Page 96 of My Secret Snowflake
We’reinmybedroomat my parents’ place. My mom dropped off snacks like I’m a teenager, but both Sebastian and I are happily munching on the apple slices and cookies. We’re both seated in my gaming chairs—I have two in case a friend comes over—by my desktop, with my monitors. It’s actually a better setup than what I had in my apartment with Patrick.
I feel better now that we’re taking action.
“Believe me, if I wanted to get a copy of that PowerPoint, there were a million ways to get it—and I wouldn’t have been caught. Both the CEO and his assistant used their personal emails to work on documents at home, and they’ve failed thirty percent of our phishing tests. It would have been child’s play to obtain their credentials and access it.”
Fatma is purring as she sits in Sebastian’s lap.
Total traitor.
She should be sitting in my lap giving me comfort.
“It also makes no sense that we’d want to publicize the hack by my tripping my own trap, especially since Kevin definitely didn’t want to notify L’Etoile,” I say.
“Exactly,” Sebastian says. “But that’s an appeal to logic, and I think we need to come up with conclusive proof. I like your idea of reviewing the clues Raphael sent—that wepresumeRaphael sent.”
“What I think came from Raphael is a pot of honey and this book,Zero Trust Networks. I also received fingerless gloves, a calculator, and an ergonomic mouse.”
“A calculator? Is there some value you could calculate?” Sebastian asks. “I sent the mouse.”
“Did you send the specialist too?”
“Yes. You kept rubbing your wrist. It seems to be better now. You don’t rub it as much, and you’re not wearing the wrist brace.”
He noticed I was rubbing my wrist. My heart is melting. I shake my head.Focus on the investigation.
“Okay, so I set up a honeypot. I was planning to do it anyway, but I think that’s a clue from Raphael. The calculator was rather basic. And thenZero Trust Networks. But that’s where I found the two presentations—in a folder in Raphael’s backup files labeled Zero Trust. I think I’ve used the two clues.”
“Do hackers have code names?” Sebastian asks.
“Some do,” I say.
“So could one of the hackers have a code name having to do with honey or calculating quickly or anything like that?”
“That’s a definite possibility,” I say. “But it doesn’t spark any names off the top of my head. And Raphael said I’d be able to figure out the clues. He said that as if it was going to be easy.”
“What exactly did he say?” Sebastian asks.
“Are you acting as company counsel at this moment?” I say. “Because I don’t want to get him in trouble with the NDA, if he signed it before this point.”
“No, I’m acting as your boyfriend,” Sebastian says. “My loyalty is to you.”
He says that so easily. No pause at all. I tear up.
“Okay, Raphael said something to the effect of…he didn’t think he should tell me verbally what he found because Kevin wanted to know who else he had told. He said I’d figure out the clues. Then he talked about this book I gave him,The Code Book. But I gave it to him when we visited his house last December, so his referencing that was out of the blue. I thought he was trying to change the subject.”
“What’sThe Code Bookabout?”
“It’s the science of secrecy from ancient Egypt to quantum cryptography. It starts with these stories about how the Greeks foiled the Persian War by sending covert messages.” I pick up the copy on my bookcase and hand it to Sebastian as I recount the story about the messenger Raphael mentioned. “If we think he was being deliberate referencingThe Code Book, I should look for covert messages—because I don’t feel like a pot of honey andZero Trust Networksare really covert messages. They don’t involve any decoding. Except that the book title was the folder name, so I guess that’s some decoding.”
“But the messenger story didn’t involve decoding.”
“No. It definitely didn’t. That involved shaving a head. There’s a term called yak shaving in cybersecurity, which refers to focusing on the main task and not being distracted by nonessential projects.”
“Or maybe it’s more like something hidden in plain sight, but you need to know the key,” Sebastian says.
I stare at him. A shiver goes through me.
“That would be totally Raphael,” I say. I pick upZero Trust Networksand flip through it.
