Chapter 83

Hannah whispered to Isabel, "I was worried about Alex before, but he's turned out to be quite capable. I think there's a chance for him!"

"Mom, even though Alex can be foolish sometimes, he's not a total fool. You can relax!" Isabel replied.

Isabel and Blake then greeted Cora, who felt anxious as a newcomer. Isabel asked Alex to show her around the house, while Blake stayed for dinner with the Galvez family before leaving that evening.

As he was leaving, Hannah suggested Isabel walk outside with Blake for a bit. Night had fallen, and they found themselves alone.

"Isabel, while I'm away, you should miss me, because I will really miss you," Blake said before unexpectedly kissing her forehead.

A chill ran through Isabel, awakening a feeling she'd never known. Her racing heart was inexplicable.

"Alright, you should head back now; there's no need to see me off!" Blake smiled.

"Okay," Isabel replied. Inside, she felt something stirring within her, a discomfort she'd never experienced before. For the first time in years, she found Blake captivating; she felt enchanted.

The next morning, as Isabel barely opened her eyes, she received a message from Blake: "Dearest Isabel, I'm on the plane now, please miss me dearly!"

Isabel stared silently. Rubbing her eyes, memories of Blake's kiss flooded her mind, causing ripples of excitement in her usually calm demeanor. She shook her head and washed her face before breakfast. Breakfast was plentiful, and everyone was already awake. Suddenly, Samuel received a call from his assistant, Helen.

"What do you mean everyone has left? Why?" Samuel exclaimed in disbelief.

"Mr. Galvez, I don't know! There's no one watching over the company right now! What should we do?"

"I'm heading there right away?" Samuel hung up, his breakfast unfinished.

"Dad, what's going on?" Isabel asked, noticing the concern on everyone's faces.

"Well, Helen just called to say all the security personnel are absent today."

"How could this happen? Is it serious?" Hannah asked, unfamiliar with the company's security concerns.

Jack added, "While security might seem minor, it's really important. We have valuable art that needs protection; without guards, incidents could happen. But it's unlikely we can find replacements on such short notice."

"I'm leaving!" Samuel said, standing up.

"Dad, I'll go with you," Isabel volunteered. She sensed more to the situation; someone must be behind this. It was hard to believe all the guards had disappeared simultaneously.

"Alright!" Samuel agreed, and they went to the company. Upon arrival, they found even the entrance guard had abandoned his post.

Helen anxiously awaited them. "Mr. Galvez, what are we going to do? There isn't a single guard left in the whole company."

"Hire new staff—bring back as many as we can—"

"But how can we carry on for now? Some guards took the keys, and there are rooms we can't even get into. For example, the electrical room—several workshops have tripped, but the door is locked."

"Our employees are waiting! If we can't get power back to certain workshops due to outages, it could spoil our products!"

"I'll go and check!" Isabel said. She followed the technicians to the usually guarded and keypad-locked electrical room, designed to prevent electrical issues or tampering. Normally, security was tight. But with the guards gone and no one remembering the code, the door was unopenable. Even locksmiths might struggle, as it was custom-built.

In addition to the electrical room, other important archive rooms contained sensitive files accessible only to certain people. But now, the guards had secretly changed the codes and fled. The company was in chaos, making many tasks impossible.

"Isabel, this is the place! They're still working on a solution, but the door is really tough to break into. We might need to force it open."

Isabel looked at it and said, "No need."

She approached the keypad and began to tamper with it. Everyone was skeptical; even the best technicians had failed. They didn't trust a wealthy young lady could manage it. They doubted her, but suddenly, with a click, the door swung open. They were shocked. They had underestimated her.

"The reset code is 287129. Remember that," Isabel instructed.

Isabel quickly entered the electrical room. "Where are the electricians? We need them for an inspection," a manager urged.

Someone replied hesitantly, "It seems the electricians didn't show up today."

"They didn't come! Isabel, what should we do?"

"Don't panic!" After entering, Isabel carefully looked around and saw several cut wires. Someone was indeed causing damage on purpose. No wonder some workshops had lost power. Other wires were incorrectly connected, causing circuits to trip. Isabel turned off the switch, put on insulated gloves, and expertly reconnected the wires.

After ten minutes, she restored power to the main circuit. A call came in saying electricity was back. "Isabel, you're amazing!" said the manager, unable to hide his admiration.

He added, "Everyone, get back to work! We have to complete today's orders, or we'll miss our delivery deadlines!"

With power restored, Isabel changed the codes for all the remaining doors, finishing in less than half an hour, all on her own.

When she returned to the office, Samuel had just finished a meeting. Isabel asked, "Dad, what happened?"

"The Engineering Department just reported that the company's water pipes are blocked, and they're trying to..."

"That is nothing serious; there's no need to worry."

Samuel sighed. "I've heard you managed to reset the code and restore power too, Isabel. You are truly remarkable! What a lucky dad I am to have such a capable and caring daughter!"

"Dad, why do you say that? We're family; since this is your business, I have to help you! As for the security issue, I'll contact someone right away to ensure the company stays safe."

"I really appreciate your help. However, the sudden loss of security staff is alarming. I suspect someone is behind this, likely Soren. Ever since you let him go, he might have encouraged others to leave too."