The words had rolled off her mouth the exact second Kelsie pointed a finger at Zoe Derruci in response to the inspector's question.
Hearing Laura, she slowly lowered her hand, the corners of her lips spasming in disappointment.
This stupid sister of hers. Trying to humiliate and embarrass her wasn't enough, she now planned to claim a program she didn't even know existed until now.
Before anyone could say anything, pretending to be confused, Kelsie began muttering in a voice loud enough to be heard, "What? You created the program? That's strange. If you created it, how did Zoe Derruci know about it?"
Without waiting for a response, Kelsie whipped her head towards Zoe and pretended to ask curiously, "Zoe, you didn't tell me you're close with Laura Sutton that she would share such a great discovery with you."
Zoe, who was still reeling from the intense gaze of the inspectors which started as soon as Kelsie pointed at her, was finding it hard to come up with any words.
When Kelsie switched their computers just now, she assumed the team leader didn't want to be laughed at for coming up with gibberish, hence the switch.
Never did she imagine that the said program wasn't gibberish. It was, in words of the inspectors, a method they didn't know existed right until now.
And all of a sudden, she was the brain behind such an ingenious program because the owner decided to give her the praise.
This was too much for her small, timid mind to handle and she was beginning to grow flustered under everyone's intense gaze.
Kelsie promptly noticed this and shifted to her side before holding her hand comfortingly.
Had she known Laura would say something out of place, she would've been straightforward about the owner of the program.
Being the most timid in their group, there was every chance that Zoe would be the first target of these bullies once the contest was over.
Making her out to be the owner of the program was her way of somewhat protecting her. Too bad Laura decided to complicate it.
But she couldn't exactly change her words now or Laura and her teammates would come up with different other accusations.
Hence, she chuckled softly and gently massaged the back of Zoe's hand with her thumb.
"My, my! Don't tell me Laura Sutton really developed this program! Are you two really that close that she shares such important things with you?"
Being close to Kelsie suddenly gave Zoe the courage to retort as she shook her head in refusal.
"What? How could I be close with Laura Sutton? I've never even spoken to her before. She's a hotshot, why would someone like her know someone like me? That's not how it works."
Clicking her tongue, Kelsie looked perplexed as she turned her attention back to Laura.
"Oh, so you two are not friends and have never worked together. Funny you say that. Laura, didn't you just say you created this program?"
"How is it a program you created is in the hands of someone whom you haven't spoken to before? You've not even worked together before. Or did you just lie to everyone?"
Laura pressed her lips into a thin line, half-relieved the creator of the program wasn't Kelsie.
Since it was such a timid person who couldn't even afford to look her in the eye, she could easily crush her with her words, and it'd take her nothing to claim the program as hers.
The people here would believe her word over that of a nobody's who was yet to accomplish anything.
Furthermore, unlike Zoe, she was a well-known decorated hacker. If she said she created it, people would believe it without a doubt.
With that, she straightened her back and nodded with a straight face, deciding to lie through her teeth.
"Yes, I created it. And are you asking me how a hacker got a program I've been working on for the past seven months?"
She placed emphasis on the word 'hacker' that everyone instantly understood what she was trying to say and began pointing fingers at Laura.
"That's such a ridiculous question. How could you ask her that?"
"A program she worked so hard on just got stolen hy another hacker, as her sister, should you be asking her such a question?!"
"Instead of being on that thief's side, you should be pulling her hair to teach her a lesson about stealing!"
Kelsie suddenly threw her head backward and laughed out in amusement, unable to keep it in.
This caused everyone to stop talking and glance at each other in confusion.
They hadn't said anything funny. So what was this retard laughing about?!
Kelsie stopped laughing after some seconds and stared up at them. Her eyes flickered from one face to the other as she genuinely questioned, "Zoe Derruci has participated in countless hacking contests, including competitions, and have always failed to hack into the computers of others."
"But you accept without question that she hacked into the computer of someone like Laura Sutton?"
"That brain you have, is that what you really use to program and code?"
Those who jumped on Laura's words just now, were once again embarrassed by Kelsie's smooth attack.
Meanwhile, the inspectors were frowning hard as they no longer knew who to believe.
"Which one of you really has the code? Did you see the code somewhere and decided to copy it? If yes, where have you seen it before?"
However, instead of responding to them, Laura was offended by Kelsie's constant retort which kept hitting her hard.
Maybe it was the smug smile that failed to leave her face the entire time as she questioned her every word.
"What are you being so smug about? You've been programming and coding way earlier than her, but don't know a thing about it."
"What qualifications do you have to tell me that I am not the creator of this program? If you are so smart and can use that brain of yours as efficiently as you think, then do you dare to have a mini-contest with me right here and now?"
"If I lose, I'll let your team have the program, but if you lose, you'll not only let me have the program, but you'll also apologize to me on your knees!"