The Return of the Cannon Fodder Trillion Heiress - Chapter 639

Chapter 639: Chapter 639 Investigation Starts
Hera and Xavier’s discreet acting made their presence almost invisible, allowing them to move about unnoticed.

When they were finally led to the president’s office, they could begin their tasks without any delay.

As they stepped inside, Xavier was taken aback. He hadn’t expected to be working in such an official space, especially not in the president’s office.

He had assumed they’d be tucked away in a secluded area, perhaps in the archives or a women’s workroom, crouching over boxes filled with written accounts.

“Miss, as instructed, I’ve prepared the necessary documents. You’re welcome to use the president’s computer to access the system and check the server accounts, but the detailed records are in these folders.” He gestured to the stack of folders beside the table.

Hera glanced around the office. It had a minimalist and almost sterile feel.

The only furniture was a curvaceous glass desk shaped like an ‘S,’ a sleek black leather chair, a small pot of cacti on the table, a pen holder, and a Mac computer.

In the center, there was a black and grey sofa, and a floor-to-ceiling window that allowed natural light to flood the room. The office was so bare it was hard to believe it belonged to a president.

On the wall, the only splash of color came from a large landscape painting. Its vibrant tones brought warmth to the space. The artwork depicted Barcelona, specifically La Sagrada Familia, designed by the famed architect Antoni Gaudí, whose signature style was evident even in the painting’s composition.

Sitting on the sofa would have provided the perfect vantage point to admire the painting, but Hera and Xavier didn’t have the luxury of time for such distractions.

After a quick glance, Hera took her place at the president’s desk, her focus immediately shifting to the folders.

As she skimmed through the documents, Vince’s assistant provided her with an update on the recent events at the branch office and the circumstances leading up to the current accusation.

As she listened to Vince’s assistant, Hera simultaneously compared the accounts from the server on the computer with the folder in her hands.

Her years of diligent study and practical experience in investment had honed her sensitivity to numbers.

It didn’t take long before she noticed the discrepancies—subtle at first, but the issue was more widespread than she expected.

Though the inconsistencies seemed minor individually, with more than a dozen instances, the sum of the missing money began to add up to something significant.

Hera focused on the individuals responsible for procurement, sales, and the other departments where these discrepancies seemed to originate.

She carefully reviewed the events they had been involved in—whether they were purchasing components from collaborating companies, selling products through various channels, or handling other transactions.

Hera was looking for a pattern, something that could easily be spotted by the tax bureau once they scrutinized the accounts.

“Are these the original accounts, or is there a chance these documents were planted here to frame us?” Hera asked the assistant, noticing the discrepancies.

The accounts in the folder didn’t match the ones on the server—the server’s records aligned perfectly with their sales, procurement, and other operations, while the documents in the folder, which should have contained detailed information, were inconsistent.

If these folders were fabricated, it meant someone was orchestrating an elaborate scheme to implicate key figures within the company.

Such a move would surely drive the company into bankruptcy, with multiple departments caught up in the discrepancies.

It would appear as though they were colluding to embezzle funds, and as the person who had approved everything, Vince, the president, would bear the brunt of the blame for the financial disaster and would be the key figure leading this embezzlement.

While those under him wouldn’t escape unscathed either, it’s also possible that someone has already managed to hack into their internal system and altered the accounts, but didn’t have enough time to tamper with the physical documents in the folder.

With Vince monitoring everything, they likely couldn’t make the changes in time.

The assistant hesitated, realizing what Hera was implying.

They had reviewed the accounts a few times, but since they weren’t as attuned to numbers as Hera, they hadn’t been able to spot the discrepancies.

Before he could respond, Hera picked up her phone and dialed a number. Moments later, a groggy voice answered, sounding as though they had just woken up.

“Sister… Good morning…”

“Sasha, do you have a minute? It’s urgent,” Hera said, her voice sharp as she flipped through another folder.

The more she examined the documents, the deeper her frown became, and her jaw tightened with frustration.

“Anything for you, sister,” Sasha replied, his voice still heavy with sleep. Hera could almost picture him groaning as he tried to sit up, likely stretching and squinting as he rubbed his eyes, the remnants of sleep still lingering.

“Great. I have a task for you,” Hera continued without pausing. “I need you to hack into the Avery branch office in Barcelona. We don’t have much time to get clearance to access their system. I need you to check if there are any traces of hacking or altered information in the archives.”

There was a brief silence on the other end, as if Sasha was processing what Hera had just asked. After a moment, he responded with a calm acknowledgment.

“Hmmm, okay. I’ll handle it,” Sasha replied. Instead of hanging up, he stayed on the call, his fingers already flying across the keyboard.

Hera and the assistant could hear the rapid, rhythmic clicking of keys on the other end.

The sound brought a slight sense of relief to Hera as she continued her task, comparing the accounts with growing focus.

Xavier sat on the sofa, absorbed in reading through the events, his mind working to identify who might have the motive to target the Avery.

While keeping an open line of communication with Leo, Luke, and Dave, he also overheard

Hera’s conversation with the assistant and Sasha. Knowing that Hera already had a clear direction for her investigation, he felt a sense of reassurance.

He glanced over at his chat with Leo, Luke, and Dave, urging them to pick up the pace.

However, this wasn’t enough; they needed more information. Ten minutes later, Sasha’s voice came through the phone. “Sister, I’m in. I’ve accessed the Avery branch office system in Barcelona. Just give me a few more minutes to run a system check and look for any traces.”

“Alright.” Hera replied succinctly, her confidence in Sasha unwavering. Normally, she wouldn’t allow Sasha to hack into Avery’s system without first notifying the IT department, but this situation was different.

They often performed these checks to assess the system’s firewall and ensure everything was well protected.

Although there were multiple branches, they were still all connected to the mainframe.

Fortunately, higher-level clearance was required to access the deeper layers of the system, and only her trusted aides had that kind of access.

This deeper access allowed them to view highly sensitive information about each branch, as well as the headquarters’ most significant projects, which cost billions.

This data, heavily encrypted, was restricted to specific offices and not shared across branches.

Only those with the highest clearance—such as Hera, her aides, or her grandfather—had the authority to approve access to this confidential information and cross-check these records.

The first thing Hera needed to determine was whether anyone had infiltrated their system, and to test the strength of the firewall defenses at this particular branch.

While Sasha was leading this firewall project, it also meant that the IT departments across the different branches still reported to him.

Each department had its own way of managing things, which could result in occasional oversights that left vulnerabilities in the firewall.

However, even in such cases, Sasha should have been alerted by the system, given his overarching access to all branches.

That’s why it only took Sasha ten minutes to access the branch’s system.

However, if Sasha hadn’t been alerted to any breaches, it could suggest the presence of a highly skilled hacker attempting to infiltrate without triggering any alarms.

Though this seemed unlikely—given Sasha’s position as the top-ranked hacker in the world—Hera couldn’t afford to dismiss any possibility, no matter how far-fetched it seemed. She needed to consider every angle to be certain.

“Hmmm, sister…” Sasha began, and Hera paused what she was doing, her attention focused on his words.

“Any findings?”

“There doesn’t appear to be any issues with the system,” Sasha replied, “but I did find a trace of someone attempting to hack in quietly. They got as far as the second layer of defense before failing. And actually…” He trailed off, his fingers still moving swiftly over the keyboard.

“Actually?”

“Gotcha, you son of a bitch!” Sasha suddenly roared on the other end, his voice filled with excitement. The unexpected outburst startled Hera and the assistant, even causing Xavier to look up from his work.

“I’ve just found the one trying to infiltrate our system. Turns out, this guy’s a permanent fixture in the world hacker rankings. I’ve sent you his details—feel free to send someone to track him down and bring him in for questioning.”

After a few more rapid taps on his keyboard, Hera’s phone chimed, signaling a message from Sasha.

She quickly opened it to find a set of coordinates. Without hesitation, she passed the information to the assistant. “Send a team to investigate this location.”

“Right away, Miss,” the assistant replied, bowing respectfully before excusing himself to make the call and dispatch the special team to track down the hacker.

Hera then turned her attention back to her phone. “Sasha, when did they attempt to hack into the system? And do you think the hacker noticed we’ve traced their location?”