Their Mistake, Her Rise - Chapter 326: Chapter 326

Upon arriving at the company, Zoe received an immediate briefing on the situation from Emmett.
Emmett said, "We've engaged top hackers to investigate, but the opposition is equally skilled, leaving no trace of intrusion or the leak's origin. To make matters worse, the poster used a temporary account and erased all evidence of hacking into innocent users' accounts."
"Let me try," Zoe said softly, ready to dive in and search for clues herself. As her words faded, her fingers danced across the mechanical keyboard, moving swiftly over the keys. Finally, after an unknown amount of time, she announced the result.
Zoe stated, "This IP address leads back to a gaming café. Review the nearby surveillance footage to identify who entered and exited during the posting window."
Emmett was astonished by Zoe's rapid success and promptly followed her instructions to retrieve the footage.
He returned shortly, looking dejected. "Ms. Evans, I'm sorry to report that all the surveillance cameras in that area were destroyed yesterday. The footage is unrecoverable."
"What about dashcam footage?" Zoe inquired.
Emmett shook his head, looking glum. "There's no parking lot, and the street's so narrow people just walk."
Zoe said, "Keep looking for a way. There must be regulars at that gaming café; maybe someone noticed this person."
The suspect had a distinct look; probably went in and left soon after. There couldn't have been many like him that day. The owner might even remember. With that tip, Emmett took action right away.
Meanwhile, Zoe remained behind to contain the breach, focusing on resolving client losses first, since catching the leaker was not immediately possible; for Zoe, core technology, vital to the company's survival, was a tool for innovation.
If clients felt their interests were compromised, Zoe would offer them a more advanced version of the core technology, ensuring that a technical advantage was maintained, potentially doubling the company's profits rather than resulting in any loss.
By the time Emmett returned with news, Zoe had already upgraded the core technology for those clients, instructing, "Give these to the clients; they'll know what to do."
Emmett glanced at one of the files and was instantly in awe. He thought, 'Ms. Evans is pure genius!'
"Ms. Evans," Emmett said, "the investigation indicates the perpetrator was a woman, heavily disguised, making identification impossible."
Just as Zoe was about to ask more, a senior executive, burst in, exclaiming, "Ms. Evans. The leaker just committed suicide, overcome with guilt." Zoe immediately instructed Emmett to let him in.
"Ms. Evans," the executive exclaimed, "The leaker jumped from our building. There are police and an ambulance downstairs, and reporters are swarming the place. Our company is about to be embroiled in a massive scandal."
"Who was the deceased?" Zoe asked.
The man continued, "A female employee, seemingly desperate for money after being denied a company advance, is suspected by police of leaking company data as revenge; a USB drive containing the stolen information was found in her possession."
Everything fell into place as if the case were closed. Emmett was relieved. "That's great. Now that we've found the leaker and you've personally resolved the clients' losses, Ms. Evans. It looks like our company has made it through this crisis."
But Zoe wasn't convinced. The more she thought about it, the more it felt like a setup—just a ploy to draw everyone's attention while something bigger was brewing in the shadows.
Zoe said, "Emmett, audit all company account transactions and every partnership project immediately. Make absolutely sure there are no problems."
Emmett was puzzled; all those partnerships had been processed through him. He wondered if Ms. Evans doubted his competence. He replied, "Don't worry, Ms. Evans, I'll carefully review all the projects and financial records."
Pleased with his response, Zoe stood and left. Seeing her quick departure, Emmett rushed after her, but by the time he reached the hallway, Zoe was already in the elevator.
The senior executive asked Emmett, "Mr. Hoffman, is Ms. Evans planning a major reshuffle in the company?"
"Don't ask questions you shouldn't. Get back to work," Emmett dismissed him. Whatever Zoe decided, Emmett would support her. After all, she was his idol.
When Zoe got home from work, she found Clara and Bruce already there, and soon her brothers arrived as well; sensing the secretive atmosphere, Zoe tried not to show her curiosity.
Instead, Bruce couldn't hold it any longer. "We're all gathered around you; aren't you even a little curious what for?"
"Bruce, stop keeping her in suspense. Let's just get to the point and make Zoe happy," Charlie blurted out.
Just then, Eunice returned to find everyone in the living room gathered around Zoe, completely ignoring her, and a wave of anger washed over her. She thought furiously, 'Are they blind? Is Zoe the only one they can see?'
Eunice, at that moment, didn't realize how many years she'd taken this family warmth for granted. While Zoe, having grown up apart from them, had rarely known; of all people, Eunice had the least reason to be jealous.
"Eunice, you're back too. Perfect. Let's get started," Bruce said.
Clara smiled and said, "Zoe, ever since you came home, we haven't had a proper family reunion dinner. So tonight, we're all staying in to have one together."
Sean, the eldest brother, spoke up, "Zoe, you've likely missed out on having your family celebrate your birthdays over the years. We discussed it and decided to make up for every one of them, all at once."
"That's right. We've already bought you gifts for every year you missed, from when you were little up to now. Come on, I'll show you," Charlie said, pulling Zoe toward a room.
Consumed by jealousy, Eunice watched as her family, who always celebrated her birthday with fanfare, outdid themselves for Zoe; she trailed them, eager to see the extent of her brothers' favoritism.
Charlie led Zoe into the room and switched on the lights, revealing gifts stacked floor-to-ceiling, meticulously organized by age group.
"Well, what do you think? Surprised?" Charlie asked, watching Zoe for her reaction as the rest of the family gathered around.
"Zoe, each of us prepared a birthday gift for you for every year you were away."
"We bought as many years' worth of gifts as you missed."
"You should open them from left to right; there's a pile for each year."
The brothers eagerly showed Zoe around, and Sean gently ruffled her hair. This unfamiliar familial affection was surprisingly pleasant for Zoe.
"These are our tokens of love for you," Sean said softly.
Seeing Zoe standing there in a daze, Charlie quickly handed her a gift. "Go on, open it up."
Unwrapping the gift, Zoe found a beautiful, handcrafted doll inside, her fingers trembling slightly as a wave of memories washed over her, recalling childhood birthdays spent envying other girls with dolls.
But later, when she had the means to buy them herself, she realized those so-called gifts weren't all that exciting after all.
But now, with that stuffed doll in her hands, Zoe felt a wave of emotion she hadn't in years—the kind of longing she used to have watching other kids. She finally realized that a gift from family hit differently than anything money could buy.