Chapter 7 Welcome Back, Queen
Tilda chose a motel for two reasons.
First, it was cheap.
Second, it kept her off the radar.
Finished
Hotels asked for ID at check–in, and even if she hid behind a cap and sunglasses, it wouldn’t help now–her face and name were already plastered everywhere.
“Sure thing,” the cab driver said with a nod. He looked like he’d been in the business for years, someone who knew every street in the area. Requests like hers didn’t surprise him.
But then…
“Miss, you just came from that fancy neighborhood up on the hill, right? Isn’t that where the Jensons live?”
He glanced at her again. “You look familiar. Have we met?”
As he spoke, something seemed to click for him. Right on cue, the radio buzzed with another breaking story about the real Jensons heiress.
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“I’m not her,” Tilda said coolly. “I’ve got nothing to do with them.”
“Oh. My mistake. It’s just… The Jensons have been all over the news today.”
“It’s fine.”
Minutes later, the cab pulled up to a small, run–down motel tucked on a quiet street. Tilda paid the fare, checked in, and let herself into the room.
She dropped her suitcase onto the floor, pulled out her phone, and made a call.
A cheesy ringtone blared. Don’t tell me it’s not worth trying for; you can’t tell me it’s not worthy of dying for…
The phone was soon connected..
“Queen! Oh my god, it’s really you!” The voice on the other end practically exploded with excitement. “I thought you were gone for good! You vanished off the dark web and swore you’d never come back!”
Tilda had expected the reaction. She pulled the phone slightly away from her ear.
“Andy, I need cash. I’m taking jobs again. Got anything quick?”
“You’re coming back?!” Andy Saville practically shouted. Damn! The dark web’s about to erupt in chaos again!
“Queen,” he added with a mix of awe and excitement, “with your record, landing work will be a piece of cake. Give me a little time–I’ll find something for you.”
He hung up before she could respond.
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Chapter 7 Welcome Back, Queen
Finished
Tilda pulled a sleek laptop from her backpack and set it on the desk. The moment it powered up, her fingers danced over the keys, entering a long string of passwords.
A familiar screen appeared—a massive bronze door with a blood–red skull set deep in the center.
Then came a voice. Low. Old. Creepy enough to crawl under the skin.
“Welcome back, Queen.”
“I’m back,” she whispered.
She never thought she’d log in again.
The Dark Web–true to its name–was a hidden network linking the world’s underground.
The place offered every kind of job imaginable, things most people wouldn’t even believe existed.
Black–market auctions. Contract killings. Hacking… If something was illegal, it could be found here.
Of course, you needed more than curiosity to get into the Dark Web. You had to have the right connections. -and enough money and influence–to become a client. Miss one, and you were out.
As for the contractors who could log in and take jobs, every single one of them had skills most people couldn’t even dream of. To get an account, you had to survive the administrator’s ability test–pass it, and you’d earn your own login and password.
Tilda was one of them; she had passed years ago.
Codename: Queen.
She had ruled this space once–a legend among hackers.
And now, word of her return ripped through the Dark Web like a shockwave.
Her inbox blew up. Message after message poured in.
“Queen’s back?!”
She opened her profile, deleted the old status-“Retired. Gone for good.”
Replaced it with just two words: “I’m back.”
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