Married To The Ruthless Billionaire For Revenge-Chapter 165: The Race Against The Clock
Chapter 163: The Race Against the Clock
The signal marker moved steadily across the city map.
A small blinking dot sliding through the digital streets like a heartbeat.
Marcus tracked it carefully, fingers hovering over the keyboard as the system updated the vehicle’s position every few seconds.
"Speed?" Adrian asked.
Marcus checked the telemetry.
"Seventy kilometers per hour."
Adrian cursed under his breath.
"He’s moving fast."
Elena remained calm, though her eyes never left the screen.
"How far from the transportation control hub?"
Marcus zoomed the map.
The red line stretched across several districts.
"Twenty minutes."
The timer on the screen ticked down relentlessly.
01:36:14
01:36:13
01:36:12
Adrian ran his hand across his face.
"Which means he’ll reach it before the countdown ends."
Marcus nodded.
"Easily."
Elena’s voice was quiet.
"Dispatch patrol units along his route."
Adrian grabbed the radio immediately.
"Control, this is operations. I need traffic units along the central highway and access roads to the transportation control hub."
The response crackled through the speaker.
"Units mobilizing now."
Across the city, police vehicles began accelerating through traffic.
Sirens cut through the morning air as patrol cars joined the pursuit grid.
The vehicle carrying the signal was already several districts away from Kane Group headquarters.
And it was heading straight for the heart of the city’s transportation infrastructure.
Inside the operations center, Marcus switched the main screen to the vehicle’s live route.
A thin blue line traced the predicted path.
Highway 8.
Then the eastern interchange.
Then the control hub access road.
Adrian leaned over Marcus’s shoulder.
"Can we disable the vehicle remotely?"
Marcus shook his head.
"No connection to the car system."
Elena asked the next question.
"Can we lock down the control hub before he arrives?"
Marcus opened the transportation control architecture.
The hub controlled nearly every traffic signal, train route, and automated road sensor in the city.
Locking it down completely would freeze the system.
Emergency vehicles wouldn’t move.
Public transit would halt instantly.
Adrian understood the problem immediately.
"That would cause chaos."
Elena nodded.
"And the attacker might want that."
Marcus sighed.
"We can’t shut it down."
The timer continued falling.
01:29:10
01:29:09
01:29:08
Meanwhile, on the central highway, a dark sedan moved calmly through traffic.
The man behind the wheel drove with steady focus.
He wasn’t rushing.
There was no panic in his movements.
The timer on the dashboard tablet counted down alongside the city infrastructure map.
Beside him, the voice in his earpiece spoke again.
"Police units have been dispatched."
The man smiled faintly.
"That was expected."
"They will reach the hub before you if traffic slows."
The man glanced at the highway ahead.
Cars moved normally.
Morning commuters.
Delivery trucks.
Nothing unusual.
"That won’t happen," he replied calmly.
Back at the operations center, Marcus suddenly noticed something strange.
"Wait."
Adrian looked at him.
"What now?"
Marcus zoomed the traffic control interface.
Several intersections along the attacker’s route had changed status.
Green lights were appearing earlier than scheduled.
Elena leaned closer.
"Why are those signals changing?"
Marcus’s fingers moved quickly.
"They’re not random."
He opened the command log.
The traffic signals were receiving instructions.
But not from the operations center.
Adrian felt the realization hit him.
"He’s already manipulating the system."
Marcus nodded.
"Yes."
The attacker had begun adjusting traffic flow along the highway.
Vehicles moved smoothly through intersections.
No delays.
No congestion.
The road ahead of the sedan was slowly clearing.
Adrian cursed.
"He’s building his own path."
Across the city, commuters noticed something unusual.
Traffic lights seemed perfectly synchronized.
Every intersection turned green just as cars approached.
Drivers moved through the roads faster than usual.
Most people appreciated the convenience.
No one realized the system was being controlled by someone else.
Inside the sedan, the man glanced at the live traffic feed.
Intersections cleared one by one.
The path to the transportation control hub was opening.
"Timing remains optimal," the voice in his earpiece said.
The man nodded.
"They’re watching, but they can’t stop it."
Back in the operations center, Marcus tried overriding the signal commands.
He sent manual control instructions to the traffic grid.
But the system rejected them.
"Access denied."
Adrian leaned forward.
"You’re kidding."
Marcus shook his head.
"He’s controlling the command layer."
Elena spoke quietly.
"That means he already has partial authority."
Marcus nodded.
"Yes."
The attacker didn’t just infiltrate the system.
He had access privileges strong enough to override central control.
The timer continued ticking.
01:18:45
01:18:44
01:18:43
Adrian looked at the map again.
"Police units?"
Marcus opened the pursuit grid.
Three patrol cars were closing in from different directions.
But the sedan was still ahead.
Traffic lights kept turning green along its route.
Adrian shook his head.
"He’s outpacing them."
Elena crossed her arms.
"Then we need another strategy."
Marcus glanced at her.
"What do you have in mind?"
Elena looked at the infrastructure diagram.
"If he wants the transportation control hub..."
She paused.
"Then that hub becomes our trap."
Adrian raised an eyebrow.
"You want him to reach it?"
Elena nodded slowly.
"He’s confident."
Marcus frowned.
"That’s dangerous."
Elena turned toward him.
"But it’s predictable."
Adrian slowly understood.
"If we know exactly where he’s going..."
Elena finished the thought.
"We can control what he finds there."
Within minutes, security teams at the transportation control hub began preparing.
The facility sat near the center of the city’s infrastructure network.
A low concrete building filled with server rooms and monitoring stations.
Engineers inside the hub looked confused as emergency instructions arrived.
"System lockdown protocol?"
One technician frowned.
"What’s going on?"
The supervisor answered quietly.
"Security exercise."
But his expression said something else.
They all knew this wasn’t a drill.
Meanwhile, the sedan exited the highway and turned onto the access road leading toward the control hub.
The man glanced at the map.
Five minutes remaining.
The timer read:
00:57:12
00:57:11
00:57:10
The voice in his earpiece spoke again.
"Police units are two minutes behind."
The man nodded calmly.
"Perfect."
Back in the operations center, Marcus monitored every movement.
"He’s approaching the hub."
Adrian leaned forward.
"Security teams ready?"
Marcus checked the facility status.
"Yes."
Elena remained focused.
"Then we wait."
Adrian looked at her.
"And hope our trap works."
At the control hub, security officers took their positions.
Doors locked.
Cameras activated.
Engineers stepped away from the main consoles.
The building was ready.
Or at least they hoped it was.
Because the sedan had just appeared on the camera feed.
Marcus saw it first.
"He’s here."
Adrian leaned closer to the screen.
The vehicle rolled slowly into the parking area outside the hub.
The engine shut off.
The driver stepped out.
For the first time, the cameras captured a clear image.
A middle-aged man.
Calm expression.
Maintenance jacket.
Exactly the person who had escaped the underground hub earlier.
Adrian whispered.
"That’s him."
Elena watched silently.
Security teams surrounded the entrance.
Weapons drawn.
The man didn’t resist.
He simply raised his hands slightly.
Almost casually.
The officers approached.
Marcus leaned toward the screen.
"We got him."
Adrian exhaled in relief.
"Finally."
But at that exact moment...
The timer reached 00:45:00.
And suddenly Marcus’s console flashed red.
A new alert appeared across the system.
Transportation Override Engaged
Marcus froze.
"That’s impossible."
Adrian stared at the screen.
"We caught him."
Marcus checked the network.
The trigger script had activated.
Without the man touching a single console. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚
Elena whispered the terrifying realization.
"He didn’t need to reach the hub."
Marcus nodded slowly.
"No."
The system map lit up with dozens of flashing signals.
Traffic lights began changing across the city.
Rail signals shifted.
Automated road barriers moved.
The transportation network was beginning to obey new commands.
Adrian looked toward the captured man on the camera feed.
The man lowered his hands slowly.
And smiled.
Because Phase Two had just begun.
And he had never needed to escape.
He had only needed to arrive.
The countdown clock continued ticking toward zero.
00:44:31
00:44:30
00:44:29
And now the city itself was starting to move exactly the way the attacker wanted.
End of Chapter 163
