Love Game With The Rebel Billionaire

"I didn't expect to visit you here..." I said softly, gazing at Randall's tomb.

I had placed him in a mausoleum, partly for my mom's peace of mind. I wanted her to feel he was resting in a dignified place.

. I knew how much she had loved him and how hard it was for her to keep living, knowing he was gone.

"Wherever you are, I hope you're safe. That's what Mom would want for you too," I murmured, placing a bouquet of flowers on his tomb before bowing my head in respect.

After spending some time there, I returned to my car. I hadn't realized how much I'd been driving all day, and my body was starting to feel the strain.

As if on cue, Evangeline texted, asking me to meet her at a bar. Of course, I picked the place.

"Are you getting drunk again?" she asked when she saw the number of bottles on the countertop. I ordered many. "Are you a drunkard?"

I chuckled and shook my head. "No. I just wanted this place to be my endgame."

After all, it was where it all began.

This bar is where I first met Senator Windwood... and Ash. Out of all the places I'd been today, no one would guess where I hid the SD card.

As I sipped my drink, an unknown number called me. A strange feeling crept over me as I answered.

"Clever, Sapphire," a distorted voice said through a voice changer.

It had to be the person following me earlier. The fact that they had my number meant they were close.

"Did you like my little mystery game?" I teased. I heard them chuckle on the other line. "Figure it out. Find where I hid the one thing that can destroy you." With that, I ended the call.

But before anything else, I needed to uncover their identity. Was it my father... or someone else trying to ruin me?

THE NEXT morning, I rushed to the hideout. Fortunately, Kesha was already in her room-a space packed with computers and keyboards, some of which were glowing. The sight made me grimace as I quickly averted my gaze.

"Here," I said, handing Kesha a flash drive.

I'd stored the recording of my conversation with whoever that person was on it. That person might have been clever enough to use a voice changer, but I had a hacker on my side. "Thanks." Kesha inserted the flash drive into one of her systems.

She rapidly typing across multiple keyboards. Strings of indecipherable code and data scrolled across her screens, and just looking at it made my head throb.

I turned my attention away, unwilling to let it overwhelm me further.

"Are you done yet?" I asked.

"Just a minute," she replied seriously, keeping her eyes on the screens.

I glanced at my phone to check the time. It was only seven thirty in the morning. If this wrapped up soon, I might still make it to the Parker Company's board meeting at eight o'clock. Missing it wasn't an option. This person wanted me to uncover who they were, while I wanted them to discover where I'd hidden the SD card. Which of us would prevail? I had no intention of losing this game.

My hopes soared as Kesha's fingers danced across her keyboard at an impressive speed, her brows furrowed in concentration.

I anticipated some breakthrough after her intense work. But instead, she spoke in a tone that immediately made me raise an eyebrow.

"I... failed," Kesha admitted in a low voice. "A conversation recorded with a voice changer isn't easy to undo... but this one has encryption on top of that."

Her words confused me. What the hell did that mean? I knew what encryption was, but what did it have to do with this recording?

"I don't understand a word of what you just said, Kesha. Can you explain it in simple terms?" I said, irritated, rubbing my temples.

I doubted I'd make it to the board meeting. I'd sacrificed that meeting to be here, and I refused to leave without answers.

"Sorry," she chuckled. "It means there's a clue hidden in the recording you gave me. It contains another file... and I think it might have the person's voice without the voice changer."

"Then why not decrypt it?" I asked, baffled. "This is your expertise, Kesha. It's exactly why I hired you. I trusted your skills."

For a fleeting moment, I considered giving the recording to Tanner instead. But what if he was the one who had called me? I recalled all the contents of the SD card-but nothing else stood out. There had to be something more. Something deeper.

"Decrypting it would put the entire organization at risk," Kesha said, snapping me out of my thoughts.

It made my blood boil. How could a simple recording pose such a threat?

"It's just a conversation!" I argued.

"It's not just a conversation-it's a trap," she replied, her tone firm. "Whoever this person is, they knew exactly how you'd react. This might be someone close to you."

She handed the flash drive back to me. Though fuming, I managed to keep my composure.. I took it from her hand and slipped it into my pocket.All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

"It contains ransomware," Kesha continued. "That's why I couldn't decrypt it right away. I had to weigh the risks."

"Ransomware demands money. That's not an issue," I interrupted. "I'm willing to pay whatever it takes."

"But it's not demanding money," she said softly, her voice almost trembling. "It's demanding... this."

On the screen was an image-four cryptic pictures forming a word or phrase.

The first image was a bright light. The second was clear water. The third was a picture of Thunder. And the last was... a picture of twins?

"Fuck," I muttered in surrender.

I told Kesha to stop the decryption. That person knew my secret. I couldn't act recklessly-my children's safety was at stake.

But... only Evangeline and Finnick knew about this. I rubbed my temples, trying to calm the storm in my head. Suddenly, I didn't know what to do anymore.

"Forget what you did today. And make sure no one else finds out about this." I pulled my phone from my pocket and opened my banking app. "I've transferred the money to your account." Without wasting another second, I hurried out of the hideout. It was already past eight.

I caught a glimpse of Finnick in my peripheral vision, but I didn't have time for small talk-I needed to act quickly.

As I drove, the events of the past few days swirled in my mind.

Damn it. Who could it be? Who's playing games with me?