Genius Triplets, Hacking Daddy

Six years after giving birth to the triplets, my phone buzzed with an encrypted message.

It was from my eldest son, Henry, code-named H. Hes only six years old.

Mom, Dads company system is a joke. It only took me forty minutes to break in.

Before I could reply, a message from my second son popped up.

Mommy, Ive redirected all the security feeds to their boardrooms main screen. Right now, its playing that clip from last year where he called you 'just an ordinary woman.'

Finally, my youngest daughterDa six-year-old rising star in the acting worldDsent a voice note.

In the background, a mans voice was roaring in the middle of a street. SeraphinaDwhere are you?!

I turned off my phone and looked down at the three mini-versions of Dominic Sterling standing before me.

I smiled. Babies... do you want to meet your father?

I was brought to Dominic Sterlings room with a glass of red wine.

The person who handed it to me was his mothers assistantDa middle-aged woman with blood-red lipstick.

She smiled as she gave it to me, saying something Id remember for the rest of my life.

Mrs. Sterling said that not just any woman can enter the Sterling family. Drink thisDtomorrow, you won't be getting a work contract.

Then what will I be getting? I asked.

She smirked. There was no warmth in her eyes, only the cold gaze of someone looking at a piece of trash.

A settlement to keep your mouth shut.

The wine was spiked. I knew it from the first sipDmy mother was a pharmacist, and I grew up smelling medicine more than I drank water.

But I drank it anyway. At that point, I had followed Dominic for three years.

I started as his gopher in collegeDno formal contract, no benefits, just a pittance for a salary.

I bought everything he needed and even covered his travel expenses when the budget fell short.

I stayed up all night finishing his project proposals while he shone on stage. I was the one eating instant noodles in the shadows.

I thought he would say something meaningful to me after the annual gala.

He did say something, but it wasn't what I expected.

Seraphina, can you learn your place? You stood up to give a toast tonightDdo you know how that looks?

A secretary standing up to toast? You arent my girlfriend, he cold-bloodedly added.

I stood there, clutching my glass. The red liquid shimmered under the lights, mocking me.

Three years of my youth and devotion were reduced to a reminder to learn my place.

Then his mother came over with that wine.

The next morning, I woke up with a pounding headache. The spot beside me was empty.

There was a check and an envelope on the nightstand.

The check had five zeros. Inside the envelope was a resignation notice for his secretary.

It was signed by Dominic. In the corner, he had scribbled a small note in pencil.

Take the money and disappear. No date, no greeting, no explanation.

I tore the check into pieces but kept the envelope.

His signature on the resignation was identical to the one on his billion-dollar contracts.

I folded it carefully and tucked it into my pocket.

A month later, I discovered I was pregnant.

On the ultrasound screen, there were three tiny black dots.

The doctor took off his glasses, wiped them, and looked twice before speaking.

Ms. Vance... its triplets.

2

Six years later.

I opened a small IT training studio in Austin. It wasn't big, but it was enough to feed the four of us.

The three kids and I lived in the apartment above the studio.

It was a tiny space with three bunk beds. Every morning at six, their alarms went off like a miniature symphony.

My eldest son, Henry, is six. He knows five programming languages.

A month ago, he complained the Wi-Fi was too slow and hacked into the coffee shop next door.

He changed their admin permissions, and the owner still thinks its a service provider glitch.

I dragged him to the shop to apologize. The owner just patted his head and said he was a genius.

I didn't have the heart to tell him that Henry had already generated an automated optimization plan for the shop's profit reports.

My second son, Hunter, has the most ridiculous physical stamina for a six-year-old.

Last month at the kindergarten sports day, he swept the gold medals in sprinting, long jump, and tug-of-war.

During the tug-of-war, he was up against four older kids and two teachers.

He dragged all six of them across the line by himself.

The principal looked at me with a very complicated expression. Mrs. Vance... is your child... normal?

The youngest is my daughter, Serenity. Shes the only one named after me.

Three talent agencies have already handed her their business cards.

Last week, she improvised a walk in the mall, mimicking a lady passing by.

A talent scout chased her for three blocks. I had to threaten to call the police.

Aren't you being too flashy? I asked her.

Mom, that ladys posture was wrong. Leaning forward like that causes spinal issues, she replied.

I only did it to show youDyour back hurts, right? You walk exactly like her.

I was stunned. I was being corrected on my gait by a six-year-old.

Yesterday, Dominic Sterlings company was hacked.

It was my sons doing.

3

Henry was doing it while I was in the kitchen boiling noodles.

He sat on the living room floor with a second-hand laptop on his lap.

I had bought it in a college town, and he had disassembled and rebuilt it three times.

The screen was filled with lines of code that I couldn't even begin to understand.

Mom, look at this, he said.

I walked over. The screen showed a Wikipedia page for a man named Dominic Sterling.

CEO of Sterling Group. The youngest billionaire on the Forbes list in Chicago.

Henry expressionlessly pressed a key, and Dominics profile picture turned into a giant pigs head.

Henry! I gasped.

Im not done yet, Mom.

He pressed another key. The Sterling Groups official homepage turned into an open letter.

The headline read: CEO Dominic Sterling had an improper relationship with co-founder Seraphina Vance and refuses to pay child support.

The spatula in my hand hit the stove with a clang.

How did youD

This is his company server, Henry pointed to an IP address, his face eerily calm.

At six years old, he had the expression of a cold-blooded adult.

The firewall was weak. It only took me forty minutes.

Why would you do this? I asked, trembling.

Because he wronged you. Henry looked up.

He looked more and more like Dominic every dayDa face I hadn't seen in six years, yet saw every morning.

Mom, you never mention Dad. But I looked him up.

I scrolled through your social media from six years ago. Every March 11th, youd post a dark photo.

March 11th is the date of the Sterling Groups annual gala.

I leaned against the counter for support. How did you get my password?

Henry looked down, sounding a bit guilty. Mom, your password for everything is our birthdays plus yours. I got it on the first try.

I knelt down to his level. His glasses were thickDhis prescription had gotten worse.

The doctor said if he kept staring at screens, hed need new ones every year.

Henry.

Yeah?

Your father isn't a bad man. He just...

He just didn't want you, Henry finished for me.

His voice carried no emotion, as if he were stating a mathematical theorem.

And him not wanting you is his loss.

He closed the laptop and stood up. He placed his small hands on my knees.

Mom, Im not changing it back. Let his people see who their boss really is.

Henry, listen to me.

I have boundaries, he said, wiping his glasses.

I only messed with the website. I didn't touch his finances, emails, or contracts.

Ill make him lose face, but not money. Because you said we shouldn't break the law.

I looked at this child. He hacked a multi-billion dollar company in forty minutes and then told me about the law.

I picked him up and hugged him tightly. Thank you, baby.

Dont thank me yet, he patted my back. Im just the opening act. My brother and sister are up next.

What?

He buried his face in my neck. His voice was muffled.

Mom... the security feeds in Dads office right now? Hunter probably turned them into National Geographic.

Dominic Sterling was leading a quarterly meeting when Hunter hijacked the boardroom screens.

A dozen executives sat around the massive table. The projector was supposed to show the financial reports.

Suddenly, the screen flickered. A penguin appeared. Then another.

It was a high-definition clip of a nature documentary. The narrators voice filled the room.

The room went silent for three seconds. Dominic stared at the penguins. Where is IT?

The IT director stood up, his face turning pale. Sir... weve been hacked. Were tracking it now.

Who did this? Dominics voice was like ice.

The penguins vanished. The screen switched to a video clip of an interview Dominic gave last year.

The host asked: Mr. Sterling, youre thirty-five and still single. Are your standards too high?

The Dominic on screen looked indifferent. I might have met someone suitable once. But life doesn't require a family.

Then, the screen jumped to a photo of a woman in a hospital delivery room.

The angle was strangeDlike it was pulled from a private medical database.

A woman lay on the bed, pale and covered in tubes. Beside her were three bassinets.

Three tiny, bald heads were huddled together. A small note appeared on the side.

Patient: Seraphina Vance. C-section for triplets. Severe hemorrhage during surgery. 5000ml blood transfusion.

The entire boardroom was frozen. It wasn't just quiet; it was dead.

Dominic stared at the photo. His expression shifted from shock to a chilling coldness in seconds.

Turn it off, he commanded.

Sir... its locked. We cant.

Then pull the damn plug!

The screen went black. The room was plunged into darkness. Then, Dominics phone lit up.

It was a text from an unknown sender.

Mr. Sterling. Shes raising three kids alone. Every one of them is smarter than any genius youve ever met.

You didn't even know she had kids. What kind of CEO are you?

Dominic slammed his phone face down on the table. His hands were shaking.

Meeting adjourned.