Genius Kids' Scheme: Claiming Daddy's Billionaire Empire Chapter 294

You could cut the tension in the conference room with a knife. Everyone sat around the table looking either annoyed or uncomfortable, constantly checking watches and exchanging glances. The afternoon that should've been packed with work had turned into an impromptu standoff.

Irene stood with her arms crossed, the only sign of her inner fire being the soft tapping of her fingers against her elbow. Jennifer stood opposite, barely hiding the smirk playing at her lips.

"We need to move on," Jennifer announced to the room. "Irene obviously doesn't have what she promised." She tilted her head with fake sympathy. "Maybe we should try again when you're actually prepared?"

Matthew stepped between them. "Hold on. Let's all calm down and give Irene a chance to explain."

Around the table, people whispered to each other. Some guy in a lab coat checked his watch and groaned to his neighbor, "Great. There go all my afternoon tests."

"Help is on the way," Irene said, cool as ice. "Won't be long now."

Jennifer rolled her eyes. "Help? The tech guys already tried. Whatever you deleted is gone for good."

A knock interrupted the standoff. James poked his head in, leading a small boy with a serious expression that looked oddly grown-up on his young face.

"The young man you requested is here," James said with a hint of a smile. "Wesley's waiting in the car."

Alex pushed his glasses up and scanned the room before finding his mom. "What's going on? James said it was an emergency."

The room went dead silent. Everyone stared, completely thrown off.

"Is that a kid?" someone blurted out. "What's a child doing here?"

Matthew stepped in. "This is Irene's son, Alex."

Jennifer burst out laughing. "You can't be serious!" She waved toward Alex like he was a prop. "This is your big solution? Bring-your-kid-to-work day? What, is Junior going to magically recover your missing files?"

Irene didn't take the bait. "Kids know tech better than most adults these days. Alex is particularly good with computers."

She crouched down to Alex's level, speaking quietly but making sure everyone could hear. "Someone wiped my files, sweetie. Can you help Mom out?"

Alex gave a quick nod, all business. "I need to check the logs and registry first."

Without waiting for permission, he walked straight to Irene's computer, sat down, and started typing like he'd been born with a keyboard in his hands. His little fingers flew across the keys while his face scrunched up in concentration.

One of the researchers leaned over to his buddy. "What's he think he's doing? The IT guys already tried. They said everything's toast."

Without looking up, Alex answered: "You guys just used basic tools. That's like looking for your keys in just the living room when they could be anywhere in the house. Deleted stuff doesn't actually vanish—it's still there, just broken into pieces."

Jennifer marched closer, practically broadcasting her voice. "This is ridiculous, Irene! Getting your kid to put on a show? If you didn't finish your work, just say so! Why drag your son into your mess?"

"Jennifer!" Matthew snapped. "Back off. Keep it professional."

"I am being professional!" Jennifer fired back. "That's exactly why I can't watch someone use their child as a human shield for their own failures!"

Matthew slid next to Irene, lowering his voice. "What do you need from me?"

Irene gave a small headshake. "Just wait. He knows what he's doing."

Jennifer leaned against the wall with her arms crossed, trying to look bored, but her tapping fingers gave away her nerves.

On screen, windows popped open and closed faster than anyone could track. Lines of text zipped by while Alex's face stayed locked in deep focus, like he'd forgotten anyone else was even in the room.

One of the older researchers edged closer, clearly impressed. "What's he doing? That doesn't look like any recovery program I've seen."

Alex kept his eyes glued to the screen. "I'm hunting for data fragments and checking the logs to see who deleted what and when."

The room got quieter as people drifted over, watching this kid work his magic. Jennifer's smug look started cracking around the edges as she noticed people's attitudes shifting.

"Even if he finds something, it could just be a glitch," she threw in. "Computers crash all the time."

"Crashes don't pick and choose specific files to delete," Alex shot back without missing a beat. "And they definitely don't empty the trash and wipe the history logs after."

Jennifer's jaw tightened just enough to notice.

Suddenly, Alex stopped typing. A small smile tugged at his lips.

"Got it!" he said.

Everyone immediately crowded around, trying to get a peek at the screen.

Alex pointed at files and timestamps. "Look, Mom. I got your data back, but that's not all. I found the logs showing who deleted everything."

He explained like he was teaching a class: "The records show at exactly 12:36 today, someone with admin access deleted these files, then emptied the trash and wiped the history logs."

Irene leaned in closer. "Any way to tell who did it?"

Alex shook his head. "Not from this alone. We'd need security camera footage to see who was at your computer."

One of the senior staff squinted at the screen then turned to his colleagues with wide eyes. "The kid nailed it. These are definitely the missing files, and that timestamp doesn't lie."

Matthew caught Irene's eye, a silent message passing between them.

"I'll check the security cameras for 12:36," he said, already heading for the door.

The blood drained from Jennifer's face. She stepped back like she'd been pushed.

"This is crazy!" Her voice wobbled. "You're saying someone here did this on purpose?"

Nobody had actually suggested that, but Jennifer kept going, words tumbling out faster: "Sometimes computers just glitch! Files disappear on their own—happened to me last month!"

The other researchers traded confused looks. Someone whispered, "Why's she freaking out? Nobody said it was her..."

Jennifer's voice climbed higher. "Who would even do something that petty? It makes no sense!"

Irene watched Jennifer's meltdown with a cool, knowing look. The puzzle pieces were clicking into place.

"Funny, I don't remember pointing fingers at anyone," Irene said calmly. "Why so jumpy?"

She tapped the screen where the time glowed. "Here's what we know—at 12:36, someone trashed my research data."

She turned to face the room. "At exactly that time, I was eating lunch with at least five of you in the cafeteria. You remember seeing me there, right?"

Several people nodded.

Irene looked back at Alex. "So if we match these records with security footage, we'd know exactly who was sitting at my computer?"

"One hundred percent," Alex said with complete certainty. "The logs plus video would nail it down."

Irene looked around the room. "This goes beyond just my work. It's about whether we can trust each other. Today it's my files—tomorrow it could be any of yours."

The mood shifted as people exchanged worried glances, eyes inevitably drifting toward Jennifer, who looked like she might crack any second.

"You're setting me up!" Jennifer's face went tomato red. "Don't you dare accuse me without proof!"

Irene didn't flinch. "I'm just laying out facts. If you've done nothing wrong, why so defensive?"

Jennifer's mouth opened and closed, but nothing came out.

Meanwhile, Matthew hit a wall at the security office—the same one Irene had encountered earlier. His forehead wrinkled in thought. After a moment, he pulled out his phone and dialed, stepping away where nobody could hear.