Five years later.
Helena Donaldson stepped off the private jet at Teterboro Airport. She wore a simple black trench coat and dark sunglasses, her entire being radiating a cold, powerful aura that was a world away from the desperate woman in the hospital bed.
She held the hands of two small children.
"Mommy, is this New York?" Aria, her daughter, asked, her big, curious eyes taking in everything. A perfect pink bow was perched in her dark hair.
Helena knelt, adjusting the collar of her daughter's coat. Her voice was soft, a stark contrast to her severe appearance. "Yes, sweetie. This is our new home."
Beside them, her son, Leo, pushed up a pair of imaginary glasses on his nose. His expression was serious.
"Aria, to be precise, it's our new battlefield."
From his small backpack, Leo pulled out an ultra-thin tablet. His fingers flew across the screen, a cascade of code flowing like a waterfall.
"Mom, I'm in." A small, cold smile touched his lips, a smile far too old for his five-year-old face. "The firewalls at Stafford Group are weaker than I expected."
A glint of approval showed in Helena's eyes. "Be clean, Leo. Our first 'welcome gift' needs to be delivered perfectly."
Aria clapped her hands. "Go, brother! Show the bad guys!"
At that exact moment, in the Stafford Group headquarters in Midtown Manhattan, the top-floor tech department was in chaos.
"Alert! Level one alert! Core server has been breached!" The shriek of the tech director, Kevin Price, echoed through the open-plan office.
On the main screen, all the corporate data had dissolved into gibberish. In its place, a giant, animated skull icon spun mockingly.
"They bypassed every defense system! My God, it's like a ghost!" a terrified technician yelled.
Kevin Price wiped sweat from his brow and grabbed the internal phone. "Paige, get the CEO, now! We're under an unprecedented cyberattack!"
In the CEO's office, Euan Stafford was in the middle of a video conference with the European division.
Paige Reynolds knocked and entered, her face grim. She leaned in and whispered in his ear.
Euan's expression didn't change, but a cold light flared in his deep-set eyes. He spoke calmly into the camera. "This meeting is paused for thirty minutes."
He ended the call, stood, and unbuttoned the top button of his suit jacket as he strode toward the tech department.
"What's the situation?" His voice was quiet, but it cut through the panic, silencing the entire floor.
Kevin Price rushed over. "CEO, we've been hit by an elite hacker. Their technique... I've never seen anything like it."
Euan walked to the main screen. He stared at the insolent skull, his eyes narrowing.
Back in the airport's VIP lounge, Leo typed one final line of code and hit enter.
"Done," he said coolly. "I've wiped all traces of the intrusion and left a little 'surprise.'"
At Stafford Group, the skull on the screen suddenly vanished. The system returned to normal as if nothing had happened.
Before anyone could breathe a sigh of relief, an encrypted file popped up on Kevin Price's computer.
With a trembling hand, he clicked it open. Inside was a set of forged transaction logs, flawlessly created. All evidence pointed to one source for the attack: Aether, Jagger Patel's company.
"CEO... this..." Kevin's voice shook.
Euan stared at the company name on the screen. A flicker of amusement crossed his face. Aether? Jagger Patel? Interesting.
In the lounge, Helena's phone rang. It was her assistant, Zoe Foster.
"Monica, everything is arranged. Jagger Patel will be meeting you in person tomorrow to discuss the collaboration."
Helena looked out at the familiar skyline, a cold smile touching her lips. "Good. Let the games begin."
She put her phone away. Leo had fallen asleep against her side, his small face showing a hint of exhaustion. She gently stroked his hair.
Aria held up a small sports car she had built from Legos.
"Mommy, look! This is a present for my future daddy! Isn't it cool?"
