Ms. CEO’s Baby Daddy Is the Merchant of Death – Episode 27
Cypher did not move when the evidence filled the screen. His terminal had generated the security phrase, his old credential signed the payments, and accounts tied to his identities funded C-7 operations. Any ordinary investigation would have ended there. Connor’s history with him made certainty impossible. Years of loyalty now stood against a perfect digital accusation.
Cypher denied betraying Dominion or touching Summer’s evacuation plan. The original C-7 system used shared recovery material distributed among founding personnel. Someone who reconstructed enough fragments could imitate his signature. The problem was proving a theft hidden inside records already altered by the thief.
Connor asked why Cypher had never mentioned the vulnerability. Cypher believed the continuity system destroyed decades earlier and had personally deleted his operational copy. He accepted responsibility for underestimating the risk. He would not accept responsibility for a child being kidnapped.
Adrian Cross joined the investigation by secure conference. As one of Dominion’s earliest investors, he had remained on the board while Connor hid from public view. Cross called the evidence devastating and recommended immediate suspension. His tone carried sympathy rather than accusation.
Cross warned that Connor’s judgment had become compromised. Summer’s kidnapping and Scarlett’s grief made it natural to protect a trusted friend, but Dominion’s survival required distance. If Cypher retained access for another hour, Voss could exploit it again. Several directors supported the recommendation.
Scarlett studied the financial records rather than the debate. Every clue pointed toward Cypher with unnatural completeness. Experienced criminals hid connections; they did not label every stage with the same identity. The evidence looked less like a trail and more like a portrait painted for Connor to find.
She voiced the concern to Cross. He replied that grief encouraged conspiracy theories and suggested she leave military security to professionals. The dismissal reminded Scarlett of directors who once ignored her warnings at Hayes Group. She marked his reaction for later.
Summer entered before the meeting ended, carrying her repaired family drawing. She asked Cypher to help reconnect the location game on her new watch. Security stopped her, and confusion replaced her smile. No one had explained why Uncle Cypher suddenly required guards.
Connor knelt and told her an investigation was necessary. Summer insisted Cypher had protected her and would never help Voss. Cypher promised the child that telling the truth was sometimes slow. He asked her to trust her father until it arrived.
The request made Connor’s decision harder. Allowing Cypher to remain free risked another breach, while imprisoning him rewarded whoever created the evidence. Connor chose temporary secure detention with no external access. He promised the order was precaution, not judgment.
Cypher surrendered his weapon and authorization badge. He did not resist when guards approached. Before leaving, he warned Connor to distrust anyone too eager to provide a convenient traitor. The real C-7 wanted the only expert on the old system removed. His calm departure felt more like a warning than a surrender.
Scarlett followed Connor into the corridor. She understood why he acted but urged him to continue investigating beyond the obvious answer. Connor admitted that leadership sometimes meant making a decision before certainty arrived. He hated that his first decision placed a friend behind locked doors.
Cross addressed Dominion employees after the detention. He praised Connor for choosing company security over personal loyalty and promised an independent review. The message positioned Cross as the voice of stability. It also spread Cypher’s presumed guilt before any hearing occurred.
Inside detention, Cypher examined the isolated terminal provided for legal documents. A line of unauthorized text appeared despite the lack of network access. The intrusion used a maintenance channel known only to founding administrators. Someone wanted him to know the trap had succeeded.
Voss’s message thanked Cypher for years of predictable loyalty. By allowing himself to be arrested, he had removed the only person capable of recognizing C-7’s true architecture. The screen erased itself seconds later. Cypher struck the alarm, but no trace remained. Even isolation had become part of the enemy’s network.
He reported the message to the guards. Cross’s security representative dismissed it as an attempt to manufacture innocence. Cypher requested Connor directly and was told all communication required board approval. His isolation was already more complete than Connor intended.
Scarlett began tracing the offshore accounts through Hayes Group’s forensic team. Dominion investigators searched for military signatures, while her accountants examined timing, tax structure, and administrative habits. One transaction referenced an encryption standard created years after the date stamped on the file. The past had been rewritten recently.
She showed Connor the discrepancy. If the record were genuine, it could not contain a modern signature. Someone had inserted false evidence after Dominion’s latest system upgrade. Cypher’s innocence was not yet proven, but the case against him had been manufactured.
They attempted to contact the detention unit. Cross’s office denied the request, citing the board’s independent review. Connor’s highest override suddenly required secondary approval. The restriction had not existed when he signed Cypher’s detention order.
In his cell, another message appeared. “Thank you for removing the only man who could expose C-7.” This time Voss added a final line before the terminal died: “Ask Adrian Cross why he was waiting.” Cypher repeated the name aloud as the guards entered. Somewhere beyond the locked door, Cross was already very quietly preparing his next move.
