The private, utterly joyless reception was a blur of polite fiction and thinly veiled contempt. Anya, now officially Mrs. Thorne, moved through the crowd with the practiced blankness of a seasoned diplomat, her eyes downcast, a faint, timid smile fixed on her lips. She was the perfect, unremarkable accessory to the powerful and furious Kaius Thorne.
Kaius, meanwhile, was a coiled spring. His mind was not on the canapés or the forced well-wishes; it was consumed by the encrypted report from "Phoenix." The security breach detailed in the report was real, massive, and timed perfectly to expose a critical flaw in Thorne Group's new global AI system, Aegis. The knowledge that some unknown entity—perhaps sitting in the next room—had his company by the throat made the taste of champagne metallic and bitter.
The reception mercifully ended. As the staff prepared the Thorne Estate for the night, Kaius bypassed the honeymoon suite and strode directly to his private study, a secured fortress within the mansion. Anya followed, her heart rate steady despite the tension. She knew this was her next battleground.
Kaius turned on her before she could even cross the threshold. "This marriage is a façade, Anya. I expect you to maintain the appearance of normalcy, but you will not interfere with my work. You will use the room allocated to you on the east wing, and you will not leave it without explicit permission. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Mr. Thorne," Anya whispered, her gaze fixed on the Persian rug. Perfect. He's confining me to the ideal isolation for 'Phoenix' to operate.
"Good." Kaius pinched the bridge of his nose. "Now, I need to focus on this 'Phoenix' threat. A team of security experts is flying in overnight, but they're useless until they know the specifics of the breach."
Anya, using the moment to observe the study's intricate security protocols, spoke timidly, pointing toward a stack of thick ledgers on the corner of his desk. "Mr. Thorne... for my, ah, allowance. Should I speak to Mr. Wallace, your Chief of Staff, about that, or... or is there a standard account that has been set up?"
Kaius looked at her, irritated by the mundane question. "Wallace will handle it. Just give him your details. It's minimal, as agreed."
"Minimal is fine," Anya said quickly. "I only ask because... because I have no bank accounts that are solely in my name. The Lin family handles everything. I would prefer to establish one untraceable account that is purely mine, for household needs."
She used the exact phrase from the Phoenix demand—one untraceable account—to subtly plant a seed of association between her request and the hacker's demand in Kaius's stressed mind.
Kaius paused, a frown deepening on his face. Untraceable? Why would she need that? He dismissed the thought immediately. She was a Lin. They were all inherently sketchy.
"Fine. Tell Wallace to set up a private, numbered account in your name. Use it for your personal needs, but don't abuse the privilege. Now leave."
Anya bowed her head slightly. "Thank you, Mr. Thorne. I will not be a distraction."
She left the study, her steps light. Phase 2 Complete: Kaius had just, under the guise of an allowance, sanctioned the creation of an untraceable account—the perfect banking channel for the Phoenix to receive and launder funds.
Anya didn't go to her allocated room. She wandered the deserted upper hallway, ostensibly looking lost. This allowed her to gauge the mansion's internal security cameras and establish the patterns of Commander Stone's security patrols.
Just as she reached the east wing, a voice dripped with saccharine sweetness halted her.
"Well, well. Look who finally decided to grace our humble wing. The peasant queen."
Lydia Thorne emerged from her own plush suite, wearing a silk robe and a look of absolute venom.
"I apologize, Miss Thorne," Anya murmured, shrinking slightly. "I was only finding my room."
"Don't worry, you won't get lost," Lydia sneered, stepping closer. "It's the only one with the chipped paint and the view of the service alley. Fitting, for the wife Kaius bought to scare off the shareholders."
Lydia toyed with the idea of a physical confrontation, seeing how weak Anya appeared. But the Oracle, recognizing the danger, used words instead.
"I understand your feelings, Miss Thorne," Anya said softly, her eyes widening slightly. "It must be very difficult for you. To see your beloved brother, the powerful CEO, forced into a marriage with someone he despises, simply to stabilize the company and shield the family from past discretions."
Lydia froze. The color drained from her face. "W-what did you say? What discretions?"
Anya tilted her head slightly, then immediately slapped her hand over her mouth, perfectly feigning terror and a verbal slip-up. "Oh! Oh, I am so sorry! I... I only heard a bit of gossip from Julian Lin... about something involving an old legal battle and a hidden ethical review at Thorne Group. I didn't mean to offend! I probably misunderstood!"
Lydia's breathing hitched. The one thing Lydia valued was the family's immaculate image, and the one thing the Thorne family feared was the exposure of the past ethical breach that underpinned their tech dominance—a secret that even Kaius was desperately trying to unravel.
"You are lying!" Lydia spat, her voice shaking with genuine fear, not just spite. "You heard nothing! If you breathe a word of that gossip, I will make sure you disappear before morning!"
"I promise I will be silent!" Anya whimpered, backing away. "I am sorry! I will go to my room now!"
Lydia watched her scurry away, her mind racing. The threat of her own family's secret being exposed instantly eclipsed her desire to humiliate Anya. The Oracle had given Lydia a new primary worry: Silence.
Back in the solitude of her dreary room, Anya pulled the drapes shut and plugged the cheap smartphone into a secure, portable battery pack she'd hidden in her coat. The timid bride was gone; the Phoenix was awake.
She accessed the newly established offshore account. Five million dollars, ready to be used.
Kaius has agreed to the untraceable account. He has the Phoenix report. Now, I must become indispensable.
Anya's fingers flew across the phone's keypad, creating a makeshift, highly secure wireless hub. She didn't need a supercomputer; she needed intelligence and minimal bandwidth.
Her first act was to contact Jax, the low-level programmer she'd identified as her eyes inside Thorne Group. Jax was a genius, overlooked and underpaid, exactly the kind of person the Oracle knew how to leverage.
* Phoenix: (Encrypted Message): I have provided the CEO with the Aegis analysis. He is bringing in external contractors. Your immediate task is to secure a copy of the Aegis source code and upload it to a temporary, secured server. You will be compensated 50,000 USD immediately.
* Jax: (Reply within 3 seconds): That's industrial espionage. They'd fire and blacklist me.
* Phoenix: (Encrypted Message): I just saved your CEO billions. He sanctioned my access. This is remediation, not theft. Your loyalty is to the Thorne Group's security. This is the only way to beat the outside contractors. Do it. The fate of Aegis is in your hands.
The message used loyalty and fear—two of the Oracle's favorite tools. She knew Jax couldn't resist the challenge or the money.
Next, she moved to solidify her "Dr. A" identity. She needed physical resources and a legitimate contact outside the Lin family's sphere.
She texted her old friend, Chloe, who ran a struggling flower shop downtown.
* Anya: (Regular Text): Chloe, I need a massive favor. I've been gifted some old family "remedies" by the Matriarch. Can I ship them to your shop? Also, I need to borrow your spare key to your old storage unit in the industrial district. I need space to sort them out. I'll pay you double the rent.
* Chloe: (Reply): OMG! Anya! You're alive! Yes, of course! Anything for you, Mrs. Thorne! But... why a storage unit? What kind of remedies?
Anya smiled faintly. Chloe was honest, loyal, and clueless—perfect.
* Anya: (Regular Text): Just some dusty old herbal stuff. The family doesn't want it at the mansion. It's too embarrassing. I just need a private place to sort the junk before I toss it. Thank you, Chloe! You're the best!
She had just secured her Hidden Workshop—the perfect private lab for Dr. A's ancient medicine and Xiao's calligraphy practice. The junk was actually the medicinal texts and rare, preserved ingredients she would need.
The timid bride had been married, confined, and dismissed. But in less than twelve hours, the Silent Oracle had secured her funds, her private network, and her physical base of operations.
Tomorrow, the external security team would arrive, launching the official investigation. And they would find that "Phoenix" was always one step ahead.