Chapter 194

Vivian stepped out of the hospital and hailed a cab straight to Lockhart Manor.

Her fingers clutched a USB drive containing the surveillance footage she'd managed to download from the hospital records.

Back in her study, she transferred the files to her computer and began scanning through the footage from that fateful day.

As expected, what should've been ten hours of continuous recording had been reduced to less than sixty minutes. The damning evidence was systematically erased.

Only carefully selected clips remained - every frame designed to paint Margaret as the villain, perfectly supporting Cassandra's claim that she'd forced the abortion.

"Clever move, Cassandra Delacroix."

Vivian adjusted her glasses calmly. Her fingers flew across the keyboard as she attempted to breach the hospital's cloud storage system.

Most public institutions like hospitals maintained cloud backups of their surveillance footage.

If the original files existed anywhere, they'd be there.

But the hospital's security protocols had been upgraded with military-grade encryption. After thirty minutes of failed attempts, the system even started tracing her IP.

"Damn it!"

The silent room echoed with furious keystrokes. This was a digital battlefield, and the tension was palpable.

This level of security wasn't Cassandra's handiwork. That spoiled socialite couldn't code her way out of a paper bag.

Which meant only one person could be behind this - Nathaniel Blackwood.

The computer's blue glow cast shadows across Vivian's face, highlighting her bitter disappointment.

So this was how far Nathaniel would go to protect his mistress.

Time was running out. Without the complete footage, Margaret would be convicted in three days.

Vivian picked up her phone.

Thirty minutes later, Julian Blackthorn stood at her doorstep.

Dressed in all black, the hacker looked like a modern-day vampire - mysterious and dangerously attractive.

"Finally remembered me, Scarlet?" Julian teased with a smirk.

Online forums often paired Phoenix and Haze as the digital Bonnie and Clyde.

Vivian rolled her eyes. "Spare me the internet jokes. I never liked that comparison."

"What should I call you then? My femme fatale?"

She threw a playful punch his way. With Julian, she could always be herself - no pretenses, no tension.

Unlike with Nathaniel, where every interaction felt like walking on eggshells.

"Enough banter. I need your help with something urgent."

She led Julian to her workstation. "Think you can crack this hospital's cloud storage?"

If she couldn't breach the system, Julian was her last hope.

He glanced at the screen, that trademark smirk playing on his lips. "Of course I can. But what's in it for me?"