Matthew sped down the road toward Cryptonic, barely able to contain his excitement. After his phone call with ire, he didn''t waste any time. As soon as she gave him the green light to head back to Cryptonic, he was out the door, hopping into his car and driving straight


    to the office. Whatever ire had discovered, he was eager to hear it.


    When he arrived, he made a beeline for ire''s office. The ce was always quiet, filled with the hum ofputers and the soft glow of monitors. As soon as he walked in, he spotted ire,ser-focused on herputer screen, typing away furiously. She didn''t even turn to look at him, but somehow, she always knew when he was there.


    Without taking her eyes off the screen, ire asked, "How was it at Metacortex?"


    Matthew dropped into the chair across from her, running a hand through his hair. "Same as what you experienced earlier. I was about to enter the code you sent me, and boom-everything just stopped. The hacking just... paused, like nothing happened. Then, out of nowhere, the control room monitors were working again like magic."


    ire''s fingers hovered above her keyboard, her eyes narrowing slightly. She then turned her head toward him, a knowing look on her face. "I think I''ve got an idea who''s behind it."


    Matthew leaned in, his eyebrows scrunched together. "Wait, seriously? You figured it out?"


    ire shook her head, biting her lip. "Not exactly. I haven''t figured out who it is yet, but I did manage to piece together something important."


    Matthew tilted his head, curiosity written all over his face. "What do you mean?"


    ire pushed her chair back a little, stretching out. "Think about it. No one knows about Cryptonic. It''s not something you can just Google and find. Even if someone searches for it, nothinges up. The only way in is through an invitation I personally send out. So, for someone to hack into Cryptonic? That means they''re either part of themunity already or..."


    Matthew''s eyes widened. "Or what?"


    "Or they''ve found a way in without my knowledge, which, to be honest, seems impossible. Cryptonic is so locked down that even the best hackers have tried and failed to breach it."


    Matthew nodded but still seemed skeptical. "Yeah, but what if this person is just really good? Like, maybe they aren''t a member but somehow managed to get in? You know, bypassed all the security?"


    ire shook her head vigorously,pletely disagreeing. "No way. If it were that easy, there would be dozens of people trying to break in every day. People have tried, trust me. Cryptonic is nearly imprable. And even if they did manage to sneak in, the bigger question is how did they even know it existed? It''s not like we''re broadcasting this thing. Cryptonic''s whole purpose is to stay secretive."


    Matthew let out a long sigh, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his temples. "Yeah, I get it. It just doesn''t add up, though. Whoever this is, they''ve clearly studied you, studied everything about you... but you''ve got nothing on them."


    ire nodded, a frown tugging at her lips. "Exactly. It''s like they know my every move, but I can''t even figure out who they are. It''s frustrating."


    Before either of them could say more, ire''s phone vibrated on the desk. She nced down and saw Adrian''s name sh across the screen. Great timing, she thought sarcastically. She picked up the phone and forced herself to sound calm, despite the tension building inside her.


    "ire, darling,"


    "Hey, Adrian," she said, trying to keep her voice light.


    "Where are you? I went to your office earlier to see you but Sandra told me you are not in the office." Adrian''s voice was warm, but there was a hint of curiosity there. "I''ve got some free time today and thought we could grab dinner."


    ire hesitated, biting her lip. She wasn''t in the mood to go out-she had bigger things to focus on, like tracking down whoever was messing with Cryptonic. But she didn''t want to raise any suspicion either.


    "Oh, you were in the office? Sorry about that. Uh... maybe next time?" she said, trying to sound casual. "I''m not in the office right now."


    "It''s unlike you to be out of the office," Adrian replied, chuckling to himself. "Where are you then?"


    Without missing a beat, ire lied. "I''ve got a meeting outside. Business stuff, you know the usual."


    "Of course. You can never steer clear when ites to work now do you?" Adrian said after a short pause.


    "You know me. I''m a workaholic." ire chuckled lightly.


    "Alright then. Give me a call when you''re done with your meeting, okay?"


    "Will do," ire replied, ending the call as quickly as possible.


    She set the phone down and let out a small sigh. Across from her, Matthew was watching her closely, leaning back in his chair with a knowing look on his face.


    "You still haven''t told him, have you?" Matthew asked, raising an eyebrow.


    "Told him what?" ire replied, feigning innocence.


    "You know, about The Raven," Matthew said, his voice teasing. "Adrian knows you''re good at hacking, sure. But does he know- you''re the Raven? The hacker that half the underground tech world is


    either afraid of or in awe of


    ire shook her head, letting out a smallugh. "He doesn''t need to know about my side gig. Besides, he knows I can hack. But The Raven? That''s a whole other story. And I n on keeping it that way-for now, at least."


    Matthew snorted. "Yeah, good luck with that. At some point, he''s gonna figure it out. You can''t keep a secret like that forever."


    ire shrugged, turning her attention back to theputer. "Maybe. But for now, he doesn''t need to know. Besides, I''ve got enough on my te without adding ''exin to Adrian that I''m a legendary hacker'' to the list." "Fair enough," Matthew chuckled. "But when he does find out, I want to be there. That''s gonna be one hell of a conversation."


    ire rolled her eyes but couldn''t help but smile. "Yeah, I bet you do."


    The two of them sat in silence for a


    moment, the weight of the situation


    hanging in the air. Whoever was behind this had clearly thought


    things through. They were ying a game and right now, it felt like they were winning. But ire wasn''t one to back down from a challenge. If this mysterious hacker thought they could outsmart her, they had another thinging.


    Matthew''s voice broke the silence. "So, what''s the next move?"


    ire didn''t answer immediately, her mind racing. She knew she needed to keep digging, to keep pushing until she found


    something-anything-that would give her a lead. But for now, she also had to be careful. This person was slippery, and one wrong move could tip them off.


    "We keep looking," she finally said, her voice steady. "We don''t stop until we find them. And when we do, they''re going to regret ever messing with Cryptonic." Matthew grinned. "Now that sounds like a n."


    ire nodded, her fingers flying back to the keyboard. "Let''s get to work."