“What do you mean we’re dropping out?” I demanded, glancing at my mother, whose eyes were trained on the road ahead.

It had been a particularly rough day for Charlotte. She had had two seizures in the last twelve hours and was now heavily sedated in order to prevent any more. I had been barely able to look at my little sister lying helplessly in that bed. The anger that always swirled just below the surface was rising dangerously. Higher and higher.

“Just what I said, Han. We’re dropping our names from the lawsuit.” She said it sharply. Definitively. Leaving no room for arguing.

But I was going to argue. She should have known better.

“How can you say that?” I screeched. “After everything we’ve been through, this is our chance to make them pay!” I slammed my closed fists into my thighs, feeling ready to lose my shit.

“Hannah—”

“How can you do this? To Charlotte? To Dad?” I yelled.

I remembered the look on my mother’s face so clearly. It was sad. And so, so desolate. Without hope.

“Because if we don’t, then you and I won’t have anything left. We won’t be able to take care of Charlotte. We won’t be able to take care of ourselves.”

I frowned, confused. “What are you talking about?”

“Dominic Ryan, the attorney representing the city, called. He made it clear that this lawsuit isn’t in the best interest of our family.” Mom gripped the steering wheel so tightly that her knuckles were white.

“What does he have to do with anything—”

“Hannah!” My mother had shouted, silencing me instantly. “I made some bad choices many years ago. I fudged some numbers. I was trying to make things easier for us. I didn’t think it would ever be an issue.” She took a deep breath, letting it out in a long, drawn-out sigh. “We’d lose everything if it came out.”

She was shaking, her teeth chattering.

I felt sick. “He’s blackmailing you,” I rasped.

“Drop it, Hannah. There’s nothing we can do. We just have to move on. Put all of this behind us.”

“But Mom—”

“No!” Mom cut me off. “I can’t do this. I can’t jeopardize what is left of our lives. Please, Hannah. For me. For your sister. Drop it.”

—

But I didn’t drop it.

I bided my time.

And now here I was, ready to take my revenge.

I knew exactly what I wanted to do and I wouldn’t let my “partner” alter the course.

21:13 <Freed0m0v3rdr1v3> How much time will we have?

21:14 <T0x1cwrath> Long enough to wipe their files. To siphon their money. To take it all.

No! That wasn’t the plan!

I gritted my teeth together and tried to keep my breathing under control. The kitchen was dark, the only light coming from the computer screen.

My heart thudded painfully in my chest. I was feeling a little light-headed.

21:14 <Freed0m0v3rdr1v3> That’s not the plan. No money. No files. Just the attack.

I watched the flickering tab line for several minutes, waiting for Toxicwrath’s response.

I was starting to second-guess working with someone. I should have known better than to trust another person. Particularly someone I didn’t know.

But it was too late now. I wouldn’t be able to do the attack on my own. I didn’t have all the pieces to this particular puzzle.

Not having control was a problem for me. I didn’t relinquish it easily.

So why had I allowed myself to become dependent on an anonymous hacker?

21:17 <T0x1cwrath> Okay. Start time in fifteen. Get ready.

I almost sagged with relief.

As much as I wanted to make Ryan Law pay for its shady dealings, I didn’t want theft in the mix. I wasn’t prepared for that. It was a step I hadn’t taken into account.

I watched the clock tick down.

At 9:20 it was time.

A few clicks on my computer.

Lines of code.

Numbers. Letters.

My breath came shallow and fast.

This was it.

I started laughing hysterically.

Ryan Law’s webpage was now a series of emails and photographs. Camera footage and audio of taped conversations.

Each and every one implicating a pair of corrupt attorneys in some very serious crimes.

21:45 <Freed0m0v3rdr1v3> Ready for stage 2.

21:46 <T0x1cwrath> Sending you the rest of the files.

I opened up my encrypted email account and found the rest of the incriminating files that Toxicwrath had uncovered. I quickly bundled up all of the information and sent it to every news outlet within three states.

I posted the Ryan Law URL on over a hundred chat rooms and message boards.

The traffic to the webpage went through the roof.

I grinned widely as I posted my signature, a line of seemingly random letters in strange, convoluted patterns.

12080512alwcaw.

To the outside observer it would mean nothing.

December 8, the day my father died and Charlotte’s life was lost forever.

May 12, my sister’s birthday.

Dad’s initials. Abraham Lee Whelan. And my sister’s. Charlotte Ann Whelan.

My reminders of why I did this.

My constants. Memories that fueled my desires. My motivations.

A simple string of numbers and letters that, for me, meant everything.

Another grouping of numbers appeared beside mine.

06050900.

Toxicwrath’s signature.

I stared at it for a long time, trying to make sense of it. What did those numbers mean?

I wouldn’t ask. A signature was personal. It didn’t require explanation.

But I felt strange seeing it there beside mine.

We were intertwined now.

A partnership.

A shadow ready to take on the world.

Rowing a boat toward a far-off destination.

Together.

I wasn’t entirely sure how I felt about that.

Chapter 5

Mason

I had been up since two in the morning.

I had gotten called into the office after a DDoS attack on a local law firm was attributed to my favorite pain in the ass.

Freedom Overdrive.

The string of letters and numbers, the cracker’s signature embedded in the targeted website, taunted me the longer I stared at it.

Just as he had every other time before, Freedom Overdrive had covered his tracks.