Phoenix Rising: From Heartache to Heroism novel Chapter 16

Chapter 16 Eating Fondue Base 

Hayden delivered on his promise and used the cue Violeta chose for him. The guys played a billiards game for four Violeta did not join them but watched from the side. 

“Let’s have a penalty for losers Vio, you decide.” 

Violeta sat on the couch and was ready to log in to the Toland University forum on her phone. She considered momentarily before saying. The losing side will treat the winners to dinner.” 

Zoren replied, “That’s too simple. 

Violeta asked curiously, “What kind of penalty did you have before? 

“We used to do something more extreme, like eating ten lemons in a row.” 

Violeta was stunned. 

Did they eat ten lemons in a row? That’s insane! 

“In that case, the losers will treat us to dinner this evening. And no matter what food the winners choose, the losers have to eat it with a smile. 

“Wow, Vio, your punishment is harsher than we used to have.” 

“Hahaha.. 

“All right, we’ll go with this. Let’s start!” 

The guys started playing billiards. 

Violeta logged into the university forum and took a look around. Even before entering, she could imagine what the forum would look like 

Sure enough, the first two pages were all about her. There were photos of her entering the campus with Hayden in the morning, pictures of her having lunch with the four guys, photos of her from the freshman orientation, and even a post about Zelena’s embarrassing moment when her dress ripped in the auditorium. 

The last post piqued Violeta’s interest, and she tapped to read more about it. Someone happened to take photos of Zelena’s embarrassing moment and posted it in the thread. If Zelena saw these photos, she would be funous 

Violeta had experienced such humiliation in her previous life. Now, it was Zelena’s turn to experience the same. She wondered how Zelena would react when she saw the pictures. It must be quite a spectacular sight. 

After logging out of the forum, Violeta entered the dark web. There, she issued a simple challenge: anyone who could breach her firewall and access the confidential files on her computer would receive a reward of one hundred thousand, with a deadline set for the twentieth of next month. 

There was a hacker leaderboned 

on the leaderboard, Red Hat. Red Hat would later become one of Zelena’s allies. 

In her previous life, Violeta had just started her career and achieved some success when she became the target of online harassment. Many of her private matters were exposed, and she had to spend money to resolve the issue. Later, she discovered that it had all been leaked by a hacker named Red Hat. Furthermore, Zelena had provided all the information to Red Hat 

Although these things would not happen until four years later, Violeta had to plan ahead. She looked through the list of those who accepted the challenge and found Red Hat them. 

Violeta reclined against the couch and smirked. The target took the bait! It won’t be easy to break through my firewall! 

In her previous life, Violeta suffered a significant setback in information technology and spent time studying diligently. She had to thank Zelena’s fans for her rapid progress, Whenever they came to insult her, she used them as practice targets. 

She started by tracing IP addresses before gradually learning to pinpoint specific locations Eventually, she became skilled enough to hack into the opponent’s devices and turn on their cameras to see their faces. 

These keyboard warriors were always hiding in the shadows. Violeta had reported many of them to the police when she caught them attacking her for no reason, Strangely, once caught, they all claimed to be innocent. 

Anger surged within Violeta as she thought about this. 

Meanwhile, Zelena furiously blamed her housekeeper for her humiliation during orientation. 

‘This dress is defective! Why did you let me wear it without checking properly? Are you trying to ruin me?” 

The housekeeper appeared confused. “Ms. Blake, I don’t know what happened. I checked the dress thoroughly when I got it from the boutique. Furthermore, the salesperson also checked it. How could there be loose threads? I really don’t know how it happened, 

Zelena glared at the housekeeper, not believing a word she said. Then, she took out her phone and checked the forum. Her face twisted with rage as she saw the photos from the freshman orientation. 

Suddenly, she recalled something unusual when she searched Violeta’s body earlier. Her expression froze. She hurriedly checked the torn dress. 

As suspected, the stitching was cut with a blade! 

It was that despicable Violeta! She’s behind this! 

Zelena clenched her fist tightly. She wished she could find Violeta now and tear her apart. At the same time, she realized something was off. 

2/3 

13.00 

That b*tch wasn’t this cunning in the previous life! Could the have changed after starting a new life? 

Regardless, I won’t let her trample over me in this life! 

From Zelena’s perspective, Violeta was the fake heiress of the Blake family, who took everything from her in her past life. Furthermore, she even tended to be nice when Zelena returned home, but it was all a malicious act. To Zelena, Violeta was a hypocrite, using kindness as a façade to hide her lowly status. 

Zelena grew up in a non–affluent family. When she retumed to the Blake family, she knew nothing about social etiquette. If Violeta had not guided her in everything, Zelena could not imagine how many embarrassing situations she would have gotten herself into. Yet, in Zelena’s twisted mind, she saw Violeta’s kindness as her showing off