Enter Password

Rebecca

It has been days since I last saw Lin online. Days. I have sent him so many messages, I lost count. Nothing. Not a single reply.

Maybe I should just tell him who I am. I tried to stay away, I really did. But I could not help it. From that very first conversation, he was fun. Fun in a way no one else had been.

Then another message came in. “Send me your boobs as you shake them in front of a mirror…”

I almost laughed. That is what every man wants. All the men l have chatted online. Every single one. But not Lin. He never asked for anything like that. And honestly? If he did ask, I do not think I could say no. I have no control when it comes to him.

He wanted me to show my face. Put up my real picture. Introduce myself properly. I never planned to do it. But what if that is what gets him to answer me?

I hope I am not falling for him. I just needed someone to talk to. That is all.

“My real name is…” I stopped. Just say it. All of it. I pulled in a deep breath and kept going.

“Do not tell anyone what I am about to write. My name is Rebecca. I am married, but I am trapped. The only way out is death. My husband is blackmailing me. He has a some videos that makes it look like I murdered my own parents. If that video gets out, I go to jail for the rest of my life. And even worse, everyone will hate me. But the truth is… I do not remember killing them. And I do not think I could ever do something like that.”

My door flew open.

Luke stood there. His face was red with anger.

“Give me that phone,” he said.

My heart stopped. I turned stiff, like old dry wood. What if he sees what I just wrote?

“Do not press anything. I said give it to me.”

In my head, I was already dead. He raised his hand, just like he always does before a slap. I braced for it.

Then his mistress walked in.

“Honey, we are going to be late. I thought you wanted to call her to the sitting room?”

I have always hated that woman. In my heart, she was evil. But right then? I was glad to see her. She pulled Luke's attention away from me at the perfect moment.

They were both dressed up in expensive clothes. Designer stuff.

“Next time I call you more than twice…” Luke started.

“Just tell her to follow you,” the mistress cut in. “Do not get angry. You have a presentation to give. Do not let this idiot ruin your mood.”

I followed them to the sitting room without wasting a second. Luke had clearly been calling me, but I was too buried in my phone to notice.

“I have already told you before,” he said. “You are not allowed to leave this house. You cannot go to any forest for research. If you do, you already know what I will do.”

While he talked, I saw handcuffs in his mistress’ hand. My first thought was… what is she planning to do with those?

“Has my darling told you where we are going?” she asked me.

I stared at her like she was talking to a wall.

“Darling, look. She will not even answer me.” She started her usual whining.

“Do whatever you want. Let us go,” he said.

Both of them looked at me with pure annoyance.

“For your information,” she said, “my honey is going to propose to me tonight after the software launch. And I want you to sit right here in front of this TV and watch every second of it.”

How was she going to make me watch? All I wanted was for them to leave so I could go back to my room.

“I know you will not want to watch the program,” she said. “That is why I came up with a way to make sure you do.”

She shook the handcuffs in my face.

“Sit down in this arm chair.”

I ignored her.

Then Luke took the handcuffs.

“Rebecca, you are wasting our time. Sit down in that chair.” He raised his hand again.

Fear hit me hard. I sat down. He locked the cuffs around my wrist, attaching me to a chair that was not going anywhere.

His mistress smiled. She grabbed the remote and turned on the TV to the right channel. Then she walked back to me and lifted my chin while Luke watched.

“I want you to see how Luke takes me into his life forever. This is not just boyfriend and girlfriend anymore. We are getting married.”

“Let us go,” Luke said. “We might be late.”

I heard them leave. The car started. The sound faded. And I felt my life sinking deeper into something awful. Like I was becoming a real prisoner.

How long do I have to live like this? Will there ever be a day when I am free? Tears ran down my face. I remembered how my parents raised me like a princess. This was nothing like that. Nothing at all.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

About two hours passed. I was forced to sit there and watch a live event. It was nighttime and nightmare. The whole hall was covered in fancy lights.

The men wore expensive suits. The women glittered in their dresses. Cameras moved around, maybe automated, trying to show every face in the crowd.

Then the host, a smooth talker, invited Luke to the stage.

“Good evening, everyone.”

His voice made me angry the second I heard it.

“Thank you for being here tonight. Investors, technology partners, members of the press, and every brilliant mind in this room…” He gave a small smile. “Tonight is not just another software launch.”

He stopped. Proud of himself. I knew he was an engineer, but he stole that software. If I could secretly tell Collins, even after everything Luke did to me, I would. But I can not.

“Tonight,” Luke said, “we are changing cybersecurity forever.”

People started murmuring.

He turned to the giant screen behind him. Silver letters appeared.

DARKTRACE DEFENDER

The logo glowed against black.

“This,” Luke said, chest puffed out, “is DarkTrace Defender. The smartest antivirus software ever made.”

He walked slowly across the stage. He spoke like a man who practiced every word but believed all of it deep in his soul.

“For years, antivirus companies have promised protection.”

He held up a finger.

“They scan files.”

Another finger.

“They block known threats.”

A third finger.

“They update virus databases.”

He stopped walking.

“But let me ask you something…”

His eyes moved across the audience.

“What happens when the threat is completely new?”

Silence.

“What happens when hackers create a virus that has never existed before?”

He let the question hang there.

“Most antivirus software fails.”

A few investors moved in their seats.

“Why?”

He answered right away.

“Because they learn to recognize danger after the damage is already done.”

He shook his head.

“That system is old.”

His voice got stronger.

“Hackers are evolving every day. Artificial intelligence is evolving every day. Cyber attacks are getting smarter every single hour.”

He faced the screen again.

“So I asked myself one question…”

His voice went softer on purpose.

“What if antivirus software could think before the attack even happens?”

A new slide came up.

Predict. Detect. Destroy.

“That,” Luke said, pointing at the screen, “is what makes DarkTrace Defender different.”

He walked closer to the edge of the stage.

“This software does not wait for danger to happen.”

He tapped his chest lightly.

“It studies behavior.”

He pointed at the crowd.

“Every file. Every movement. Every unusual pattern. It watches how your computer normally acts and learns from it.”

He smiled. I recognized that smile. He practiced this speech in his bedroom a hundred times.

“Think of it like this. If someone breaks into your house through the front door every day, eventually you recognize their face.”

He paused.

“But what if a stranger suddenly comes in through the window?”

His face got serious.

“You notice right away. That is exactly how DarkTrace Defender works.”

The room went completely quiet.

“It uses advanced behavioral intelligence. Not just to recognize known viruses…” He raised his voice a little. “But to predict unknown threats before they attack.”

Several investors leaned forward. Luke saw it.

“Let me make this simple. If a hacker creates a brand new virus today…” He snapped his fingers. “One that has never existed anywhere in the world… Most antivirus software would miss it.”

He shook his head.

“DarkTrace Defender would not.”

People started whispering.

“Because this system does not only look for what a virus is,” he pointed sharply at the screen. “It looks at what a virus does. How it behaves. How it hides. How it spreads. How it tries to break your system. And the moment something suspicious shows up…”

He smiled.

“DarkTrace Defender locks it down. Studies it. And destroys it before any damage happens.”

More murmurs went through the hall. People sounded impressed.

Luke let himself smile. Proud.

“I know what some of you are thinking,” he said. He fixed his sleeve. “Every company says they are the best.”

Soft laughter.

He nodded. “You are right. But I do not stand here making promises.”

He lifted his chin.

“I stand here with proof.”

His confidence grew.

“For three years, my sweetheart and I,” he pointed at his mistress, and she smiled wide, “have tested DarkTrace Defender against thousands of cyber threats. Known malware. Ransomware. Spyware. Zero-day attacks. Advanced hacking simulations.”

He spread his hands.

“And the results?”

He paused.

“DarkTrace Defender stopped threats that industry leading software failed to even detect.”

Quiet gasps.

Luke smiled. He was so proud of himself.

“Ladies and gentlemen… I think it is time to show you exactly why DarkTrace Defender is the future of cybersecurity.”

He rested his hand near a keyboard.

“Let us turn it on.”

The big screen lit up. In seconds, the antivirus software started loading.

“Look at the beautiful design as it settles into any system,” he said, pointing at the screen while numbers counted down from one to one hundred.

Right when it hit one hundred, a single word appeared on the screen.

‘Enter Password.’

“A smart fool. He has finally put a password on something that wasn't his own?” I said out loud. Because I was disgusted by what he was doing.

He walked slowly to the screen. Everyone waited. He typed the password. The whole auditorium went silent. He pressed the button.

‘lncorrect. Three more failed attempts! The software will crash.’

I could see real fear in Luke's eyes.

What is happening?

For the first time, I was interested in something I had hated from the start.