Chapter 3

The next day, a breaking news bulletin interrupted the regular programming on the television in my hospital room.

"Major security vulnerabilities have been discovered in the Marchetti family's smart driving system, Phantom. At 8:00 am this morning, eight vehicles equipped with the system suddenly lost control on the highway, causing a chain collision. Three people have already suffered severe injuries and…"

Leaning against my pillow, I struggled to wipe the blood from the corner of my mouth. My vision had already begun to double. I knew the hemolytic reaction was gradually destroying my body's ability to produce blood.

Marcello stood by the window, shouting into his phone, "Is the entire PR department on vacation? Suppress the news immediately. I don't care how much it costs. Just find a scapegoat and say it was caused by some freelance programmer who was acting alone."

Furious, he ripped off his tie and hurled it onto the couch.

Letizia was curled up in a corner of the couch, twisting her fingers together and looking completely innocent as she said, "I'm sorry, Cello… I just thought the system's firewall was too basic and wanted to give them a surprise. How was I supposed to know it would end up causing a car accident..."

Marcello took a deep breath before walking over to her. Patting her on the head, he said, "It's fine. I'll take care of it. Just don't be so cheeky next time. The media loves blowing things out of proportion all the time. It was just a minor accident. We can easily settle this by paying the victims some compensation."

My stomach churned as I heard him speak in such a flippant tone.

Human lives had been jeopardized, but in his eyes, it was just a "cheeky" act that could be smoothed over with some "compensation".

Enduring the agony of multiple organ failure, I reached beneath my pillow and pulled out my laptop. The moment my fingers touched the keyboard, I felt slightly more awake.

My fingers flew across the keyboard as I swiftly coded something.

To protect Letizia, Marcello would undoubtedly erase every trace of evidence that linked the accident back to her. I had to gather all of her original data before my time ran out.

The progress bar crawled across the screen. My vision grew blurrier by the second. By now, I was relying almost entirely on muscle memory to type.

"What are you doing?" Marcello had just gotten off another call and turned around to see me typing away on my laptop.

He marched over and slammed the laptop shut. "We have a major crisis on your hands, yet you're still in the mood to play computer games? How can you be so heartless and unfeeling, Stella?"

I looked up at his infuriated expression.

"You're accusing me of being heartless and unfeeling?" I snorted, coughing up a bit of blood. "What gives you any right to say that when you've chosen to cover up for a murderer, Marcello?"

His expression hardened, and his gaze turned stormy. "What the hell are you talking about? Letizia is still a child!"

Letizia hurried over and hugged his arm. "Are you trying to report me to the authorities, Stella? But you don't have any evidence."

She winked at me, her smile taunting. "Cello already had all of my activity logs deleted. Even if you go to the authorities, no one will believe you."

Seeing her fearless expression, I opened up my laptop again. "Is that so?"

I pressed the Enter key, and the encrypted archive was completed.

The folder contained evidence of her tampering with the smart driving system that led to this incident. Not only that, but it also had the complete record of every server intrusion and trade-secret theft she had committed against the rival families over the past five years.

"Don't act rashly, Stella!" Marcello reached out to snatch the laptop away from me.

I drew away from him and eyed him coldly. "Relax. I'm just writing my will."

His hand froze in midair. After staring at my colorless face, he suddenly snorted. "Your will? Why would you need a will when you're barely injured? You're becoming more and more unreasonable every day!"

He grabbed Letizia's hand and walked off without hesitation. "We're going. Let her carry on with her crazy stunts alone!"

The moment the door closed, I could no longer hold myself upright. My head collapsed onto the pillow.

On the screen, the delivery for the encrypted archive had been scheduled. It would be sent out four days after my death.