Chapter 5 FINAL HACK

# CHAPTER 5: FINAL HACK

Central Park's Conservatory Water gleamed in the afternoon sun as model sailboats drifted lazily across its surface. Tourists and locals alike gathered around the pond, enjoying the perfect spring weather. None paid particular attention to the well-dressed businessman who paced anxiously near the Hans Christian Andersen statue, checking his watch every thirty seconds.

Shawn Page had arrived twenty minutes early, against all standard security protocols. No bodyguards, no surveillance team in unmarked vans, no panic button—just as the twins had demanded. For the first time in years, he was truly alone and vulnerable in public.

At exactly 4:00 PM, his phone vibrated with a text message: "Look at the boy with the red sailboat."

Scanning the pond's edge, Shawn spotted a small figure in a navy blue blazer and shorts, meticulously adjusting the sails on a crimson model boat. Noah. His son.

Shawn approached slowly, as if the boy might startle and flee like a wild animal. When he was five feet away, Noah spoke without looking up.

"You're punctual. That's good. Lily hates waiting."

"Where is she?" Shawn asked, looking around for his daughter.

Noah finally glanced up, his eyes—Nicole's eyes—studying Shawn with unnerving intensity. "Lily's handling the broadcast preparations."

"Broadcast?"

Noah nodded toward a nearby bench where a little girl in a pale pink dress sat with a tablet on her lap, her fingers flying across the screen with adult-like precision.

"We're going live in approximately seven minutes," Noah explained, turning back to his sailboat. "Global streaming to 147 countries. Estimated initial audience of 2.3 billion, with viral expansion to 4.1 billion within the first hour."

Shawn felt his mouth go dry. "What are you planning to broadcast?"

Noah launched his sailboat with expert precision, watching as it caught the breeze. "The truth. Isn't that what everyone claims to want?"

Before Shawn could respond, Lily approached, tablet in hand. Up close, the resemblance to Nicole was even more striking—the same determined set to her jaw, the same calculating intelligence behind her eyes.

"Hello, Father," she said formally, offering her free hand to shake. "The broadcast systems are ready. Noah's backdoor programs have successfully infiltrated the major streaming platforms, social media networks, and digital billboards in forty-three major cities."

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Shawn hesitantly shook his daughter's tiny hand. "You can't just hijack global media platforms."

The twins exchanged a look that could only be described as pitying.

"Actually, it was surprisingly easy," Noah commented. "Most systems still use outdated IPv6 transition mechanisms with exploitable tunneling protocols."

"The hardest part was timing the broadcast to override the global stock exchange feeds simultaneously," Lily added casually. "That required precise synchronization across seventeen time zones."

Shawn felt dizzy trying to process that these kindergarten-aged children were discussing complex cyberattacks with the confidence of seasoned professionals. "What do you want from me?"

"Want?" Noah retrieved his sailboat as it completed its journey across the pond. "We don't want anything from you. We're simply completing our mission."

"Which is?"

Lily checked her watch—another matching device to Noah's. "Justice. For our mother. For ourselves."

"In approximately four minutes," Noah continued, "we will broadcast evidence of your mother's crimes to the world. The attempted forced abortion. The drugging. The blacklisting that prevented Mom from finding employment anywhere in the tech industry."

"After that," Lily picked up seamlessly, "we will release financial records showing how Grandmother embezzled from PageTech to fund her personal vendettas, including paying doctors to violate medical ethics and hiring private security to stalk and intimidate our mother while she was pregnant."

Shawn felt his knees weaken. "If what you're saying is true—"

"Oh, it's true," Noah interrupted. "We have the receipts, as they say."

"Literally," Lily added with a small smile. "Grandmother keeps meticulous financial records."

Shawn sank onto a nearby bench. "Why are you telling me this? Why not just release everything?"

The twins exchanged another look, some silent communication passing between them.

"Because," Noah said finally, "you're still our father."

"Biologically speaking," Lily clarified.

"And Mom taught us about second chances," Noah continued.

Lily nodded. "Though she's less enthusiastic about that concept when it comes to you."

Shawn looked between his children, these brilliant, terrifying children he'd never known existed until days ago. "What do I need to do?"

"Simple," Noah said, pulling a small USB drive from his blazer pocket. "This contains all the evidence, plus a program that will transfer control of PageTech to a trust we've established."

"Fifty-one percent ownership," Lily specified. "The trust benefits several charities supporting single mothers and children's education, with Mom as the primary administrator."

"You want me to give up control of my company?" Shawn asked incredulously.

"Your company?" Noah raised an eyebrow. "The company built partly on stolen intellectual property—including three key patents that rightfully belonged to our mother?"

Shawn felt as if he'd been punched. "What are you talking about?"

"Mom's encryption algorithms," Lily explained. "The ones she developed while working for you. The ones you claimed as PageTech property after forcing her out."

"I never—"

"You never checked," Noah corrected. "You let Grandmother handle it. Just like you let her handle everything 'unpleasant.' Including us."

Shawn stared at the USB drive. "And if I refuse?"

Noah checked his watch. "Then in exactly two minutes and seventeen seconds, the broadcast begins."

Lily held up her tablet, showing multiple video feeds ready to go live. "We've also prepared a special presentation just for the PageTech board of directors. Detailed financial records showing how you personally approved the misappropriation of company funds to silence our mother."

"But I didn't!" Shawn protested.

"Your signature says otherwise," Noah replied calmly. "Grandmother is quite skilled at forgery."

Shawn closed his eyes, the full weight of his mother's manipulations finally crashing down on him. "So I either sign over my company or go to prison for crimes I didn't commit."

"Those aren't your only options," came a familiar voice from behind him.

Shawn turned to find Nicole Hawkins standing there, more beautiful than he remembered, her eyes hard as she looked at him but softening instantly when they moved to her children.

"Mom!" the twins exclaimed in unison, rushing to her side.

Nicole embraced them both, then fixed Shawn with a steady gaze. "I didn't know what they were planning. These two are too clever for their own good sometimes."

"We were just protecting you," Lily insisted.

"Like you protected us," Noah added.

Nicole stroked their heads gently. "I know, my little warriors. But this isn't how we solve problems."

Shawn stood slowly. "Nicole... I had no idea about any of this. About what my mother did. About the twins."

"Didn't you?" she asked quietly. "Or did you simply choose not to know? It was easier that way, wasn't it? To let your mother handle your 'problem'?"

The truth of her words struck him like physical blows. He had known, somewhere deep down, what his mother was capable of. He had deliberately looked away, focused on business, on empire-building, on anything but taking responsibility.

"I'm sorry," he said, the words inadequate even as they left his mouth. "I failed you. All of you."

Nicole's expression didn't change. "Yes, you did."

"Mom," Noah tugged at her sleeve, "the broadcast is set to begin in forty-three seconds."

"Cancel it," she told him firmly.

The twins looked at each other in dismay. "But Mom—"

"Cancel it," she repeated. "This isn't justice. It's revenge. There's a difference."

Reluctantly, Noah pulled out his smartwatch and tapped a complex sequence. "Broadcast terminated."

Shawn felt a wave of relief wash over him. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me," Nicole said coldly. "I didn't do it for you."

"What happens now?" Shawn asked.

Nicole took the USB drive from Noah's hand. "Now we negotiate. Like adults." She glanced down at the twins. "No more poisonings. No more hacking. No more threatening global broadcasts."

The children had the grace to look slightly abashed, though Shawn detected a hint of pride in their expressions as well.

"We still have copies of everything," Lily pointed out.

"Of course you do," Nicole sighed. "But sometimes the most powerful position is choosing not to use the power you have."

Noah considered this. "Like in chess? When you could take a piece but it's actually a trap?"

"Exactly," Nicole nodded. "Now, why don't you two go sail Noah's boat while I talk to your father?"

The twins retreated reluctantly, but not before Noah whispered loudly enough for Shawn to hear: "Don't worry, Mom. We still have the nuclear option if he doesn't cooperate."

When they were out of earshot, Shawn asked, "Nuclear option?"

"Probably best not to ask," Nicole advised. "Those two have been building algorithms since they could type."

They watched in silence as the twins worked together to relaunch the sailboat.

"They're extraordinary," Shawn said finally.

"They are," Nicole agreed. "And they've never had a father."

Shawn turned to her. "I want to fix that. If you'll let me."

"It's not that simple."

"I know. But I want to try." He hesitated. "The company, the money—none of it matters compared to what I've missed. What I threw away."

Nicole studied him for a long moment. "Your mother will fight this. She'll fight them."

"Let her try," Shawn said with newfound determination. "I've been letting her run my life for too long. That ends today."

---

One year later, the top floor of PageTech headquarters looked nothing like the austere executive suite it had once been. The formal conference room where the "Baby Bottle Incident" had first occurred had been transformed into a colorful, state-of-the-art classroom filled with advanced technology and educational toys.

Through the security monitors in his new, more modest office, Shawn watched as Noah instructed a group of wide-eyed employees on advanced cybersecurity protocols, pointing to a holographic display of network vulnerabilities.

In the adjacent space, Lily sat cross-legged on the floor surrounded by circuit boards and wiring, carefully explaining to the company's top hardware engineers how her redesigned motherboard architecture improved processing efficiency by 47%.

The door opened, and Nicole entered with two cups of coffee. "The board meeting went well. Your mother's final appeal was rejected unanimously."

Shawn accepted the coffee gratefully. "She still has her foundation and her social standing. More than she deserves after what she did."

"The twins are disappointed," Nicole admitted. "They had more elaborate consequences planned."

"I'm sure they did," Shawn said with a mixture of pride and trepidation. "Sometimes I think we should be more worried about what those two might be capable of."

Nicole smiled. "That's why they need both of us. Balance."

On the monitor, they watched as Noah pulled up what appeared to be schematics for some kind of advanced device.

"Is that—" Shawn squinted at the screen.

"A nuclear reactor design?" Nicole finished for him. "Yes. It's their science fair project."

"Should we be concerned?"

"Probably," Nicole laughed. "But they promised it's just theoretical."

The camera angle shifted, showing the twins high-fiving as Lily made an adjustment to the design.

"They're teaching my senior engineers," Shawn marveled. "Some of the most brilliant minds in tech, being schooled by kindergartners."

"First graders now," Nicole corrected. "They skipped ahead."

Shawn took her hand, still amazed that she had given him another chance—not just with the twins, but with her. Their reconciliation had been slow and cautious, but real.

"Do you ever wonder," he asked quietly, "what would have happened if I'd made different choices five years ago? If I'd stood up to my mother then?"

Nicole squeezed his hand. "We can't change the past. But the twins have a saying: 'The best revenge is coding a better future.'"

On screen, Noah and Lily looked directly at the security camera and waved, somehow knowing they were being watched. Below their image, a caption suddenly appeared, obviously hacked into the security feed:

"**Daddy's Little Helpers: Making PageTech Family-Friendly... One Hack at a Time**"