I Dominated After Prison

CHAPTER 3

The wealthy man was surrounded by three men dressed in expensive suits, each of them holding a laptop as they spoke over one another. 

Their fingers moved quickly across screens and keyboards, but their tense faces made it clear that none of them were in control of the situation.

Suddenly, the wealthy man trembled slightly, his hand reaching out for support that was not there.

“Father!” a beautiful young woman cried out in panic as she stepped out of a nearby Rolls Royce.

Before anyone could react, the man’s legs gave way beneath him, and he collapsed weakly onto the bench. His breathing became shallow and uneven as his daughter rushed forward, dropping her bag without a second thought. 

She knelt beside him quickly, her hands shaking as she pulled out a bottle of water and lifted his head carefully.

“Please, Father, take it easy,” she said anxiously as she pressed the bottle to his lips. “You need to breathe slowly.”

The man coughed violently before managing to take a few small sips. His chest rose and fell unevenly as he slowly came back to consciousness, his eyes were filled with tears and panic.

“How can I take it easy?” he cried hoarsely, his voice breaking. “Everything I worked for is gone. All my bitcoins are gone. The hackers took everything I have.”

Tears streamed down his face as he spoke, his hands trembling uncontrollably.

His daughter’s face tightened with stress, though she forced herself to stay calm. “Please, father. For the sake of your heart issue.”

Lucas watched them from a short distance away, his body still aching from the beating he had taken earlier that night and his heart was still bleeding from the betrayal. 

His attention was suddenly fixed entirely on the man’s words.

Hackers…

A memory suddenly came back to him. It was from the time he was in prison. He remembered meeting an old man there.

The man was a fifty-year-old hacker who had been in prison for many years. The world had forgotten about him, but his mind was still very sharp. He could hack through anything in a second.

That man taught Lucas everything he knew. He did not ask for money or favors. He did it because he was bored, proud of his skills, and wanted to show that he was still intelligent and capable.

Lucas slowly pushed himself to his feet.

Pain shot through his side as he stood, and he paused briefly to steady himself. He hesitated for a moment, doubt creeping in, but then he stepped closer to the group. His voice was low when he finally spoke.

“I think I might be able to help.”

The wealthy man looked up at him with confusion clouding his expression, while his daughter turned sharply, her eyes narrowing as she took in Lucas’s bruised face, soaked prison clothes, and unsteady stance.

The man frowned weakly. “Who are you?” he asked, his voice still shaky.

Lucas cleared his throat uncomfortably, suddenly aware of how he must look to them. He did not want to say his name. “I’m nobody,” he replied honestly. “But I can help you recover your money.”

The daughter stared at him more closely now, her gaze sharp and cautious. “Are you a prisoner?” she asked slowly.

Lucas raised his hands slightly, trying to show he meant no harm. “I come in peace,” he said calmly. “I was released today. I’m not a prisoner anymore.”

She shook her head slowly, disbelief written across her face. “That doesn’t matter,” she said firmly. “We don’t want anything to do with a criminal. Please go away. We already have enough trouble as it is.”

Lucas nodded, understanding the fear behind her words. “I don’t want trouble either,” he said quietly. “I only want to help your father recover his bitcoins.”

She opened her mouth to respond, but before she could say anything, one of the tech experts stepped forward sharply.

“You should leave,” the man said in a dismissive tone.

He looked Lucas up and down with open disgust. “You know nothing about technology or cryptocurrency. You can’t fix this.”

Another tech expert joined him immediately, his voice cold and confident. “All three of us are the best tech experts in the country,” he said proudly. “If we can’t recover the funds, how could someone who spent years behind bars possibly do it?”

Lucas remained silent, his face calm even as the words sank in, reminding him of the years he wasted in prison for Maya.

Then one of the tech experts stepped even closer, his lips curling with irritation as he studied Lucas more carefully.

“Do you even understand what you’re standing next to?” the man asked sharply. “Do you have any idea how much money we are talking about here?”

Lucas said nothing.

Another tech expert let out a low laugh. “Look at him,” he said, shaking his head. “He can barely stand straight, and he thinks he can solve a problem we’ve been working on for hours.”

The first man folded his arms. “Do you know how many security layers protect a wallet like this?” he continued. “Do you even understand how many systems, firewalls, and private keys are involved?”

Lucas opened his mouth slightly, then closed it again, realizing there was nothing he could say that would matter.

“You don’t,” the man said immediately. “Because if you did, you wouldn’t be standing here embarrassing yourself.”

Lucas felt his face grow hot, but he remained silent.

“You probably don’t even own a laptop,” the other man continued cruelly. “You probably don’t know the difference between a wallet and an email.”

The second man laughed again. “He probably thinks hacking means guessing a password.”

The daughter shifted uncomfortably where she stood, but she did not stop them.

The first tech expert leaned in slightly towards Lucas, lowering his voice with clear disgust. “This is real work,” he said slowly. “Work done by people who studied, trained, and earned their place. Not people who go about picking pockets for a living and get sent to prison.”

Lucas did not move. He stood still, letting the words sink deep into his chest.

He did not respond.