LOGINBy the third day, Elliot had learned two important things about living in Timothy Blackwood’s world. First The man barely slept. Second Everything in his life was controlled with terrifying precision. Schedules. Security. Employees. Information. Even the elevators moved only when the system approved it. It was impressive. But it was also starting to feel suffocating. Elliot stretched his arms above his head as he sat in front of the workstation on the cybersecurity floor. The large digital network map glowed across the wall as usual, showing global traffic flowing through Blackwood Technologies’ systems. The office hummed quietly with activity. Engineers worked at their desks. Analysts monitored incoming reports. Several people whispered occasionally about the Helios collapse that had shaken the tech industry only a day earlier. Elliot leaned back in his chair. “Corporate warfare,” he muttered. A lady seated two desks away, Lena glanced at him. “You sound impresse
The next morning felt strange. Not because Elliot had barely slept. Not because his brain still buzzed from the cyberattack the night before. But because when he woke up, the first thing he noticed was the coat still draped over the chair beside his bed. Timothy’s coat. Dark. Expensive. And faintly carrying the scent of expensive cologne and cold night air. Elliot stared at it for a moment while sitting on the edge of the bed. “…Weird,” he muttered. He didn’t remember bringing it back to the penthouse. Maybe Timothy had left it there. Or maybe Elliot had walked back half-asleep and didn’t notice. Either way, it sat there like a quiet reminder of the night before. Elliot grabbed it and tossed it over the chair. “Not thinking about that,” he decided. He dragged himself into the bathroom, splashed cold water on his face, and ran a hand through his messy hair. His reflection looked exhausted. “Great,” he sighed. “Day two in billionaire prison.” By the time he walked i
The office was supposed to be quiet at night. That was what Elliot assumed. By 9:30 p.m., most of the engineers had already gone home. The once-busy cybersecurity floor now sat in a soft dim glow from overhead lights and the endless monitors lining the walls. Rows of workstations stood empty. Server racks hummed steadily behind reinforced glass. The massive digital map displaying Blackwood Technologies’ global network traffic continued streaming across the wall like a living organism. Elliot sat alone at his workstation. Well. Almost alone. His fingers moved lazily across the keyboard as he continued studying the system he had partially rewritten earlier. The more he examined it, the more impressed he became. Timothy’s architecture was complex. Elegant. And terrifyingly powerful. But like every system in the world— It wasn’t perfect. Elliot leaned forward, resting his chin in his palm. “Let’s see what else you’re hiding,” he muttered. He opened another diagnostic pa
By noon, Elliot had already broken three company protocols.Not intentionally.Well… maybe a little intentionally.He leaned back in the expensive ergonomic chair at his workstation, spinning slightly as he studied the massive security map glowing across the three monitors in front of him.The system was impressive.Ridiculously impressive.But the longer Elliot stared at it, the more tiny flaws he began to notice.Little inefficiencies.Redundant loops.Unnecessary delays.To anyone else, they might seem insignificant.To Elliot, they were irritating.“Why would anyone design it like this?” he muttered.His fingers began tapping across the keyboard again.Across the room, several engineers stiffened.One of them whispered urgently to another.“Is he editing the routing again?”“Yeah.”“Did Mr. Blackwood approve that?”“I doubt it.”Elliot didn’t notice the whispers.Or maybe he did.And simply didn’t care.Lines of code scrolled rapidly across the screen as he adjusted several intern
Elliot quickly learned that living with a billionaire meant one thing. Schedules. Very strict schedules. He discovered this at exactly 7:00 a.m. A soft electronic chime echoed through the bedroom, followed by the curtains automatically sliding open to reveal the bright morning skyline. Elliot groaned and buried his face in the pillow. “No,” he muttered. The chime rang again. “Go away.” Another chime. Elliot grabbed the pillow and threw it toward the window. “Okay, I’m up!” Silence. He sat up slowly, squinting at the sunlight flooding the room. “This place has alarms now?” he muttered. Dragging himself out of bed, Elliot wandered into the bathroom and splashed cold water on his face. When he finally stepped into the main living area, he immediately noticed something strange. Someone had already been working for hours. Timothy sat at the long glass table with several holographic screens floating in front of him. Financial reports, company statistics, and security data
Elliot didn’t sleep much that night.Not because the bed was uncomfortable.Actually, it was the most comfortable bed he had ever experienced in his entire life.The mattress felt like it had been engineered by scientists whose only goal was to create perfection. The sheets were soft, the room temperature was exactly right, and the silence of the penthouse wrapped around him like a blanket.That was exactly the problem.It felt too perfect.Too quiet.Too controlled.Elliot lay on his back staring at the ceiling, his hands folded behind his head.“Twenty years,” he muttered quietly.Even saying it out loud felt unreal.He turned his head and looked around the bedroom Timothy had assigned to him.The room alone was bigger than Elliot’s entire apartment.Minimalist furniture.Soft lighting built into the walls.A massive window overlooking the city skyline.It was the kind of place you saw in luxury magazines.And Elliot hated how much he liked it.“This is how they trap you,” he said t






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