Chapter 302:

Troy, the hacker, sat in the monitoring room, rapidly tapping the keyboard. Lines of code filled the screen as he typed. Within ten minutes, he'd recovered the missing surveillance video and began fast-forwarding through it.

Darren stood behind him, wide-eyed. "Did you really restore it?" he asked, astonished.

Troy nodded calmly. "Restoring the video data wasn't difficult."

Before he could finish, the screen went black. Darren immediately asked, "What happened? Is there a problem?"

Troy glanced around, raising an eyebrow. "Someone shut down the monitoring room's power supply. They're trying to stop me."

Darren was speechless. The power was indeed out. He hurried to check the power supply, returning moments later. "The switch was destroyed," he reported. "We'll need maintenance; it'll take an hour."

"No worries. I have the footage saved on my laptop," Troy replied, packing up his laptop and checking his watch. "I need to take Mrs. Owen to the hospital now."

Darren, understanding his task was complete, escorted Troy to the infirmary. Passing Theo, Troy told Elyse, "Mrs. Owen, I'm done. It's time to go to the hospital."

Elyse nodded and, despite limping, slowly moved toward the exit.

Theo complained bitterly, "What's wrong with his head? What's more important than Elyse's well-being? Why didn't you take her sooner?"

Troy shot him a scornful look. "You lost to Mr. Owen. What makes you think you're qualified to speak?"

Theo's irritation grew, and he looked ready to fight. Troy, increasingly smug, taunted, "Oh, you're mad? Come on then, if you're so tough. Want your butt kicked?"

Theo, teeth clenched, was about to attack, but Elyse intervened, rubbing her temples. "Stop arguing! You're giving me a headache," she scolded. "If you're so eager to fight, take it outside. Just stay out of my way."

Stunned, Theo hesitated. He'd never seen Elyse so upset, and oddly, found her angry demeanor cute. She'd always been sweet and patient, but this outburst revealed her suppressed frustrations. This time, he didn't try to stop her.

Darren, before leaving, noticed Theo lingering. "You should go," he advised. "Clinging to the past is pointless. It's time to move on."

Darren hurried to catch up with Elyse and Troy. Theo offered a strained smile. He wanted to move on, but the urge to find Elyse, who had once loved him deeply, grew stronger with each step. He reflected on his past, filled with schemes and self-interest. Only with Elyse had things felt genuine. He'd never recognized beauty, always measuring worth through a business lens. He'd treated her love as the cheapest commodity. Now, he'd missed his chance, and knew he could never reclaim it.