The CEO and the Country Wildflower chapter 45

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The CEO and the Country Wildflower
Chapter 45: The Basement Showdown


The fluorescent lights flickered ominously as Lucas and Emelly sprinted toward the basement server room, their footsteps echoing through the empty halls of York Group. The digital clock on the wall ticked mercilessly—14 minutes left before Leo’s virus would erase years of financial data. Emelly’s fingers flew over her tablet as she deciphered the last fragments of the code Leo had planted. "It’s not just a virus—it’s a backdoor. If this executes, he’ll have full access to every transaction, every client file.


York Group will be bankrupt by morning." Lucas’s jaw tightened, his migraine pulsing behind his temples despite Emelly’s presence. The stress was overriding even her miraculous effect on him. "We need to isolate the core server before it spreads." "Easier said than done," Emelly muttered, skidding to a halt in front of the reinforced server room door. She punched in her access code, but the panel flashed red. "Locked out. Of course."


Lucas didn’t hesitate. He slammed his fist against the emergency override, inputting his CEO credentials. The door hissed open, revealing rows of humming servers bathed in eerie blue light. Inside, the central monitor displayed a countdown: 00:12:47. Emelly dove for the keyboard, her photographic memory recalling every line of Leo’s corrupted script. "I can rewrite the firewall, but I need time." "Time we don’t have," Lucas growled, scanning the room. His gaze landed on the backup generator. "If we cut the main power, the virus can’t transmit." "And risk losing all our progress?" Emelly shot back. "It’s that or lose everything." Their eyes locked—frustration, fear, and something deeper passing between them. Then, with a sharp nod, Emelly yanked a cable from the wall. "Do it." Lucas flipped the emergency switch. The room plunged into darkness, the only light coming from the faint glow of Emelly’s tablet. The countdown froze at 00:09:22. Silence.


Then— A slow clap echoed from the doorway. Linda Crow stepped into the dim light, her smirk venomous. "Bravo. But did you really think it would be that easy?" Emelly’s stomach dropped. "You." Linda tossed a flash drive onto the floor. "Leo’s final gift. A failsafe. Even if you stop the virus, this will trigger the data wipe remotely." She tilted her head. "Unless, of course, you hand over the Clus Algorithm." Lucas stepped forward, his voice deadly calm. "You’re working for him." "Not just him," Linda purred. "The king wants what’s his." Before Lucas could react, Emelly snatched the flash drive and hurled it into the emergency water tank beside the servers. The circuitry shorted instantly. Linda’s face twisted in rage. "You little—" The fire alarm blared, sprinklers drenching them all. In the chaos, Lucas grabbed Emelly’s wrist. "Run." They bolted, Linda’s furious screams fading behind them.


Meanwhile, across town, Bruno Halthorn leaned against the gilded railing of the Jonshon estate, watching Serritary pace like a caged tiger. "You can’t avoid me forever," he said, swirling his whiskey. She whirled on him. "I can try. This marriage is a farce, and you know it." Bruno’s smirk didn’t reach his eyes. "Your family’s debts don’t care about farces." Serritary’s fists clenched. "I have a proposal." "Oh?" "One year. If I can’t make you fall in love with me by then, you annul the marriage, and I walk away free." Bruno’s glass paused mid-air. "And if I do?" Her lips curved, sharp as a blade. "Then you admit you’re not as cold as you pretend." The challenge hung between them, electric.


Back at York Group, Lucas and Emelly burst onto the rooftop, gasping for air. The city lights sprawled below them, oblivious to the disaster they’d just barely avoided. Emelly sagged against the railing. "We stopped it. But Linda… she mentioned a ‘king.’ Who is that?" Lucas’s expression darkened. "Someone far more dangerous than Leo." Before he could explain, his phone buzzed. A single message: "You’ve only delayed the inevitable. The king always collects his debts." The screen went black.