Chapter 554

Chapter 554

Before anyone could grasp the weight of Janet’s words, the room was suddenly filled with the jarring sound of multiple phones ringing at once. Ronald and Fass exchanged a look of annoyance before impatiently answering their calls.

“What is it?” they both snapped into their respective phones.

“President Leonard, the company’s financial system has completely crashed! We don’t know why, and the security team can’t get back in. Please, you have to come back immediately!”

“Crashed?” Fass felt a dull, sinking ache in his chest. A system of that magnitude didn't just crash for no reason.

The report Ronald received was nearly identical: hackers had launched a devastating offensive against the Shields Enterprise financial network. The system was dead.

Suddenly, Janet’s calm warning from moments ago echoed in Fass’s mind. He looked at her, his expression cold as he bit his lip, struggling to find his voice. “Was this... your doing?”

Layla and Lynette stood by, paralyzed by confusion. “Dad? Uncle Fass? What’s going on?”

Ronald’s voice was deathly quiet. “Hackers attacked the company. The financial systems have collapsed.”

“What?!” Lynette and Layla nearly buckled under the shock. How was this even possible?

Lynette turned to Janet, her eyes wide with disbelief and simmering hatred. “It’s you... You’re the hacker, aren’t you?!”

If Janet had the skill to restore the high-level security system at Woodsbury University, it stood to reason she had the power to tear their family businesses apart.

“Weren’t you being quite arrogant a moment ago?” Janet scoffed. She stepped toward Lynette, a dangerous, mocking smile playing on her lips. “So, tell me. Will you drop out voluntarily? Or would you prefer to be publicly expelled by the university?”

Janet hadn't originally intended to go this far. If Lynette had shown an ounce of humility or offered a sincere apology, the matter could have been settled quietly. Unfortunately, some people simply insist on digging their own graves.

Lynette clutched the hem of her skirt, her knuckles white. She was frozen, unable to find a single word to fight back.

“Lynette, we’re leaving!” Fass barked. He couldn't stand another second of this humiliation. How could he, a prestigious professor and president, be brought to his knees by a teenage girl? If word of this reached the public, his reputation would be ruined forever.

“Dad!” Lynette pleaded, looking toward her father for one last hope.

To her horror, Ronald’s voice was ice-cold as he grabbed her arm. “Be a good girl, Nettie. Come home with me.”

At that moment, Ronald had made a cold calculation. Both Shields Enterprise and Leonard Enterprise were hemorrhaging money by the second. If Lynette didn’t drop out, this girl wouldn't stop until they were bankrupt. Given the choice between his empire and his daughter’s pride, the empire won. I have to let her suffer this for now, he thought. There will be plenty of time to deal with this girl later.

Stunned by her father’s betrayal, Lynette had no choice but to follow them out. She bit her lip so hard it bled, unable to fathom that she—the daughter of a powerful family—had been utterly defeated by a girl she considered "stupid."

I can’t believe she used her hacking skills to threaten us, Lynette fumed. If the school finds out I was forced out, I’ll never be able to show my face again. This is all Janet’s fault! I will make her pay for this!

Once they reached the hallway outside the chancellor’s office, Layla spoke up. “Nettie, go back to class and pack your things. We’ll be waiting for you at the school gate.”

Lynette rubbed her eyes, her voice thick with resentment. “I called you here to help me! Instead, I’m the one being kicked out! I hate this!”

She thought of her classmates. Everyone assumed her father and uncle had arrived to put Janet in her place. Now, the realization of the gossip and the mockery awaiting her back in the classroom felt like a death sentence.