But how will she get the data back? Those are too important!
Rebecca really was in a dilemma.
"Let me see..." Talia herself felt a bit guilty but she refused to give up. Wondering who could be threatening her, her slender fingers touched the keys in the keyboard like feather and a series of code ran in the monitor.
Talia with her eyes focused on the monitor looked so peaceful and as she figured out everything one by one, she looked like she was enjoying it as her lips slightly curled up.
Rebecca pulled up a chair and sat relieved. Talia is extremely gifted, she knew. They were roommates back in university and Talia's IQ was around 179. She's good at maths, physics and coding and no one could figure out why she chose to study business. It was a waste of talent in Rebecca's opinion.
Rebecca who thought she was the best met her match in Talia and she respected her.
"It's Aberration"
Talia said with her eyes lit up with joy.
"Him? Isn't he like the third best hacker in the world? What is he doing making ransomware? He is not that lowly, right?" Rebecca wondered out aloud. They have encountered Aberration in the past and Talia beat him to submission back then.
Talia wasn't listening to Rebecca and was trying to find the location and identity of aberration. And that's when she found out that aberration is actually a citizen of Esteria.
She had many enemies in Esteria and no one in this country knows of her connection to Esteria. It must be someone from Esteria who hired him.
It can't be her grandfather. If he wanted her back, he'd have approached through Mrs. Johnson or straight-up ordered her to return and wouldn't try to coerce her like this.
So, who might that be? An enemy?
Talia soon found his phone number and sent him an encrypted message.
'You messed up with the wrong person again, bub'
Meanwhile....
As a tall man wearing charcoal grey pinstriped suit walked in the marbled floor, a pair of neatly polished black Oxford leather shoes made a clacking noise. Even that unhurried clacking noise exuded his authority. His red hair was neatly combed back and as he walked with one hand in his pocket, his green eyes twinkled in the lights inside that lavish office as his other hand held a lit Cuban cigar between his fingers.
There were women sighing in exasperation looking at this fine specimen of human with sharp angular jaws and tall, slim body that can make even Hollywood stars jealous.
"Here..." the assistant lead the man into a corner office of the middle management floor and his long legs stopped hearing the conversation inside the room and so the assistant held the door without closing it for his boss to hear the conversation. He was with his boss for long enough to know his thoughts without him speaking. He rarely speaks anyway.
"Purple Jinx?"
A skinny bespectacled man sprung up from his seat with his face pale in fright. The suave man by the door, touched his wedding band unconsciously as he heard that name and his left hand inside his trouser pocket fisted.
"You said to hack a PR firm, not Purple Jinx. Do you want me get spit in the face for the rest of my life?" the skinny man was frightened.
Not even listening to the plump man in suit in the office, the skinny man typed a reply. Out of fear, he read along as he typed. His hands that are used to type fast trembled and he made a lot of typos.
" My Queen! Forgive me for messing with you. I was told it was THE KING's command to hack this PR firm to get back his wife. I didn't knew 'Princess Talia' is under your protection. Forgive me. Forgive me. I'll give you the key to decrypt the data I blocked from you. Please don't ruin me... Please, I beg for your kindness"
Stressed, he placed his phone near his face to see if he gets a reply as if he'd miss the reply otherwise. Purple Jinx is a notorious hacker who'd ruin anyone's life with no second thoughts. He'd take his chance with the King than with Purple Jinx.
On the other side, Talia smirked seeing the reply.
"The King" her pink lips curved up to a smile.
'So, Arthur F. B. Sinclair, is this how you play? '
Talia looked at Rebecca who left the room to join her husband who couldn't calm Rachel even after three hours.
She dialed the number that is embedded in her memory typing the numbers. She didn't store his number in her phone and it is amazing she still remembered the number even after ten years.
She placed the phone in her ears and listened to the dial tone.
Artie, leaning in the door looked at the familiar number with her picture appearing in his phone screen.
Hearing the ringtone outside, the two men inside the officeooked at the door and went pale seeing 'The King' standing there. Looking at them, he entered the room and his assistant locked the door.
His lips pursed seeing his phone still ringing. A cocktail of emotions hit him hard and one could see his deep emerald eyes, looking deep as the middle of the ocean hiding a strong current underneath.
She called me! She wants to talk to me after ten long years!
His fingers froze and it felt difficult for him to even swipe to attend the call. But he knew he didn't have much time. If he lingered the call will disconnect automatically and she might not try to call him again. He wanted to hear her voice.
He swiped the green button and placed the phone on his ears and in his clumsiness, he almost dropped his phone and his wedding band gently collided with the cover of the phone and made a small noise.
"You there, blue?"
He asked fearing he might have accidentally ended the call and as there was no sound from the other side, he checked his phone again to see if the call is still connected.
'It is connected. Why isn't she speaking? Did she accidentally dial me?'
He was overwhelmed and he took a deep puff of the cigar to calm his nerves.
'I'll wait... I waited for ten years. I can wait a little more...'
The other men there saw the King's eyes softening.