The light of her computer screen lit her room. Selene, an 18-year-old high school girl, lived in a house that barely felt like home. Her parents were ignorant and always arguing; they barely noticed her coming and going. But she didn't mind—pff—not when she had her escape: video games. She wasn't just a player; she was THE BEST. Her username was ByteQueen, and she had just hit the number one spot in an underground hacking competition disguised as a game. She thought it was all harmless fun..
Across the city, in a towering skyscraper, sat Damian Moretti, 27 years old, the crime boss of a very powerful group. He was the leader of the Moretti family and a CIA agent at the same time—meaning he was wealthy and powerful as hell. Pale-skinned, his cold, icy blue eyes scanned the screen in front of him. He was a man with strength, power, and a very powerful aura. Damian needed someone… a hacker who looked harmless. So he told his men to find hidden hackers and "welcome" them to his mansion.
And one of the victims was… Selene. Her username popped up: ByteQueen.
"She's just a kid," one of his men commented.
Damian's icy look silenced him.
"She's skilled. That's all that matters."
With that, all of his men started doing research and creepy kidnappings each night.
The night was quiet when Selene heard a knock at the door. She hesitated, her heart racing… no one ever visited. Her parents and everyone else were asleep. Slowly, she opened it… only to see a black limo parked outside and two men in suits standing there. It was creepy. They were tall and strong; Selene felt fear trying to take over.
"ByteQueen?" one asked.
Woosh… that was it—her skin went paler.
"I-I don't know what you're talking about," said Selene. Before she could react, they grabbed her, covering her mouth. The world spun as she was pulled into the van. Her cries were swallowed, her body trembling with fear.
...
When she finally came back to her senses, she was in a small, creepy room with no windows. It was dark. She was on a chair, tied up tightly—it felt painful. Around her… there was a bad smell, like something rotten.
Footsteps… heavy and strong footsteps were approaching. For the first time in her life, Selene was truly scared, breathing quickly, thinking: It's so dark, just help me, God.
The iron door unlocked; the sounds echoed in the room, then it opened. The light hit Selene's eyes. After she fully opened them, she saw a very tall, sharp-featured man, pale-skinned, with cold blue eyes and dark hair in a long suit—Damian Moretti—with four bodyguards around him.
But the next thing she looked at… was the room. The sour, rotten smell. Three bodies lay exactly where they had fallen; their hands and lips were a slight blue and purple shade, and blood was on the floor, sticky, like it had been there a long time. Selene wanted to throw up and cry out for help. She held back her tears, barely. It was seriously painful.
A cold, gloved hand grabbed her jaw—it was that man, making her look at him like a monster.
"I think you know what the situation here is, kid," he said, his voice creepy.
Selene couldn't speak. Then Damian signaled his four bodyguards. Her tears couldn't hold in anymore.
"What… What's happening? Wait! HEY!" she yelled out.
One man untied her, another took something from a luxury bag, and another held a gun, pressing it firmly against her head.
Selene just froze.
Then he spoke:
"If you want to live, just do as I say. If you do it successfully, you might live…" said Damian. That motherfing piece of s*…* Selene thought.
They gave her a last-version, expensive laptop with some code and locked systems on the screen—the gun still pressed against her head.
"If you hack this, then you'll live. If you can't… well, take a look around for me. That's exactly what will happen to you. We don't want anyone to know about this, do we? So we have no choice," said the main bodyguard.
"Start," the boss said.
Selene's heart was beating very fast. Her fingers immediately started typing on the keyboard—quick and skilled. After five minutes, with shaky hands, she pressed the enter key and…
Succeed.
She hacked it. She did it.
Damian was surprised, but he quickly masked it, cold as usual. He turned and started leaving. Before Selene could say anything, two of the men took her arms firmly, painfully, and started dragging her out.
"What are you doing? Let me go, you bastards! Let go!"
After being dragged out, she realized she had been in a basement. Outside was a very big, luxurious place. Selene looked around; she had never seen anything like it before—not just because of her shitty life. The place was unique.
After they passed a long hallway, they opened one of the doors. It was a small room. They pushed Selene to the floor, causing her to fall, then locked the door.
Selene sat there. She had no energy to shout for help. On the floor, she cried silently. She eventually fell asleep.
Sunset. The door unlocked. It was Damian. He saw her on the floor. He walked closer, slowly, and knelt to her face level.
He saw her dried tears on her cheeks and her messed-up situation, but he didn't care. He never had… and he never would.