Chapter 499: Room 713 and the Voice in the Dark
The hallway to Room 713 was dead silent. Not even the music from the masquerade below dared reach this far.
Ochieng walked alone, each step echoing louder than thunder in his mind. The walls were lined with portraits of fallen billionaires—legends once worshipped, now forgotten.
He reached the door.
Unlocked.
The room inside was dim. A single crimson lamp flickered over a velvet chaise. In the center of the room stood a woman, her back turned, wrapped in a golden gown that clung like molten sun.
But it wasn't Maggy.
"Close the door, Ochieng," she said.
He recognized the voice.
Sera Vaughn. Age: 24.
Profession: Heiress of the Vaughn Trillionaire Dynasty.
Attitude: Bold, unapologetic, dangerously seductive.
Flaw: Obsessed with turning enemies into lovers.
Looks: Volcanic red curls, amber eyes, and legs carved from sin.
She turned around, holding a necklace in her palm.
"I didn't come to fight," she said.
"I don't care. Where's Maggy?" Ochieng replied coldly.
"You want answers?" she whispered, stepping closer. "Then kiss me. Or kill me."
He didn't flinch.
Instead, he noticed the camera in the chandelier above them.
They were being watched.
---
Back at the ballroom, Jayden intercepted a signal.
Room 713 was a trap—live-streamed to the elite circle known as The Council of Thirteen, a cabal of secret trillionaires who placed bets on people's lives.
Jayden's voice crackled through Ochieng's hidden earpiece.
"Don't touch her. It's a test. If you give in, they own you."
But Ochieng didn't reply.
Instead, he whispered to Sera, "Let them watch."
And then, without warning, he pressed a small needle into her neck.
She gasped. Her body stiffened.
"Sleeping serum," he muttered. "Tell the Council… I don't play games. I end them."
Then he picked up her dropped necklace. It opened to reveal something terrifying.
A photo. Of himself.
As a baby.
In the arms of Mirabelle Thorn.
---
Meanwhile, Maggy was tied to a chair inside an abandoned planetarium across the city.
Mirabelle stood before her, smirking. "He's too strong to break. But love… love is his only crack."
Maggy spat blood.
"You think you can use me?"
Mirabelle bent down and whispered:
"I already did."
She revealed a file. Maggy's real lineage.
A daughter of the Feranti Syndicate—enemies of the Hidden Heir bloodline. A planted spy… that fell in love.
But the cruelest part?
Maggy didn't know.
---
Back in Aurellia, Ochieng finally pieced it all together.
The gala, the alliances, the Council, the women—every piece was engineered to either seduce or break him.
He opened his phone.
Dialed one number.
"Activate Protocol Eclipse," he said.
All across the city, secret agents in disguise removed their masks.
Loyal to Ochieng.
Fireworks exploded outside the gala.
Only they weren't fireworks.
Explosions.
Windows shattered.
Screams rose like a symphony of chaos.
---
As Ochieng stepped out of Room 713, someone blocked his path.
A boy.
Sixteen years old.
Eyes glowing like emerald fire.
"You're not the only heir," he said.
Ochieng narrowed his eyes.
"And you are?"
The boy grinned. "Your half-brother. And the next mistake your enemies made."
---