NOVEL NEXT Chapter 3: Crazy
The room, which was noisy just moments ago, fell utterly silent after Nathan spoke. No one said a word.
"Don't worry, Mr. Bellamy, I'll make sure everyone here keeps their mouths shut," said the manager, breaking the silence. Nathan looked at the manager for a moment before replying, "Good job everyone, continue with your work. They might strike again."
After that, he turned to Starley and said, "And you, come with me." Nathan walked out of the room, followed by his assistant.
Starley rolled her eyes. Her brother always treated her like a five-year-old, even though she was now twenty-three. But she still followed Nathan from behind.
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Now, Nathan and Starley were in Nathan's office. Nathan sat in his expensive leather chair while Starley stood before his desk.
"So, can you tell me how you suddenly became an expert in hacking?" Nathan asked.
"Is that important right now? Have you forgotten that our family is being threatened by Hatstone?" Starley replied.
"And what exactly does Hatstone want from us?" Starley asked again.
Nathan sighed, then answered, "I don't know."
"Didn't you ask Dad?" Starley inquired.
"Dad hasn't told me anything. He just told me to get the website back by any means necessary," Nathan replied. Coincidentally, their father, Harold Bellamy, was on a business trip. After hearing about the situation, Harold was flying back to Chicago that night.
"So, Dad is hiding something?" Starley asked.
"Yeah, just like you're hiding your hacking skills," Nathan teased, still curious. Starley rolled her eyes.
"I taught myself, Nathan."
"That's impressive, Starley," Nathan praised. Starley remembered that the first people to know about her skills were that guy, then Selene and Lucian. She had never told her family.
"Why did you suddenly learn hacking?" Nathan asked, still curious. Starley smiled sweetly.
"To rob a bank and then go somewhere far AWAY, because my family won't let their twenty-three-year-old daughter go alone," Starley replied sharply.
All of this was just because she had often gotten into trouble, from throwing wild parties at her house when her parents were away on business trips to getting arrested by the police for driving without a license and other things that weren't really a big deal, her parents didn't trust leaving Starley alone, which is why whenever they went abroad for business, Nathan was assigned to keep an eye on her.
Starley's parents were also shocked that she managed to finish college, even if it was a year late because Starley had been secretly studying hacking from her family. Nathan was about to respond to Starley's remark when his phone rang. He immediately picked up the call.
"Dad," Nathan said. Then, Nathan reported that they had successfully retrieved the hacked website.
"Who did it? I'll make sure they get a promotion," Harold said from the other end of the line. Nathan paused for a moment before replying,
"Actually, it was Starley who did it," There was a brief silence before they heard Harold's phone ringing on his side.
"We'll talk later. Come to the press conference tomorrow, we'll meet there. Also, bring Starley tomorrow. I want to talk to her," Harold said. Then he hung up the phone without waiting for Nathan to reply.
"Go home, it's already late. Dad asked you to come to the press conference tomorrow," Nathan said. Starley narrowed her eyes. It was unusual for her father to ask her to attend such an important event.
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The next day
09:00 AM
Starley was already in the car heading to the Bellamy Corp building. She sat in the back seat, and Nathan's driver was behind the wheel. Nathan was asleep at the office when their father arrived in Chicago this morning.
Starley was reading the news on her phone, and the hottest topic was how Bellamy Corp defeated Hatstone in just two hours. However, many people speculated that Hatstone and Bellamy Corp collaborated to gain publicity.
Many agreed with this rumour because it was the first time Hatstone had been so open like this. The press conference held today was to deny these negative rumours.
Upon arriving at the Bellamy Corp building, Starley headed to the press conference room. There were already many reporters, cameras everywhere, and microphones set up.
But Nathan and their father had yet to arrive. Starley decided to watch, so she sat in the very back. Suddenly, the room grew louder—had Nathan and their father arrived? Starley turned to look at the entrance of the press conference room.
But it wasn't Nathan or their father who entered. It was the man who had once meant everything to Starley.
Raul Blackwell.
Starley held her breath as her heart beat faster than it had just a few minutes ago. Raul wore a dark blue suit and a black shirt, and the top button of his shirt was undone. All reporters stared at Raul curiously, but Raul seemed accustomed to it, appearing completely unaffected.
'Why is he here at this press conference?' Starley thought.
Raul scanned the room for a moment before their gazes met. Raul's gaze lingered on Starley for several seconds. Starley wanted to look away, but for some reason, she couldn't. Raul didn't look surprised to see Starley; he seemed utterly indifferent.
Soon after, Raul broke eye contact as if they were strangers who had never known each other. At that moment, Starley realized she had looked like a fool. She should have been the one to look away first.
Raul then sat at the far end of the room, far from Starley's seat, and didn't glance in her direction again. Starley sighed and spoke to herself inwardly, "Control yourself, Starley. This is normal. You and Raul are strangers now."
While Starley was calming herself down, the press conference began. Soon after, Harold Bellamy, Nathan Bellamy, and several other directors entered the room and took their seats at the front table prepared for them.
Then, the floor was opened for questions from the press. After about four questions, Starley began to feel tired from all the talking. It seemed like Starley would wait for the conference to finish in the café. But just as she was about to stand up from her seat, she heard the fifth question from one of the reporters.
"So, who was the one who managed to recover the Bellamy Corp website yesterday?" The question made Starley freeze in place.
"Someone from the company, but we can't reveal their name for security reasons," Nathan answered. But the reporter seemed unsatisfied with Nathan's response and asked again, "Is this person from the Hatstone group?" Nathan furrowed his brow, clearly displeased with the reporter's question.
"Of course not," Nathan replied.
"So, is this person someone who works at Bellamy Corp?" the reporter asked again. Just as Nathan was about to respond, Harold stopped him.
"Does it really matter whether they work at the company or not?" Harold asked sharply. When Harold said this, the room fell silent.
Then suddenly, the white screen at the front of the room lit up. With a familiar logo—Starley recognized it immediately. It was the Hatstone logo. Moments later, a voice was heard, "Don't think you've won just because you managed to get the website back. This isn't over, Bellamy."
The voice was distorted as if using a filter, so it was impossible to tell whether it was male or female.
The room erupted into chaos. Everyone there was confused. Meanwhile, Starley stood up from her seat, eyes scanning every corner of the room. But she couldn't find what she was looking for. Finally, Starley walked toward the front table where her father and brother were seated. Her eyes met Nathan's, who seemed equally confused.
Starley took the microphone in front of Nathan and spoke into it, "I know you're monitoring this conference from one of the cameras here, Hatstone. Well, nice to meet you. I'm Starley Bellamy. I'm the one who managed to recover the Bellamy website from you, and I hope this won't be the last time."
Starley said this with the microphone in front of all the reporters and cameras recording her. If anyone were to ask why Starley did this, the answer would be simple: because she's crazy, and her life is pretty dull.
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