Four Ella
FOUR
Ella
I’m in.
The Aquarius Social firewall gives way, but not easily. This is the third layer, and it’s built to hide something. Not protect. Hide.
I should feel guilty, maybe a little, for hacking into Alana’s company.
Or her dad’s, anyway. I’d almost too easily sent the code through the system that opened up doors for me.
Those poor idiots in that tent. It had been child’s play.
But I also know that Aquarius Social has been working to gain entrance into TimeGem’s servers.
Wesley had let that little fact slip while we’d been miniature golfing, and I’d shrugged it off on the surface while already planning.
Yeah, I feel guilty about it, but not enough to stop.
As far as I’m concerned, TimeGem is mine.
I’ll protect it, even if I don’t have control yet.
Lines of code scroll across my screen as I infiltrate Aquarius Social.
I isolate the threads connected to the aquamarine crystal protocols.
These aren’t just random encryption strings.
They’re tied to resonance-based shielding systems. The kind integrated for high-clearance data. The system should be clean.
But something’s wrong.
There’s a pattern embedded in the subcode. It’s close to the crystal resonance profile, but not exact. The frequency is forced. Someone has tried to mimic the aquamarine interface, and they’ve come close. Too close.
Someone has been inside the Aquarius system. Someone who shouldn’t be—besides me, that is. I easily find the hack from Wesley trying to get into TimeGem. He’s not even close, and I have to wonder if he’s noticed the trail in his own system.
My phone buzzes on the table. I ignore it.
It buzzes again, and I look down to see notifications from posts on Aquarius Social and Malice Media.
Sighing, I lift the phone to see Alana posting on both platforms about her wedding.
She’s beautiful and has a million likes on both platforms, even though they have different functions.
Then TimeGem Moments buzzes with a notification, and I click over to see Corinda dishing about the event.
My step-sister gives a couple of digs to Alana, hints that Justice Beathach made a pass at her, and then flirts with the camera.
Rolling my eyes, I go back to my computer for a few more minutes until my phone dings with a call this time. I answer without looking away from the screen. “Yeah?”
“Ella, it’s Wesley. You disappeared on me. Is everything all right?”
I forgot about my date to the wedding. “I had to deal with something for work.” I catch another flicker of the false crystal code.
This didn’t come from Aquarius—somebody has hacked their system.
An outsider. It’s not just an intrusion.
It’s a rewrite. If they manage to blend this synthetic pattern with Aquarius Social’s original structure, the entire shielding network could be compromised.
Dang it. I can’t let this hacker take down Alana’s platform.
“I was heading to the diner,” Wesley says. “Didn’t eat at the wedding. Want to meet?”
My stomach growls. I haven’t eaten all day.
I hesitate, watching the diagnostic algorithm begin to crawl through the compromised sectors.
It’ll take at least twenty-four hours to complete the scan.
Should I tell him somebody has infiltrated his system?
He’ll patch it and I won’t be able to use my own hack to tunnel toward the TimeGem servers.
I’m starting to dislike myself. “Yeah, I can be there in twenty minutes.”
“Perfect.”
I end the call and lock down my equipment, stash my encrypted drives, and slip a static disruptor into my bag. The diner’s only a few blocks away. It’s secure and located on neutral ground. I’m not in the mood for surprises, but if they come, I’ll be ready.
There’s no time to overthink. I throw on a pair of jeans, a plain black T-shirt, and an old gray hoodie. My knife goes into the front pocket. It’s well-balanced and easy to reach. I don’t carry anything I can’t use quickly.
I lock up the safe house, moving fast through the soft rain with my hood covering my head.
I’ve got several cars stashed around Silicon Valley, all scrubbed and clean.
I head for the closest, which is an unremarkable gray Volkswagen Bug parked in a back alley two blocks away. It starts on the first try.
I drive through the quiet streets of Palo Alto, heading south toward the edge of the industrial district. At this hour, everything has a washed-out, artificial glow. Most of the Valley is asleep. The real work happens under it.
The place isn’t just a diner. Not really.
It’s called Plot Twist, and it’s a twenty-four-hour techno bar hidden behind a fake bakery front.
You don’t find it unless you know the entry code and the right way to knock.
Inside, the lighting is dim and ambient, the tables are old steel server racks repurposed into booths, and the place always smells faintly of ozone and fried eggs.
Pumpkins and fall leaves decorate the interior of the place, giving it that cozy autumn vibe.
I hustle in and spot Wesley right away. He’s seated at the back in a semi-private booth, facing the door. Tugging off my hood and shaking rain off my arms, I move toward him.
He smiles. There’s an ease to him that makes it hard not to relax, even now. He’s always been fun to be around, but tonight I like him more than usual. There’s something steady about him, even when everything else in my world feels unstable. I wish I could tell him the full truth.
I hurry toward him and take a seat, slightly breathless.
“I missed dancing with you,” he murmurs.
“We danced.” A couple of times, but the only songs I remember are the ones I danced with Justice. What is it about that guy? My clit perks right up at the thought of him. What is wrong with me?
As if reading my mind, Wesley frowns. “Is there something going on between you and Justice Beathach?”
“No.” I sigh. “I’m sorry I danced with him.” My clit throbs in total protest, but I ignore that bitch. “He was rather insistent. It won’t happen again.” Not that I owe Wesley an explanation. We just started dating and spend more time talking code than kissing.
The waitress bops up, smiling at Wesley, nodding at me. We both order the breakfast special and she takes off on high-tops, her legs long beneath a short skirt. I don’t love how she looked at Wesley, but I like her pink hair a lot.
“She’s cute,” I murmur.
“Who?”
Okay, that’s sweet. He didn’t even notice the waitress. Wesley deserves somebody better than me, considering I’m hacking into his system right now. Maybe that’s why we haven’t taken this thing very far. Instinctively we know it’s a bad idea?
He takes my hand. “We need a vacation. A destination one. Somewhere sunny with tropical drinks and nude beaches.”
Nude beaches? This is a surprise. His hand is warm on mine. “We both have a lot going on.”
“I want more. Between us. Everything.” He smiles. “Don’t worry. I’ll plan the entire week.” His phone dings. He pulls it out and reads the message. “Damn it.”
“What?” I ask.
“Somebody just tried to breach Aquarius Social’s servers. Our automated perimeter scan flagged an internal access attempt.”
I freeze. My brain does a rapid check of the breadcrumbs I might’ve left behind.
I was careful. I was very careful. But the algorithm I used was a variation of the one I’ve used a few times before.
If it bounced wrong, it might’ve tripped something in the larger system.
“Do you need any help dealing with the problem?”
He looks at me across the table. His expression is calm, but I can tell he’s weighing every word. “You know we don’t cross that line.”
I blink, trying to keep my expression neutral. “I don’t know why not. Alana’s my best friend. I’d be happy to help.”
“Yeah,” he says quietly, “but we both know you’re going to take over TimeGem Moments the second you can, and I’m going to help you do that.”
I raise an eyebrow.
“Once you succeed and own the platform again,” he continues, “we become competitors. And that’s fine. I’m not afraid of the fight. But we need to keep our personal and professional lives separate, at least for now.”
I nod slowly, but my mind is still on the breach.
If it wasn’t me, then someone else is in the system, moving through the same digital tunnels I’ve been testing.
Which means this thing is bigger than I thought, and it just got a lot more complicated.
I let out a quiet chuckle. “Fine. Fair enough. I’ll get the bill. ”
“You will not,” he says. “I’ll pay on my way out…”
I start to argue, but he raises a hand. I let it go.
He watches me for a second, his brow drawn tight. “I can give you a ride,” he says. “I don’t like you out alone this late.”
“Please,” I reply. “Nobody knows I’m here. I’m in jeans and a hoodie since I changed out of the ball gown hours ago. I look like half the women in the Valley. No one’s going to recognize me.”
He looks down at me, jaw tight, then shakes his head once. “You really don’t know, do you?”
I blink. “Know what?”
He doesn’t look away. “Ella, you’re very memorable. You’re probably one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen.”
For a second, I don’t react. Then I laugh, quiet and reflexive. “All five feet of me?”
I think of Alana, with her model height and mythic bone structure. Rosalie, with that slow-burning elegance that turns heads just by walking into a room. I’m cute. Efficient. Quick on my feet. I’ve never thought of myself as the one who draws a second look.
“Wow,” he says. “You really don’t see yourself.
” Before I can respond, he leans over and kisses me.
His lips are warm and steady, not rushed.
His hand brushes my jaw, and it’s a sweet touch that doesn’t go behind my chin.
Nowhere near my zones that had lit earlier for Justice.
Wesley pulls back just enough to speak. “I’d invite you over, but if we were hacked tonight, I’ll be stuck working for hours. ”
“I know,” I say, settling back. “I actually need to get back to work shortly.” I have to make sure I wasn’t the one who triggered the alert. If I wasn’t, then whoever planted that other code is back, and I’d love to trace the hack back to them.
If they’re even one step ahead of me, we’ve already got a problem.
I think about calling Justice because his servers might also be in danger.
For half a second. Then I shut the thought down.
That would be a disaster. He’d want answers and would start pulling levers I don’t want touched.
If he discovers what I’ve been working on, he’ll make a move before I have a chance to finish.
“Be careful,” Wesley murmurs, his attention already drifting to whatever system he’s mentally dissecting.
“I’ll plan that vacation where we can get serious.
About us. Not computers.” His fingers twitch like he’s pulling code apart in his head.
He moves away, already lost in thought when he reaches the door.
Maybe I shouldn’t be dating someone who thinks like I do. The overlap is too much. There’s no balance. Just two people quietly trying to outmaneuver the same world. Besides, do I want to spend a week nude on a beach with Wesley? I can’t even think about that right now.
My food arrives, and I dive into the eggs. They’re decent—hot, salty, and solid. I barely get three bites in before the air shifts.
A shadow cuts across the edge of my plate. Every nerve in my body lights up. I don’t have to look up to know who is now sitting across from me.
I lift my gaze anyway.
“Hello, Sprite,” Justice says, his voice gravelly low. “You and I need to have a little talk.”