Chapter 535: Masks, Mirrors, and Midnight Lies
"When the mask fits too well, you forget who you are underneath."
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The ballroom glistened like a scene from a dream. Gold chandeliers rained soft light across masked students dressed like nobles and nightmares. Every entrance echoed with gasps. Everyone wanted to be seen. But some came to remain invisible.
Jayden Ochieng arrived last.
Black and gold tuxedo. No mask.
His silence was the loudest statement of the night.
Selina clung to his arm like royalty. But Maggy… stood by the glass balcony alone, wearing a crimson gown that shimmered like spilled wine, her mask shaped like a phoenix's wings.
Their eyes met once—just once—and that was enough.
Enough for the cameras.
Enough for Elvira.
She was already backstage, planting the first bombshell of the evening.
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Tielen, dressed as a silent knight, entered the staff-only hallway. He had seen something. A strange flicker in the camera system earlier. Someone was tapping into the school's server through the ballroom feed.
He followed it. Found a door labeled: "Archives – Do Not Enter."
Inside, a projector played footage.
Jayden, five years ago. Barefoot. Fighting two gangsters. Bleeding. Protecting Elvira.
Behind the screen stood Elvira herself. Red silk gown. Diamond blade tucked into her heel.
"I made you," she whispered. "Now I'll unmake you."
She turned to Tielen, who had already placed a tracker on her dress.
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Naomi called for attention.
"Ladies and gentlemen… The Royal Dance begins now!"
Couples paired. Music swelled.
Jayden offered Selina his hand. She took it. But halfway through the waltz… he broke the rhythm.
Walked off the floor.
Approached Maggy.
"Dance with me," he said.
"No," she whispered. "You're someone else now."
"I'm still me."
"No, Jayden… You're Jayden Ochieng now."
He froze.
"How do you know that name?"
She stared at him through her mask. "Because I saw the file. The adoption records. The night your father died… wasn't an accident."
And then a spotlight cut through the ceiling.
Elvira's voice came over the speakers.
"Shall we talk about what really happened, Jayden Omondi?"
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The screens lit up.
Pictures of Jayden's past flashed like lightning:
A younger Jayden in a bloodied hoodie.
His father's ruined car.
Footage of a mysterious woman handing a baby to the Ochieng family.
Then the bomb:
> "Jayden is not a true Ochieng by blood."
> "The real heir was hidden. Replaced. And the lie built a prince."
Gasps filled the room. Eyes turned. Phones recorded.
Selina fainted.
The Chancellor stood.
Jayden stood still.
Until his voice, cold and clear, echoed:
"I am Jayden Ochieng. Not because I was born into it… but because I earned it."
Then he looked at Maggy.
"And if anyone wants to take it from me… they'll have to go through every secret I've buried."
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Maggy ran. Tears hidden under her mask. She needed space.
But outside, under the marble staircase, a shadow waited.
A man in a serpent pin.
Holding a white envelope.
"For Maggy," he said.
She opened it.
Inside was a picture of Jayden.
And a warning:
> "He didn't just replace someone."
> "He erased them."
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