Billionaire Villainess (Unedited)

Lines Crossed

As night descended, Gabriel's mind raced with possibilities. He had to find out what Judith and her "new" friends were working on—whatever it was, it had her captivated, and that didn't sit well with him.

She was not supposed to be distracted. She was supposed to be focused on trying to win me back, he thought unexpectedly.

Gabriel widened his eyes, surprised by his own thinking.

Wait...why am I thinking that?! He shook his heads to clear his mind.

"We'll go in after midnight," Gabriel decided, his voice low but firm. "By then, the campus should be deserted. You guys know what to do, right?"

His friends nodded.

"Good," Gabriel replied. "We'll get in, see what we can find, and get out. No messing around."

The group dispersed, agreeing to meet up later that night. As Gabriel walked home, his thoughts churned. He didn't like this side of himself—sneaking around, spying—but something about Judith's sudden change in behavior gnawed at him. He felt that he needed to understand what had shifted in her world, and why he felt like he was slipping out of her orbit.

---

The clock struck midnight as Gabriel, Jericho, Hollister, and Marko regrouped near the side entrance of the building. The campus was eerily quiet, the only sounds coming from the rustling leaves and the distant hum of traffic.

"Ready?" Gabriel whispered, his gaze steely.

"Yeah, let's do this," Jericho replied, leading the way. Using his lock picking skills, he fumbled with the door for a moment before it clicked open, and the four of them slipped inside, their footsteps almost soundless on the polished floors.

The building was dark, save for the faint glow of emergency lights. Gabriel could feel his pulse quickening as they ascended the stairs, each creak of the steps amplifying the tension. When they reached the computer lab, Jericho gestured for them to wait as he peered through the small window in the door.

"All clear," he murmured, pushing the door open. They entered cautiously, the dim light from the monitors casting long shadows across the room.

"Spread out," Gabriel ordered quietly. "Look for anything that might tell us what they've been working on."

The group moved methodically through the room, checking desks, computer screens, and any papers they could find. Gabriel's eyes scanned the monitors, and one of them caught his attention. The screen was still on, displaying lines of code that seemed to go on forever.

"This might be it," Gabriel whispered, beckoning the others over. "Jericho, can you make sense of this?"

Jericho leaned in, squinting at the screen. "It's a lot of code. Looks like they're building something big. Maybe a website or a sort of application."

"Can you figure out what it's for?" Gabriel pressed.

Jericho hesitated, scrolling through the code. "It'll take some time, but I think I can get an idea. Just give me a minute."

As Jericho worked, Gabriel's thoughts wandered to Judith. Was this what had captured her attention so completely? A bunch of code? It seemed almost ridiculous, but he couldn't shake the feeling that whatever they were building had to be important. Why else would she be so invested?

---

Meanwhile, Judith had just settled into bed when she suddenly sat upright, a sharp realization cutting through her exhaustion. Her notebook! She had left it in the computer lab. It contained notes and ideas that were crucial for tomorrow's work on Metube, and she couldn't afford to lose them.