver recognized Ricky, too, and felt an even bigger headache coming on.
‘First the Kings, now the Moores?’ he thought helplessly.
In Rithol’s political-military landscape, two families were untouchable: the Kings and the Moores. The Kings had deep-rooted power, while the Moores’ strength lay in their sprawling connections. They might not have a singular towering figure like the King family, but their relatives were everywhere in the system.
No outstanding leaders, but every gatekeeper.
Just how extensive are her ties?’ Oliver thought to himself.
“You didn’t call the Moores?” Aubree murmured, noting Bowen’s equally stunned expression.
“Nope, I just asked Mark for help,” he replied.
Ricky waved his hand and chuckled. “Hugo heard you were in trouble and asked me to come help. That boy just can’t stop thinking about that Birgitte girl who works for you.”
Of course, as a dad, he’d help his son get whatever advantages he could.