Chapter 4

"I signed the severance papers. I have nothing to do with the Stone family anymore."

"Save your fake concern. Nobody's buying it."

Vanessa bit her lip, her eyes turning red.

"Sienna, Nessa's just trying to help. Don't be so ungrateful!"

Marcus stepped forward, blocking Vanessa protectively.

"You didn't even finish high school. What are you doing at Hearst Group? Applying for janitorial work?"

"Get out of here before you embarrass yourself."

Andrew's face darkened as he lowered his voice, his tone carrying a warning edge.

"Sienna, we'll settle the twelve million dollars you racked up under Nessa's name later."

"Right now, leave. Immediately. Don't humiliate the Stone family at Hearst Group."

Sienna looked at the three of them without stepping back an inch.

"This is Hearst Group, not the Stone family. You have no authority here."

"You—"

Andrew was about to call security when the elevator chimed.

The doors slid open.

Ryder spotted Sienna immediately and strode toward her.

"Mr. Green!"

Marcus quickly plastered on a smile and rushed forward.

"I'm Marcus from Stone Group. We met at that reception. Today my father brought my sister and me to meet with Mr. Hearst..."

Ryder stopped, his expression strictly professional.

"I'm sorry, but Mr. Hearst's schedule doesn't include Stone Group. If you wish to arrange a meeting, please follow the proper appointment process through the front desk."

He stepped around Marcus and glanced at Sienna in her hoodie.

His demeanor shifted to one of respect.

"Are you Ms. Sienna Stone?"

Sienna nodded. "That's me."

Ryder stepped aside, gesturing toward the elevator. "Mr. Hearst has been waiting for you. Please come with me."

The Stones stood frozen.

Vanessa clutched her handbag tighter, unable to hold back.

"Mr. Green, isn't there some mistake? Sienna never even went to college. Why would Mr. Hearst want to see her?"

Marcus jumped in.

"Exactly. Vanessa studies under Professor Wallace at the research institute. He's old friends with Mr. Dixon in Hearst Group's tech department and said he'd arrange for her to meet Mr. Hearst."

"So the person Mr. Hearst wants to see should be Vanessa, not Sienna."

Ryder didn't take the bait. He kept his tone professional.

"The person Mr. Hearst requested to see is Sienna."

Andrew glared at Sienna. "Why would Mr. Hearst want to see you?"

Sienna ignored him and walked straight toward the elevator.

"Sienna, you—"

"Mr. Stone."

Ryder cut him off.

"This is Hearst Group. Please watch your tone."

"And Mr. Hearst's arrangements don't require explanation to the Stone family."

The three Stones watched helplessly as Sienna stepped into the private elevator.

Several Hearst Group employees passing through the lobby glanced over.

Andrew's face burned.

"Let's go."

Outside, Marcus was still fuming.

"That Sienna must've met some shady people and pulled strings to get a janitor job. Then she found out we were coming and deliberately tried to humiliate us!"

Trailing behind, Vanessa gripped her phone, a nagging doubt creeping in.

She opened WhatsApp and sent a message to the black-avatar contact.

[Find out why Zane wants to see Sienna!]

The private elevator reached the sixty-eighth floor.

Ryder pushed open the office doors.

"Mr. Hearst, Ms. Stone is here."

The office had floor-to-ceiling windows. Light poured in.

Zane sat behind his desk in a tailored suit.

He looked up at Sienna.

She walked over and pulled out the chair across from his desk, sitting down.

"Mr. Hearst, I'm on a tight schedule. Let's get started."

Ryder looked mildly surprised.

Zane said nothing. He tapped a few keys.

A holographic projection lit up on the desk, displaying Hearst Group's firewall core code.

"Three minutes. Find and fix the backdoor you left yesterday."

Sienna took the laptop. Her fingers flew across the keyboard.

The office filled with the rapid clicking of keys.

Characters scrolled across the holographic display at breakneck speed.

In under two minutes, Sienna hit enter.

All red alert zones on the projection turned green.

Sienna pushed the keyboard away.

"Three critical vulnerabilities. I also cleaned up the redundant data in your base logic while I was at it."

"This firewall's processing power just increased by twenty percent."

Ryder stared at Sienna in disbelief.

The vulnerabilities the entire tech department had worked all night to find—she'd fixed them in under two minutes?

Zane straightened slightly, studying the data on screen.

Everything was correct.

"Name your price."

Sienna leaned back in her chair.

"I don't need money, and I'm not interested in working for anyone."

"Then what do you want?"

"Hearst Group has a hundred-billion-dollar supercomputing center at South Hill. I want exclusive access to that facility for three months."

Sienna met his eyes.

"In exchange, I'll provide exclusive licensing rights to the TS Algorithm logic."

Zane paused.

The TS Algorithm.

It was currently the most contested technological breakthrough in global medical technology.

Hearst Group had recently moved into the medical sector. If they secured TS licensing, it would give them a massive advantage in the high-end market.

"As far as I know, there's no functional TS Algorithm on the market yet."

"There wasn't before. There is now."

Zane studied her.

She said it with absolute confidence.

"The supercomputing center has extremely high-level clearance. It involves multiple Hearst Group confidential projects. I'll need to evaluate this."

He gave his answer.

"Two days. I'll have a definitive response for you then."

"Fine."

Sienna stood and headed for the door.

"Wait."

Zane opened a drawer and placed an invitation on the desk.

"In three days, there's a Global Tech Summit in Riverton. As a potential technical partner of Hearst Group, I'm inviting you to attend."

Sienna stopped and glanced at the invitation.

Tech Summit.

She remembered—the Stone family had discussed this at home yesterday.

Vanessa had said she was attending as the research institute's representative and would be giving a speech.

Sienna walked back and picked up the invitation.

"I'll be there on time."

Two days later.

Old Town Riverton, studio apartment.

Sienna stared at her computer screen.

The progress bar hit one hundred percent.

Core node reconstruction of the TS Algorithm was complete.

With this algorithm, once she gained access to Hearst Group's supercomputing center for final simulation calculations, it would be ready for commercial use.

Her phone screen lit up.

A message from Zane.

[Send me your address. I'll pick you up tomorrow at three.]

Sienna sent a location pin and set down her phone.

Same time, Cloudhill Villa.

Vanessa was selecting a gown for tomorrow's summit.

"Nessa, you're going to be the star of the show tomorrow."

Marcus stood beside her.

"The deputy director of the research institute already confirmed it. After your speech tomorrow, they'll officially announce your appointment."

Vanessa clutched the dress, her voice trembling slightly.

"Marcus, I'll work hard and earn back that twelve million as soon as possible."

"Twelve million is nothing."

Marcus shook his head.

"Once you're officially at the institute tomorrow, the Stone family will become a priority partner. Even Hearst Group will see us differently."

"Marcus, I won't let you down."

Vanessa looked at herself in the mirror.

Tomorrow, she'd show everyone that she was the real genius.

Next day.

Riverton International Convention Center.

Luxury cars lined the entrance. Elite guests streamed in.

The Maybach carrying Sienna and Zane pulled up at the entrance.

Sienna pushed open the door and stepped onto the red carpet.

The show was about to begin.