The Inescapable Celibate Heir Chapter 172: Found You

In fact, Ella made the post. 

Ever since she found out Victoria wasn't busy making money at the dessert shop but was instead vacationing on some island, she felt a mix of jealousy and resentment. 

She didn't buy the story that Victoria was really Nick's sister; she was convinced Victoria had cozied up to Eric to live such a good life. 

So, she planned to hire someone to dig into Victoria's past and expose her dark secrets, making Eric see her true colors and hate her. 

It wasn't easy for her to find an entry into the dark web, but she managed to post a bounty. 

Thankfully, the dark web was user-friendly for those who paid.

Of course, she wouldn't just pay anyone who came along. She needed to test the hackers who took the job. 

As she sat in front of her computer, she saw the message from Victoria and immediately replied: [You need to pass a test. Since you're a hacker, finding my current IP should be easy, right?]

Victoria opened Ella's details and saw that she had purchased the dark web's official IP encryption service. 

A slight smile appeared on her lips. It seemed this poster was a newbie. No wonder so many people had replied, but no one had successfully taken the job. 

Because everyone on the dark web knew that breaking the dark web's official firewall was akin to declaring war on it. 

Besides the technical difficulties, the bigger issue was offending the dark web. 

If the dark web tracked you down and exposed your identity and address, the deal wouldn't be worth it.

However, Victoria loved a challenge, and her current identity wasn't afraid of the dark web's forces. 

She replied directly: [Interesting. I bet the others didn't agree to your test, did they?]

Ella was actually puzzled as to why everyone lost interest after hearing her conditions, even though they seemed keen on the bounty at first. 

Not wanting to appear weak, she lied: [No, many people tried, but they all failed. You hackers are really incompetent; you can't even find an IP. What a waste of time.]

Victoria chuckled. This poster's tone was really foolish. And the way she lied, thinking she was clever, reminded Victoria of Ella, whom she hadn't seen in a long time. 

Now, even without the bounty, Victoria wanted to know who the poster was. 

She didn't explain her reasons and simply replied: [Alright, I'll take the job. See you in an hour.]

Victoria logged off the dark web, spent ten minutes creating a virtual IP beyond current technology, and then spent thirty minutes tearing a small hole in the dark web's weakest firewall. 

Now, the dark web's encrypted information was in front of her, but she didn't look around randomly. She went straight for the poster's information. 

The IP led her to an address she knew well: 7 Willow Street, AerionSilvervale, the Scott family residence. 

Victoria narrowed her eyes. It seemed likely that the poster was Ella, who had spent so much money to investigate her. 

It looked like Ella had finally noticed the significant changes in Victoria from the past life and wanted to gather more information about her.

Ella had always wanted a top-notch hacker who could manipulate public opinion and gather dirt on her competitors to threaten and expose them. 

Originally, she wanted to hire Ryan, but Victoria got to him first, so she had to turn to the dark web. 

This investigation into Victoria was just the first step. If the cooperation went well, she would offer more rewards for long-term collaboration. 

After waiting for half an hour with no response, she decided to play a game. 

But just as she started, her computer screen went black. 

Ella thought her computer was broken and was about to call the butler for repairs when large red letters appeared on the screen: [Found you. Satisfied?]

The font was specially designed, with red liquid dripping down like blood. Ella was so scared she clung to her chair. 

After a while, she realized it was probably the hacker who had just accepted the test. 

The test was to find her IP, but they had hacked directly into her computer. This hacker had good skills, though their personality seemed a bit nasty. 

But talented people often had quirks. Ella composed herself and clicked on the desktop. 

Sure enough, an input box appeared. She typed: [Are you "bluebird"?]

"Bluebird" was Victoria's new account on the island. 

She had many accounts and used different encrypted IPs each time she logged into the dark web to prevent being tracked. Victoria replied: [Yes.]

Ella sent her secret WhatsApp account and warned: [I hired you to do a job. Don't look at things you shouldn't, or I'll report you to the dark web.]

Victoria smirked. Did Ella really think she could threaten her like that? 

The dark web was just a communication platform and didn't have much control over hackers. 

But she said nothing and registered a new account specifically for communicating with Ella. She was curious to see what Ella had planned. 

After adding her, Ella sent a compressed file containing information she had gathered about Victoria. 

The more Victoria read, the more surprised she was. Ella knew a lot about her, no wonder she lost to her in the past life. 

But now, Victoria was no longer the same person, and the information Ella had was outdated.

[This is the woman. I want you to investigate her family, her relationships, especially the things she doesn't want anyone to know.] 

[She's the Campus Queen at Nexus College and is dating Eric from the computer science department. Everyone thinks she's a cold goddess. I want to expose her dirt, ruin her reputation, and make her a despised failure!]

Ella typed with gritted teeth, filled with hatred for Victoria. The thought of Victoria being abandoned by Eric made her laugh maniacally.

Victoria sensed Ella's hatred through her words. It seemed their mutual dislike was equally intense. She smirked and replied: [Alright.]

Ella immediately asked: [How long will it take? Is three days enough?]

Victoria scoffed. Ella was really impatient. 

She replied slowly: [Some things need thorough investigation. Two weeks.]

Ella wasn't happy with the timeline but thought it over. Two weeks later, school would start, and exposing Victoria then would have a greater impact. 

She agreed and sent Victoria half the payment upfront, with the rest to be paid upon completion.

Seeing the $15,000 in her account, Victoria couldn't help but laugh. 

Though it wasn't a huge amount, the thought of Ella's anger when she realized she had been scammed was satisfying. 

Since Ella had paid, Victoria decided to do some work in return. She might as well investigate Ella's dark past. 

Ella knew so much about her, but she knew very little about Ella's history.