CHAPTER 911: CHAPTER 911 HERA’S COUNTER ATTACK 2

Hera had her phone on speaker as she received real-time updates from Sasha, allowing both Xavier and Alexandre to hear everything. They were stunned, completely shaken by just how far ahead Hera had thought. While the enemy took a single step, Hera had already taken ten in preparation to counter and strike back.

Not only had she managed to save herself from the assassination attempt, but she had also flipped the situation on its head and used it to track her would-be killers. At first, Xavier and Alexandre thought spending more than a billion on that negotiation was a steep price, something done out of desperation to save her life. But now they realized that Hera wasn’t the type to take a loss. What looked like a surrender was actually a strategy.

Though she wasn’t the one doing the hacking, the brilliance of her plan, the foresight, the layers, the traps she’d set in advance, left both men looking at her with awe. Her mind had already mapped out each move long before the danger arrived.

Just then, a bodyguard entered, carrying a laptop. He handed it to Hera, and she began typing some codes in the black screen. Within seconds, Sasha’s live feed was mirrored onto her screen, allowing her to monitor his progress in real time.

Xavier couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath as he looked over her shoulder, realizing just how deeply she was involved, and how far she was willing to go.

Although the laptop screen was small, and it was hard for Xavier to make out every detail on the dual monitors showing on the laptop screen, he could still follow the general progress. One of the smaller windows was running a facial recognition scan on the people who had attacked them, and within just five minutes, the AI had already identified two individuals listed in the international police criminal database.

Then they watched as Sasha injected a virus into the security system connected to the CCTV network. The small window monitoring the virus remained idle for a while, until a sudden spike in activity indicated the bait had been taken. Then, the program kicked into action, confirming that someone on the other end had tried to tamper with the footage.

At the same time, Sasha’s voice came clearly through the speakerphone, narrating his steps in real time. Xavier and Alexandre were watching and listening simultaneously, stunned by the precision and timing of everything.

"Hera... is this really happening?" Xavier asked hesitantly, his voice filled with disbelief.

Hera’s eyes sparkled with satisfaction as she watched Sasha carry out her plan exactly as she intended. She was genuinely pleased, and now that she had decided not to keep things hidden anymore, she didn’t hesitate to speak openly in front of Xavier.

"Well," she said with a smirk, "since they took my money and even had the nerve to accept a tip, it’s only fair I use them to track down the mastermind. If we leave everything to the police and let them do the car accident investigation, it would take too long. But now that the mastermind has sent another piece of evidence, I figured I’d use it to nail them for good. No more hiding, no more sweeping things under the rug."

Her grin took on a sharp edge, almost villainous, unapologetically strategic. She was embracing the role of a scheming queen against her enemies. After all, money didn’t grow on trees, and since they had squeezed over a billion from her, they’d better be worth the price.

Xavier hesitated, then asked carefully, "About the money...?"

Realizing it might’ve been a sensitive topic, he was about to take the question back when Hera replied without missing a beat, her gaze fixed on the stream of data unfolding in front of her.

"My grandfather gave it to me as pocket money," she said casually.

But hearing her casually say that it was just pocket money, billions given by her grandfather, not only Xavier, but even Alexandre drew in a sharp breath. It felt like a glimpse into a much bigger world, one far beyond what they thought they knew.

Even for Alexandre, who grew up in the prestigious Arnault family, his "pocket money" never went beyond a few million. It wasn’t until he was older and took on major responsibilities in the company that he even got access to billions, and even then, it came with expectations and strings attached.

No one had ever handed it to him casually. But Hera’s grandfather? He made it seem effortless. Alexandre suddenly felt like a small fish in an ocean he didn’t even know existed. He once thought his family was among the giants, but now... clearly, they weren’t even close.

Xavier, too, felt a shift in his understanding of Hera. This wasn’t the first time he’d seen her contact Sasha. The last time was in Barcelona, when she was undercover in the Avery family’s local branch. He remembered how smoothly she operated, how easily Sasha responded to her requests. And then it hit him, his heart skipped a beat.

Every time something major happened, someone from the Avery family would appear: Cindy, Gerald... always following Hera’s lead, always treating her like someone they answered to. And the way she spoke about her grandfather, it wasn’t just affectionate; it was layered with power.

Xavier’s mind raced, connecting the dots as he thought. ’Could it be? Was Hera not just connected to the Averys, but actually the Avery heiress herself? But what about the one enrolled in Princeton?’

He couldn’t be sure. But suddenly, he felt like he was standing on the edge of understanding the whole truth.

If Hera knew what he was thinking, she would have simply smiled at him with that same mysterious grin, sweet, composed, and revealing nothing. She wouldn’t confirm or deny a thing. Not until she was face-to-face with all six of them.

But while Xavier and Alexandre were still piecing things together, Cindy and Dr. Zigheart, who had heard about the incident from the bodyguards, came rushing into the room in a panic.

"Young Miss!"

"Young Miss, are you alright?!"

And there it was again, ’Young Miss’. Xavier had heard that title before. The staff at Hera’s penthouse used it too, but until now, he and the others simply assumed it was a respectful way of addressing her, much like "Madam" or "Lady" in their own circles. But hearing Cindy say it, and noticing how it occasionally slipped from her lips without thought, Xavier would have to be incredibly dense not to start connecting the dots.

Still, something didn’t quite add up.

The whole world knew the Avery family had only one heiress, the sole successor, born to the late Avery couple before their tragic death in a plane crash. The Avery heiress was publicly known to be studying at Princeton. It was common knowledge within high society.

Unless...

Unless Mr. Avery had somehow fathered an illegitimate child that even he didn’t know about? A child the same age as the legitimate heiress? But that theory made even less sense. Everyone knew how deeply Mr. Avery had loved his wife—so much so that he built her a private observatory atop one of their buildings so she could gaze at the stars. Their love story was practically legendary.