Billionaire Villainess (Unedited)

Frustration

The glow of the monitors cast a pale, bluish hue across Theo's face, deepening the shadows under his tired eyes. His fingers danced across the keyboard in a near-frantic rhythm, but frustration was beginning to seep into his usually calm demeanor. He muttered curses under his breath, his gaze darting between lines of code and schematics on the multiple screens around him. No matter how he rewrote the algorithms or patched the flaws, VidVerse's encryption refused to stabilize.

This wasn't supposed to happen. Theo was a ghost, a digital mastermind who thrived on solving problems others couldn't even see. And yet, here he was, hitting wall after wall with Gabriel's platform.

He leaned back in his chair and ran a hand through his hair, making it messier. He needed a break—a chance to clear his head—but stepping away felt like admitting defeat.

Pulling out his phone, Theo hesitated, his thumb hovering over the keypad. He hated reaching out when he couldn't solve something, but this was beyond frustrating. Finally, he typed Gabriel's contact number and hit the call button.

Gabriel picked up almost immediately. "About time," he said, his tone sharp. "I've been waiting to hear from you."

"Your so-called genius idea is a disaster," Theo said bluntly. "The encryption is a mess, the framework is unstable, and I'm starting to think whoever worked on this had no idea what they were doing."

"So let me get this straight," Gabriel replied, his voice clipped. "You're calling to tell me you can't fix it?"

Theo's jaw tightened. "I'm saying it's not straightforward. If you want this thing to work, I need more to go on. Half of this code is useless. Did you even look at it before dumping it on me?"

Gabriel's irritation was evident. "You're the expert, Theo. That's why I brought you in. You're supposed to figure this out."

"And I would, if it wasn't such a mess!" Theo snapped. "I've never seen something so half-baked in my life. Whoever started this either didn't care or didn't know what they were doing."

(Jericho, Hollister, and Marko would feel offended if they heard this.)

Gabriel sighed, the sound heavy with impatience. "Look, we don't have time for setbacks. If you can't figure it out, find another way."

Theo gritted his teeth. "What exactly do you mean by 'another way'?"

There was a pause before Gabriel spoke again, his voice low and firm. "Metube."

Theo blinked. "What the fuck is Metube?"

"It's my ex-fiancée Judith's project with her stupid friends," Gabriel replied. "The one we copied half of the blueprints from to create our project. If we're going to catch up with them, we need to understand how they are doing it."

The heck? His ex fiancée is working on this kind of project too? Theo thought in disbelief.

"Are you seriously suggesting what I think you are?" Theo said, his tone flat.

"I'm not suggesting, Theo. I'm telling you to do it," Gabriel said coldly. "Hack into their system and find out what you can. This isn't optional."

Theo's grip on the phone tightened. "You are asking me to risk myself so you can play catch-up?"

"I'm asking you to do your job," Gabriel snapped. "You're the best there is, Theo. If anyone can do this without getting caught, it's you. Or are you telling me you're not as good as everyone says you are?"

Theo bristled at the jab. "Fine. I'll do it," he said.

"Good," Gabriel said, his voice lightening slightly. "I'll send over some information to help you get started. I trust you, Theo. Just... get it done."

The call ended, leaving Theo staring at his phone. He tossed it onto the desk with a frustrated grunt and turned back to his monitors. His mind was already racing, piecing together the steps he'd need to take to infiltrate Metube's system without leaving a trace.

Theo exhaled sharply, rolling his chair back toward the desk. The dull hum of his monitors filled the room as he opened his email, half-expecting Gabriel's "help" to be as messy as the code he'd dumped on him. Still, he couldn't deny his curiosity about what Gabriel had sent.

It didn't take long to find the email—Gabriel's name glared back at him from the top of his inbox, marked with a high-priority flag. The subject line read: Metube Data – For Your Eyes Only.

Theo clicked it open and scanned the contents. Attached were several files: encrypted data logs, schematics, and an access point map for Metube's servers. Gabriel had also included a brief, no-nonsense message:

    Theo,

    Here's everything my friends and I could dig up on Metube. Focus on their encryption protocols and backend infrastructure—they've got something keeping them ahead of us. Let me know if you hit another wall.

    G.

"At least he's thorough this time," Theo muttered, downloading the attachments to a secure, isolated drive. As he opened the first file, he couldn't help but notice how detailed the access point map was.

Theo pulled up his toolkit—a collection of custom-built scripts and programs designed for deep-system infiltration. If he was going to do this, he'd do it his way.

He started with the access point map, running simulations to determine the best entry route. Metube's encryption protocols were layered and complex, but Theo saw gaps. They weren't impenetrable, just... annoyingly intricate.

He set up a virtual environment to mask his activity, layering firewalls and proxies to make sure nothing could trace back to him. The process was slow and meticulous, but Theo thrived in the details. With Gabriel breathing down his neck, failure wasn't an option.

—————————————————————————

Back in the abandoned storage room turned computer club room at the engineering building, Judith, her boyfriend Zayden, and their friends Liam, Charles, and Xavier were actually doing schoolwork instead of working on their biggest project.

Suddenly, Judith snapped her head up from looking at her laptop, startling the guys.

"Judith, what's wrong?" Zayden asked in concern, noticing her staring into space.

"I just have this feeling that something is going on!" she exclaimed after snapping out of her stupor. "Quickly, guys, let me check our project!"

Next Chapter: Meeting of Two Hackers