Chapter 1

My name was Sophie Shaddock. At the World Hacker Competition, our once-high-flying team crashed and burned, all thanks to Emily Bright's underhanded interference.

Then came Alex Grant, my boyfriend, who was also our team captain. Instead of seeking the real culprit, he pointed an accusing finger at me. In a public display of humiliation, he stripped me of my precious access rights.

"Can't even hold the fort on the firewall? You'd be better off in the back office, answering phones like a common clerk."

Emily joined in the mockery with a sickeningly sweet laugh. "Poor Sophie. Age catches up with us all. It's no wonder her reflexes aren't what they used to be."

Fast forward to later, and the city's entire government system was under siege by hackers.

And here was the kicker: the very access right that was my key to saving the day, the only one capable of patching those critical security holes, had been ripped away by their own hands.

As the shrill alarm bells echoed through the NSA headquarters, I sat there at the switchboard, a serene smile on my face.

I picked up the phone, my voice calm and professional. "Good day, you've reached the main switchboard of the National Security Agency. How may I direct your call?"

*****

The World Hacker Competition was offering a set of ultra-secret hacking codes as the grand prize.

Our team was sent by the government to make sure those codes never ended up in the wrong hands.

We had to win. Losing just wasn't an option.

But on the day of the finals, Alex showed up at the top-secret competition venue with his dream girl, Emily.

"Alex, is your workplace always this crappy?" Emily teased.

As she spoke, she pulled open the blackout curtains and playfully stuck her tongue out at him.

"Poor you guys, working in a place like this—it's like you're living like rats.

"You may be hackers, but you're real NSA employees. You shouldn't have to work like some random hacker," she said.

The sudden flash of light was so intense that everyone had to shield their eyes.

We were at the most crucial moment of the competition, and I couldn't hide my annoyance.

I ordered, "Close the curtains. Alex, this is a serious match. Don't bring outsiders in.

"We need absolute privacy to concentrate."

My tone was firm, and Emily's eyes shimmered with unshed tears. "I'm only doing this for your own good.

"Sophie, can you not turn this into a catfight?

"I'm not here to cause trouble. I want to be part of your team."

I caught the double meaning in her words.

However, I ignored her and looked over at Alex, our captain.

He was always calm and collected. Not once did he ever play favorites with me, not even as his girlfriend.

I trusted that, for the sake of the competition and the country, he'd make the right call without hesitation.

But to my surprise, Alex shot Emily a soft, indulgent smile. "Emily's not an outsider. She's our newest recruit.

"Soph, Emily's got some cutting-edge tech. You should really check it out."

Cutting-edge tech? Was it opening the window so the guys with binoculars across the street could get a good look at us, or flooding the room with sunlight just to mess with our focus?

I never expected Alex to lose sight of what was important at a moment like this.

Just as I was about to snap back, one of my teammates yelled, "Shadow, the firewall is under attack!

"Several countries are joining forces against us!"

Without another word, I dropped into my seat and focused on my screen, tuning out Alex and Emily.

This match was do-or-die. Failure was simply not an option.

I was laser-focused, my fingers flying over the keyboard as I threw up firewall after firewall at lightning speed.

All the while, I was calling out instructions, directing my teammates to patch up vulnerabilities on the fly.

Just as everyone was locked in, a burst of thumping music suddenly blasted through the room.

The beat was so distracting, I had to whip around to see what the hell was happening behind me.

Emily was lounging there, totally lost in her own music, looking way too relaxed for someone at a high-stakes competition. "You guys are working yourselves to the bone. Seriously, you should chill out a bit.

"Just listen to some tunes and let your brain unwind. Trust me, you'll do way better. And—"

She didn't even get to finish before my glare practically froze her in place.

Emily instantly ducked behind Alex, putting on her best scared act. "Alex, I swear, I'm only thinking about what's best for the team.

"You know I took psych as a minor in college, right? If everyone keeps stressing out like this, it's gonna wreck our game later.

"This competition isn't something that'll be over in a heartbeat. We can't stay this tense the whole time, right?"

I'd finally had it. I stormed over and slammed my fist down on the Bluetooth speaker, knocking it over. "Relax? Are you freaking kidding me? Do you even realize this is the finals?

"There are teams everywhere watching our every move. If we let our guard down for even a second, all our efforts will be for nothing," I snapped.

Emily's face went ghostly pale, and she couldn't stop shaking. "I... I was just trying to help."

I didn't even bother with her and went straight back to my computer.

Before I could even sit down, Alex barked out an order, "Everyone, drop what you're doing. Take a break, now.

"Emily's right. This is a long haul. We can't burn out all our energy and stamina in one go."

My teammates exchanged uneasy glances, but nobody dared to go against Alex's orders.

In our team, the captain's word was law.

I shot Alex a look of utter disbelief, and caught Emily smirking like she'd already won.

He actually had the nerve to blow off orders from the top, all for his precious Emily.

The alarm was blaring, warning that our last firewall was about to go down, but Alex just tuned it all out and wouldn't let anyone near their keyboards.

The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop—except for that damn alarm, blaring over and over.

"Alex, don't forget your duty! This competition is do-or-die—we're not allowed to fail!" I yelled.

Alex just retorted, firm and unyielding, "Don't touch anything."

I could only watch in despair as hackers from Aspien broke into my computer, my mind spinning with memories of everything Alex and I had been through together.

We were the perfect partners at work, and off the clock, we were the sweetest couple you could imagine.

Just because someone called me a tomboy, Alex—who knew nothing about makeup or fashion—spent whole nights studying beauty tutorials, just to help me look my best and feel confident.

When my tendonitis acted up, he actually went to a doctor to learn massage techniques, just so he could help me out whenever the pain kicked in.

Such moments were far from rare.

Maybe he'd cut me some slack this time, just because I was his girlfriend.

Without another thought, I spun around, slammed my hands down on the keyboard, and started typing like my life depended on it.

I was the chief hacker at the NSA. I was Shadow. I had the most cutting-edge tech in the business, and no one could match my speed.

But even with all that, I still couldn't stand up to dozens of them working together.

All my efforts did was buy us three extra minutes before the system finally went down.

When "DEFEAT" flashed across my screen in huge, mocking letters, I felt all the strength drain out of me. And as if things couldn't get any worse, Alex's icy voice cut through the silence.

"Sophie, you dared to defy my orders in front of everyone, and now you've lost us the match.

"I'm ordering you to hand over your access right now," he said.

I whipped around, staring at him in disbelief, wondering what kind of hold Emily had over him.

But there he was, standing protectively in front of Emily, his expression brooking no argument.

"If you can't even hold the firewall, what's the point of having such high-level access?" he said, his voice cold and unyielding.

I let out a bitter laugh.

So that was how it was.

He must've realized what losing the match would mean, so he was looking for someone to throw under the bus.

Of course, it couldn't be his precious Emily, and it definitely couldn't be his own screw-up. So, naturally, it had to be me—the one who dared to defy his orders and take matters into my own hands.

But I wasn't the type to just sit back and take it.

Why was I the one getting dumped with all this crap?

"If it weren't for Emily stirring up trouble, we were about to win.

"If you hadn't made us stop, we totally could've blocked their attack during those three minutes.

"Look, the guys across the street still have their binoculars out. As captain, don't you get that you can't just open the curtains during a classified match?" I called him out.

Alex's face was like stone. "Still making excuses?

"Sophie, is this really how you handle your work and your mistakes?"

Emily peeked out from behind him and stuck her tongue out. "Come on, Sophie, you can't just blame me for this, can you?

"I didn't even touch your computers, okay?

"Just admit it, Sophie. You're getting old, your reflexes are shot, and this job just isn't for you anymore. Maybe you should just go work the phones in admin.

"Nice and easy, no more late nights. You might finally have time to take care of yourself.

"Seriously, you're not even thirty and you already look like a total grandma. No wonder..."

Emily's trash talk about my skills was so over the top, my teammates couldn't just sit back and watch—they had to speak up for me.

"No one's faster or sharper than Sophie in our squad," one of them said, sounding totally fired up.

"She's literally number one in the whole country! How can you even say that about her?" another teammate chimed in, clearly pissed.

"Alex, you can't just blame Sophie for the loss. We all saw her giving it everything she had—seriously, nobody else could've matched her speed," someone else added, sticking up for me.

Alex slammed his hand down on the table, and the whole room went dead silent.

He reached out, wiped away Emily's tears, then looked up, his expression cold and commanding. "So, do you all want to share the consequences of losing this match with Sophie?

"If anyone here wants out, just say it and get out with her."

My teammates exchanged uneasy glances, but nobody dared to say another word.

Alex said, his voice cold and merciless, "If you lost, it's because your skills weren't up to par. Stop making excuses.

"Sophie, you broke team protocol and blew the most important match. There's no place for you on this team anymore.

"Starting tomorrow, you're on phone duty in the back office. Maybe you'll figure out what you did wrong."

Then, right in front of everyone, he terminated my account without a second thought.

"From this moment on, Shadow is gone.

"Emily is your new teammate. Get to know her," he declared, his voice echoing through the room.