Chapter 23: Unmask the Ghost
Chapter Twenty-Three: Unmask the Ghost
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Jayden always believed that truth was power.
Until truth wore a mask.
Now, to protect his legacy and the people who trust him, he had to do the unthinkable:
Hunt a ghost.
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Switch was no ordinary hacker.
He didn't hack for fame.
He didn't need chaos.
He hacked for erasure—to delete names, rewrite memories, dismantle identity.
He was more than code.
He was ideology.
Jayden stood in the private server vault with Faith and Leo.
"We need to know who he is," Jayden said. "Before he erases who we are."
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Faith pulled up the heat map from the last attack.
"We traced Switch's data burst to three nodes," she said. "One from Egypt. One from Nigeria. And this one…"
She zoomed in.
"Nairobi."
Jayden's eyes narrowed.
"He's here."
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They went dark.
No online surveillance. No cellphones. No digital trail.
Only real eyes, real footsteps.
Jayden activated Protocol Silence—a manual recon mission using three trusted members from the Legacy Guard, each trained in psychological mapping and behavioral tracking.
Their goal: find the source.
Their rule: no contact unless confirmed.
By nightfall, the trail led them to a forgotten underground network beneath the old Nairobi Archives.
A system of tunnels built during the colonial era—sealed off for decades.
Until now.
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Jayden, Leo, and Faith descended in silence.
The tunnel smelled of dust and secrets.
Every echo whispered like it had a name.
They moved deeper—flashlights scanning mold-covered walls and broken steel doors—until they found it.
A locked gate. Freshly welded shut. New security bolts.
Jayden pressed his ear to the cold steel.
Nothing.
Then—click.
The lock disengaged by itself.
The gate creaked open.
A light flickered inside.
And then they saw him.
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Switch.
Standing in the center of the room.
Still masked.
Surrounded by flickering monitors and suspended servers—some stolen, others built from scratch.
Jayden stepped forward.
"I'm here now."
Switch didn't turn. He continued typing.
"You're late."
Jayden held his ground. "Take off the mask."
"No."
"Then I'll take it off for you."
Switch stopped typing. "You want truth, Jayden Lexington?"
Jayden's heart pounded.
Switch slowly reached for the mask…
And pulled it off.
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The face beneath was young.
Too young.
Barely older than Jayden.
Slim, caramel skin. A scar over the right eyebrow. Sharp eyes that had seen too much.
Switch looked him in the eye.
"My name is Ayden. I was born the same week your father erased my family."
Jayden froze.
"You're…?"
"Zuri's brother."
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Faith gasped behind him. Leo stepped closer, hand near his weapon.
Jayden raised a hand. "Wait."
Ayden—Switch—smirked. "You didn't know there were two of us?"
Jayden shook his head.
"She made you the face," Switch continued. "The golden heir. The future."
"And we were the shadows."
He stepped forward.
"You don't deserve the name Lexington."
Jayden stared at him.
"I didn't choose it."
"Exactly," Switch said. "But you wear it. And you defend it. You forgive your father, even after what he did to mine."
Jayden's voice dropped.
"I didn't forgive him. I buried him."
Switch's expression hardened.
"That's not enough."
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Suddenly, alarms blared in Jayden's earpiece.
Faith's voice cracked in panic: "Jayden! Someone just accessed our estate's core vaults. Zuri's inside!"
Jayden's eyes widened.
Switch smirked. "While you chase ghosts, she's rewriting your kingdom."
Jayden moved to rush past—but Switch blocked him.
"You'll have to go through me."
Jayden stepped forward slowly. "Then move."
Switch didn't.
But he didn't draw a weapon either.
Just stared.
"I don't want to kill you, Jayden. I want you to understand. Before the fire comes."
Jayden didn't flinch.
"I already understand. I just don't agree."
Then he moved like lightning.
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Jayden ducked, tackled Switch to the ground, knocked the keyboard flying.
They struggled—grappling, punching.
Switch fought like someone who'd trained in pain.
But Jayden fought like someone who had nothing left to lose.
Leo and Faith burst in, weapons drawn.
Jayden didn't let them fire.
He finally pinned Switch to the ground, hand on his chest.
"Call off Zuri."
Switch didn't move.
Jayden leaned in.
"You said you wanted me to understand. So here it is. I do. I know what my name cost you. And I'll carry it differently because of it."
Switch blinked.
Jayden stood.
"And if you really want justice… then help me stop Zuri before she burns down everything—including you."
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Silence.
Then Switch said the one word no one expected:
"…okay."
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Back at the estate, Zuri had already bypassed two firewalls.
But when she reached the final gate, she stopped.
A new symbol appeared.
A mask. Half silver. Half flame.
Switch's new signature.
Then a single line of text:
> "You're not the only one who learned how to burn."
Zuri's eyes widened.
"Ayden…"
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End of Chapter Twenty-Three