After Starley spoke like that in front of everyone, the room went silent for a few seconds before it became noisy again. The journalists were immediately excited to hear it. They bombarded her with questions, one after another.
"Is that true?"
"So, you're Starley Bellamy, the daughter of the Bellamy family?"
"I heard you're very wild, but it turns out you're a genius hacker. Is the wild part just a lie?"
"Since when did you start hacking?"
Nathan immediately rubbed his forehead, feeling a pulse in his head. Harold Bellamy hadn't said anything yet. Nathan stood up, took back the microphone Starley had taken earlier, and placed it far away.
"Why did you do that, Starley?" Nathan whispered. Starley smiled sweetly and replied,
"Of course, to lure our opponent out of their cage, brother."
"Starley! I told you, this is not a playground," Nathan shouted. Suddenly, the screen, which had only shown the Hatstone logo, changed to a message.
"Starley Bellamy, we will meet again someday," It is in bold red font so that everyone in the room can read it.
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Raul, who had been watching everything from the back, immediately sent a message to his subordinates to search for the system that Hatstone had hacked so they could figure out how they displayed that image.
Raul stared at Starley, who stood in front of the room. Nathan beside her looked frustrated. The woman was still the same as Raul remembered—very smart and stubborn.
The conference room became noisy, and journalists did not stop to ask questions. Ultimately, the press conference was concluded because it was not going according to plan.
Nathan, Starley, Harold, and a few directors left the conference room through the backstage exit. Meanwhile, the journalists began to disregard the rules, so all the security blocked the reporters from chasing Nathan, Starley, and Harold.
Meanwhile, Raul remained silent in his place, staring at the back of Starley as she disappeared behind the door. After the Bellamy family left the room, the journalists were still loud. Raul could hear them talking.
"This is going to be hot news."
"So, all this time the Bellamy family has been hiding their daughter, the hacking expert?"
"It seems the Bellamy family really has many secrets," Raul then left the room, took out his phone, and called his assistant, Josè.
"Josè, there's a new mission. Find the true identity of the Hatstone members until you find them. I will track them down to the ends of the earth," Raul said to Josè with a serious tone.
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Now, Starley, Nathan, and Harold were in Harold's office. "Do we need to stop the journalists from spreading the news?" Nathan asked.
"That's a futile effort, Hatstone itself already witnessed it," their father replied. Starley observed her father and brother as they thought of a solution.
"You guys are too paranoid. Don't worry about me, I can take care of myself. I said it on purpose so they wouldn't underestimate our family," Starley explained.
Nathan sighed. "You're a woman, Starley. Dad and I just don't want you to get hurt."
This is why Starley was often called the spoiled princess; her family protected her like a diamond. And without realizing it, they ended up controlling all her decisions.
"I assure you, they can't touch me, not even a single hair," Starley replied confidently.
"So now, we should focus on figuring out what Hatstone really wants," she added. Nathan glanced at their father as if asking for an explanation.
"That's not something you need to think about, my dear. Go home, your father and brother will discuss this," their father said gently. Starley felt annoyed because her father still thought she didn't need to get involved. Starley knew they loved her, but this was too much. Starley left her father's office to go home without saying a word.
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The next day, at the Bellamy residence, the servants were busy preparing breakfast and cleaning the house for their employers. But today, the house was busier than usual in the morning. The Bellamy residence was receiving many guests and gifts. There were also reporters and paparazzi already at the gates of the Bellamy residence, hoping their star would appear.
Victoria Bellamy, Starley and Nathan's mother, was having breakfast while looking at the news on her iPad. All the news was about Starley Bellamy. In each of those news articles, there was always a sentence.
'Starley Bellamy, the hacking queen from the Bellamy family.'
Meanwhile, Starley ignored the news, entirely focused on eating her pancakes.
"I didn't know you liked hacking, Starley," Victoria exclaimed. She had only commented a little since Victoria heard Starley helped the company retrieve its website. Your mother supported Starley in her hacking activities.
Victoria Bellamy was different from most mothers. Starley's mother was very passionate about her work. Victoria was different from the typical wife of a conglomerate, living off her husband's money. Victoria had her own company, which she built without using her husband's wealth. And because her mother was so busy, they rarely spent time together like most mothers and daughters.
However, since Victoria Bellamy came from an old British family, her mother's side still held traditional views on marriage. They believed women should marry young. Victoria herself married at a young age because of her family's expectations.
Starley still couldn't accept this view of marriage. Perhaps it was because of the pressure from Victoria's family to marry quickly, so to this day, Victoria would tell Starley to do the same.
Aside from her views on marriage, Starley was quite like Victoria. To this day, Harold sometimes has trouble adjusting to Victoria's free-spirited nature.
"Are you not angry?" Starley asked. Although she already knew the answer, she still asked.
"Why would I be angry when you've found your passion, Starley? I support you, spread your wings and fly as you please. Don't mind those overprotective men," Victoria said. The men Victoria referred to were Harold and Nathan. Starley chuckled at her mother's words.
"Ah, it's that time already. I have a meeting with my client. See you later," Victoria said to Starley. After her mother left, Starley received a message from Lia. Lia was shocked that Starley was an expert in hacking, and now she understood why Starley was a computer nerd. Lia also said she had a lot of work because of Starley yesterday.
As Starley was replying to her message from Lia, she suddenly heard footsteps entering the dining room. Then she heard Nathan call her name.
"Starley," Nathan called. Starley turned towards where her brother was, but just a moment later, Starley found herself holding her breath. Because behind Nathan, Starley saw a tall figure she knew very well—Raul Blackwell.
When Raul entered the dining room, his gaze never left Starley. His sharp, dark eyes seemed to look straight into her soul.
"Do you remember my friend, Raul? I asked him to keep an eye on you for a few days, until you're safe to go around on your own," Nathan said. Starley immediately shot Nathan a sharp look.
"You asked the owner of Blackwell Intelligence Agency to watch over me? Oh c'mon, Nathan, I'm sure Raul is too busy to do that," Starley exclaimed.
"Actually, I didn't ask Raul himself. I told him to borrow one of his trained and skilled subordinates to keep an eye on you, but for some reason, Raul came himself," Nathan said, glancing at Raul curiously.
"Will your subordinate come later, Raul?" Nathan added.
"No, I will take care of Starley myself," Raul replied. Starley looked at Raul with disbelief.
'This man in front of me can't possibly be serious, can he?'
…