r. I was there, not as a guest, but as Damien's shadow, carrying

fairly good

lower back to guide me. "The lighting in here is sur

He was definitel

rd Thorne, Damien's estranged uncle and CEO of a rival company,

the keynote, unveiling a ne

main screen beh

ross it. A denial-of-service attack, c

ed through

an open port in the temporary network setup for the p

s laptop nearby, my fingers flying across the keyboar

gain, then Damien's pr

g took less th

stration, it seems, of vulnerabilities in outdated systems. Which

ng it was a delibera

ien, "Thorne's IP address was flagge

ne across the crowded room. He gav

with a glass of champagne.

"Good instincts. You seem flus

pagne. He just watched me,

was something else, so