The clock was ticking down. Just six days until Ridgefall's most anticipated event—the Couples Prom & Billionaire Family Ball. But beneath the glittering buzz of excitement, secrets and rivalries brewed like a storm waiting to explode.
---
Ochieng stood alone beneath the cherry blossom tree where Maggy had once waited for him with a sketchbook and a soft smile. Now, only silence filled the air, except for the distant giggles and clinking glasses from nearby secret parties.
His phone buzzed.
A message from an unknown number:
"Be careful who you dance with. Not every queen wears a crown. – V"
He didn't have to guess. Vivienne was planning something. And she wasn't the only one.
---
Livia Santiago (21) and her twin brother Leonardo Santiago (21) arrived in Ridgefall driving a custom white Rolls-Royce Phantom. Children of the infamous tech mogul, Maurizio Santiago, they had been raised in Monaco but were sent to Ridgefall for "discipline."
Livia had a dark beauty—hazel eyes with an intoxicating smirk and a wild temper. Leonardo, a sleek charmer, was already rumored to be the next heir to a secret arms empire.
"They say Ochieng runs this school," Livia said, pulling off her sunglasses. "Let's see if he can handle me."
---
Unbeknownst to the rest of the campus, the elite students held secret competitions beneath the school gym—coded as The Pulse. A hybrid of business presentations, street fighting, fashion duels, and tech pitches, it was where reputations were made or destroyed.
Tonight's challenge: Heir's Poker Night
Buy-in: 100K.
Winner gets influence over prom votes.
Ochieng walked in, black suit, expression unreadable. Across from him sat:
Vivienne, wearing a slitted emerald gown, sipping wine like poison.
Jared, throwing poker chips with a grin.
Livia Santiago, watching Ochieng like a new obsession.
Lucian, mysterious and silent but not without purpose.
One wrong move, and reputations would burn.
---
Professor Margo (32), known for her wit and forbidden beauty, was grading papers when Principal Owanda entered.
"You're on the prom chaperone list," he said.
She raised an eyebrow. "With Ochieng in the crowd? And Clara pretending to be a parent to someone else's kid?"
Owanda laughed. "Don't forget, the Santiago twins donated two private helicopters."
"I smell a storm," she whispered.
---
Livia stood topless on the balcony, letting the moonlight kiss her skin. Leonardo leaned beside her.
"Do you like him?" Leo asked.
"Ochieng?" she smirked. "I want to ruin him first. Then maybe kiss him."
---
Zahra cried silently in the library, her heart shattered from seeing Ochieng laugh with Vivienne earlier. From the shadows, someone watched her—Chris, the quietly brilliant law student who had always loved her from afar.
He stepped forward but paused. He wasn't enough—not yet.
---
All students received it. But Ochieng's was different.
Tied with black silk, sealed with a blood-red insignia.
Inside, the card read: