Their Mistake, Her Rise - Chapter 352: Chapter 352
You are reading Their Mistake, Her Rise, Chapter 352: Chapter 352. Read more chapters of Their Mistake, Her Rise.
The moment Zoe spoke, everyone turned on her, pointing at her and hurling abuse.
"How shameless! Stealing classified intel and still running your mouth."
"If you're really that skilled, then prove it. Show us something even more impressive to clear your name."
"Humph! All talk and no action. What real skills could she possibly have?"
The crowd glared at Zoe, whispering and shooting her dirty looks, their faces etched with suspicion and open disdain.
"Zoe, just admit you're a spy," Rick said sharply. "If we find more, you'll lose any chance of leniency. Enough talking. Arrest her now. This is enough for treason."
Zoe suddenly sneered, "If Clusia is full of idiots like you, the country's doomed sooner or later."
The high-ups had been content to wait for the matter to resolve itself. But now, Zoe had gone so far as to question them and the entire nation of Clusia, forcing them to step in and speak up.
"You really have a sharp tongue for someone your age. But tell me, can you actually prove your innocence?"
"We'll give you a chance to defend yourself, but you'd better make it convincing enough for all of us."
Seeing that the high-ups were about to give Zoe a chance to defend herself, Sophia urgently signaled Rick with her eyes.
Rick knew the treason charges against Zoe were made up. If she got a chance to clear her name, it could expose them. That was unacceptable.
Rick interrupted sharply, "Sir, don't waste your time listening to this spy. Everything she says is just lies. Right now, we must immediately hand her and all the evidence over to the Security Agency. They'll get to the truth soon enough."
The other Elders had no intention of letting Zoe off either, so they all threw their weight behind Rick, supporting the "arrest first, trial later" approach.
Zoe scanned everyone with a cold gaze and said, "Not even a few minutes to defend myself? What is it? Are you afraid I'll clear my name, or that your frame-up will be exposed?"
With this bombshell, the officers were instantly taken aback.
Rick roared angrily, "Nonsense! Why would we ever frame a young girl like you?"
Zoe shot back, "Of course, it's because you want to break up me and Shawn, just to pave the way for your precious marriage alliance between the Ludwig and White families!"
"Watch your mouth!" Rick retorted. "The alliance is a truth. You're the scheming witch who came between them."
Zoe retorted sharply, "Both the White and Ludwig families are business giants. The Ludwigs have already called off the marriage alliance to protect their reputation, yet the White family keeps clinging to it and pushing for the marriage.
"Is this really about honoring a promise, or are you harboring ulterior motives?"
Hearing this, Rick fell silent. He knew all too well that attracting unwanted attention would only bring trouble.
The others understood perfectly. A merger between the White and Ludwig families would give them control over Clusia's economic lifeline.
If the White family insisted on forcing this marriage, it would be tantamount to admitting their ulterior motives.
Sophia hadn't expected Zoe to reframe the marriage alliance as coercion. But the undeniable truth was that Shawn didn't love her. If the White family kept pushing aggressively, it would indeed look like a forced marriage.
Not wanting the White family's motives to be questioned, Sophia stepped forward and said, "Who said the White family is forcing a marriage?
"If Shawn doesn't love me, I certainly wouldn't force him to marry me. But I can't let a spy stay by his side and compromise his safety."
One of the crowd muttered, "I almost fell for that witch's smooth talk."
"Arrest this spy now, before she deceives more people," someone in the crowd shouted.
"Shawn must be out of his mind. Even if he's not interested in the White family's girl, picking a spy as his fiancée? That's career suicide."
As Sophia once again steered the conversation toward Zoe's alleged identity as a spy, the crowd's accusations grew louder and more relentless.
The high-ups had finally lost their patience. One of them snapped, "Shawn, no matter who she is, she's now a suspected spy. Take her into custody for interrogation, immediately."
"One minute, that's all I need to clear my name," Zoe cut in sharply as they turned their pressure on Shawn.
The high-ups exchanged a few quick words among themselves. Then Malcolm declared, "Fine. In the interest of fairness, we'll grant you one minute."
Sophia watched Zoe, not believing for a second that Zoe could break the deadlock she had painstakingly set up, certainly not in just one minute.
Zoe was about to re-enter the classified evidence room when someone blocked her way. "Fine, no need to go in then," she said coolly. "Ricky, lend me your laptop."
Without a moment's hesitation, Ricky handed his laptop over to Zoe.
Zoe sat cross-legged in full view of everyone, her fingers flying across the keyboard as she swiftly assembled programming modules. The moment they interconnected, a flood of classified files instantly flashed across the screen.
Zoe swiveled the laptop screen toward the crowd. "Check out."
Rick let out a cold laugh. "You really think just putting on this little show is enough to prove your innocence?"
"Damn, I really thought she had something big up her sleeve," someone scoffed. "Turns out it was all just smoke and mirrors."
Someone in the crowd muttered, "Guess she knows she's in serious trouble, so she's stalling for time. Maybe waiting for her accomplice to bail her out?"
"Yeah, good point," someone agreed. "But seeing her like that just now, I almost believed she could actually pull off a miracle."
Sophia watched Zoe with a cold gaze, taking in every word from those around her, her face radiating smug confidence. 'Let's see how you get yourself out of this one, Zoe,' she sneered inwardly.
The officer in charge of classified military files stepped forward to check. After confirming it was the Clusia military secrets from the mainframe, he was stunned into silence, just staring at Zoe.
"What the hell is going on here?"
"Why isn't anyone stepping up to explain?"
"She hacked the mainframe in under thirty seconds. She bypassed all the alarms without setting off a single alert." Ricky, the resident tech expert, stepped forward to explain. As the most tech-savvy person present, he was the most qualified to weigh in.
One of the high-ups frowned and demanded, "What does this mean?"
Ricky explained, "That means if she really wanted to steal classified intel, she wouldn't need to enter that secured room at all. With just an internet-connected device, she could breach the security protocols from anywhere, at any time."
Sophia hadn't expected Zoe's skills to be this formidable. But she thought she could turn the table.
Sophia declared sharply, "If she can access classified intel this easily, it proves she's been trading state secrets for profit all along. We must arrest her immediately."
After Sophia's reminder, a fresh wave of alarm swept through the crowd. Zoe seemed even more of a threat. Several of the high-ups exchanged uneasy glances, now watching her with renewed suspicion and scrutiny.
Zoe remained unfazed. "Click on that file on the desktop," she instructed Ricky.
Ricky opened the file and saw it was top-secret military intel, way better than the original. Zoe had totally revamped it.
"How shameless! Stealing classified intel and still running your mouth."
"If you're really that skilled, then prove it. Show us something even more impressive to clear your name."
"Humph! All talk and no action. What real skills could she possibly have?"
The crowd glared at Zoe, whispering and shooting her dirty looks, their faces etched with suspicion and open disdain.
"Zoe, just admit you're a spy," Rick said sharply. "If we find more, you'll lose any chance of leniency. Enough talking. Arrest her now. This is enough for treason."
Zoe suddenly sneered, "If Clusia is full of idiots like you, the country's doomed sooner or later."
The high-ups had been content to wait for the matter to resolve itself. But now, Zoe had gone so far as to question them and the entire nation of Clusia, forcing them to step in and speak up.
"You really have a sharp tongue for someone your age. But tell me, can you actually prove your innocence?"
"We'll give you a chance to defend yourself, but you'd better make it convincing enough for all of us."
Seeing that the high-ups were about to give Zoe a chance to defend herself, Sophia urgently signaled Rick with her eyes.
Rick knew the treason charges against Zoe were made up. If she got a chance to clear her name, it could expose them. That was unacceptable.
Rick interrupted sharply, "Sir, don't waste your time listening to this spy. Everything she says is just lies. Right now, we must immediately hand her and all the evidence over to the Security Agency. They'll get to the truth soon enough."
The other Elders had no intention of letting Zoe off either, so they all threw their weight behind Rick, supporting the "arrest first, trial later" approach.
Zoe scanned everyone with a cold gaze and said, "Not even a few minutes to defend myself? What is it? Are you afraid I'll clear my name, or that your frame-up will be exposed?"
With this bombshell, the officers were instantly taken aback.
Rick roared angrily, "Nonsense! Why would we ever frame a young girl like you?"
Zoe shot back, "Of course, it's because you want to break up me and Shawn, just to pave the way for your precious marriage alliance between the Ludwig and White families!"
"Watch your mouth!" Rick retorted. "The alliance is a truth. You're the scheming witch who came between them."
Zoe retorted sharply, "Both the White and Ludwig families are business giants. The Ludwigs have already called off the marriage alliance to protect their reputation, yet the White family keeps clinging to it and pushing for the marriage.
"Is this really about honoring a promise, or are you harboring ulterior motives?"
Hearing this, Rick fell silent. He knew all too well that attracting unwanted attention would only bring trouble.
The others understood perfectly. A merger between the White and Ludwig families would give them control over Clusia's economic lifeline.
If the White family insisted on forcing this marriage, it would be tantamount to admitting their ulterior motives.
Sophia hadn't expected Zoe to reframe the marriage alliance as coercion. But the undeniable truth was that Shawn didn't love her. If the White family kept pushing aggressively, it would indeed look like a forced marriage.
Not wanting the White family's motives to be questioned, Sophia stepped forward and said, "Who said the White family is forcing a marriage?
"If Shawn doesn't love me, I certainly wouldn't force him to marry me. But I can't let a spy stay by his side and compromise his safety."
One of the crowd muttered, "I almost fell for that witch's smooth talk."
"Arrest this spy now, before she deceives more people," someone in the crowd shouted.
"Shawn must be out of his mind. Even if he's not interested in the White family's girl, picking a spy as his fiancée? That's career suicide."
As Sophia once again steered the conversation toward Zoe's alleged identity as a spy, the crowd's accusations grew louder and more relentless.
The high-ups had finally lost their patience. One of them snapped, "Shawn, no matter who she is, she's now a suspected spy. Take her into custody for interrogation, immediately."
"One minute, that's all I need to clear my name," Zoe cut in sharply as they turned their pressure on Shawn.
The high-ups exchanged a few quick words among themselves. Then Malcolm declared, "Fine. In the interest of fairness, we'll grant you one minute."
Sophia watched Zoe, not believing for a second that Zoe could break the deadlock she had painstakingly set up, certainly not in just one minute.
Zoe was about to re-enter the classified evidence room when someone blocked her way. "Fine, no need to go in then," she said coolly. "Ricky, lend me your laptop."
Without a moment's hesitation, Ricky handed his laptop over to Zoe.
Zoe sat cross-legged in full view of everyone, her fingers flying across the keyboard as she swiftly assembled programming modules. The moment they interconnected, a flood of classified files instantly flashed across the screen.
Zoe swiveled the laptop screen toward the crowd. "Check out."
Rick let out a cold laugh. "You really think just putting on this little show is enough to prove your innocence?"
"Damn, I really thought she had something big up her sleeve," someone scoffed. "Turns out it was all just smoke and mirrors."
Someone in the crowd muttered, "Guess she knows she's in serious trouble, so she's stalling for time. Maybe waiting for her accomplice to bail her out?"
"Yeah, good point," someone agreed. "But seeing her like that just now, I almost believed she could actually pull off a miracle."
Sophia watched Zoe with a cold gaze, taking in every word from those around her, her face radiating smug confidence. 'Let's see how you get yourself out of this one, Zoe,' she sneered inwardly.
The officer in charge of classified military files stepped forward to check. After confirming it was the Clusia military secrets from the mainframe, he was stunned into silence, just staring at Zoe.
"What the hell is going on here?"
"Why isn't anyone stepping up to explain?"
"She hacked the mainframe in under thirty seconds. She bypassed all the alarms without setting off a single alert." Ricky, the resident tech expert, stepped forward to explain. As the most tech-savvy person present, he was the most qualified to weigh in.
One of the high-ups frowned and demanded, "What does this mean?"
Ricky explained, "That means if she really wanted to steal classified intel, she wouldn't need to enter that secured room at all. With just an internet-connected device, she could breach the security protocols from anywhere, at any time."
Sophia hadn't expected Zoe's skills to be this formidable. But she thought she could turn the table.
Sophia declared sharply, "If she can access classified intel this easily, it proves she's been trading state secrets for profit all along. We must arrest her immediately."
After Sophia's reminder, a fresh wave of alarm swept through the crowd. Zoe seemed even more of a threat. Several of the high-ups exchanged uneasy glances, now watching her with renewed suspicion and scrutiny.
Zoe remained unfazed. "Click on that file on the desktop," she instructed Ricky.
Ricky opened the file and saw it was top-secret military intel, way better than the original. Zoe had totally revamped it.
End of Their Mistake, Her Rise Chapter 352. Continue reading Chapter 353 or return to Their Mistake, Her Rise book page.