“Then do it,” I said.
“I can’t do it from here,” Jasper replied. “The final upload requires an on-site physical authentication from the primary terminal inside the VIP holding room at the gala venue. The system administrators locked down remote access for the duration of the event to prevent external hacking.”
I looked down at my simple silk robe, then across the room at the empty hangers in my closet. Sabrina thought she had left me paralyzed and helpless in an empty house. She believed she had orchestrated the perfect crime by stepping into my identity for one night.
“Mrs. Gable,” I called out, my voice ringing clear and firm through the quiet house.
The housekeeper hurried back into the room, her eyes wide with anxiety. “Yes, Mrs. Albright?”
“Call the driver. Tell him to bring the vintage town car around to the back gate—not the main driveway,” I instructed. “And then come with me to the guest suite closet. Sabrina took my custom gown, but she forgot about the emerald velvet piece I wore to the Paris opening last winter.”
Within twenty minutes, the fog of the sedative had completely lifted, replaced by a cold, calculated focus. I stood before the full-length mirror, zipped into a deep emerald gown that fit like a second skin. I wore no jewelry—Sabrina had taken it all—but the bareness of my neck and wrists only made me look more striking, more lethal. My hair was pulled back tightly, and my makeup was minimalist but sharp.
Jasper met me in the hallway, wearing his tailored black suit, his tablet concealed safely in a leather briefcase. “The gala security is tight, Mom. They’re checking invitations at the main gate.”
“They’re checking invitations for guests, Jasper,” I said, looking at my reflection one last time. “They won’t check the invitation of the woman whose name is etched into the marble facade of the building.”
The drive to the Beverly Hills cultural center was silent. The city lights blurred past the window, but my mind was fixed on the ballroom. Nathaniel had spent years building his reputation as a brilliant venture capitalist, but he had grown blind, wrapped up in his own ego and the easy flattery of a woman who fed his vanity. He had forgotten who actually secured the foundational capital for Aetheris. He had forgotten that my father’s brilliance was the bedrock of his success.
When the car pulled up to the service entrance behind the venue, Jasper and I stepped out into the crisp night air. We avoided the flashing cameras of the red carpet, moving instead through the catering entrance. The staff busy carrying trays of champagne barely spared us a glance; they were too preoccupied with the demanding crowd in the main hall.
Jasper led the way through the labyrinth of back hallways, his eyes glued to a digital map of the building’s infrastructure on his phone. “The main server terminal is in the executive green room, right behind the main stage. Dad and Sabrina are currently at the head table in the main ballroom. We have exactly twelve minutes before the midnight announcements begin.”
We reached the heavy oak door of the green room. Jasper stepped forward, inserting a small electronic device into the keycard slot. The light blinked from red to green with a soft click. We slipped inside.
