The invitation was sealed in obsidian wax and delivered by a man with no tongue.
A banquet like no other.
Hosted once every ten years by the unseen trillionaire family — the Noxfords.
Location: Crimson Vale, a city rumored to disappear from maps every full moon.
Only 88 names were listed.
Ochieng's name was 1st.
Maggy's — not at all.
But Euphoria?
She was number 7.
A number reserved for the "Chosen Blood."
The banquet began with a strange toast:
> "To the one whose bloodline was never meant to breathe…"
The guests laughed. Except Ochieng. He knew.
They were talking about him.
--
Back in Velvet Creek, Maggy watched a livestream of the banquet from her dorm.
Her face blank.
Her heart, molten.
She stood and tossed a black envelope into the fire — an old letter her father wrote, telling her never to trust Euphoria.
But the fire spat it back.
Words glowed in crimson:
> "If one sister is truth, the other is pure illusion."
She turned slowly.
Euphoria stood behind her.
> "You were never meant to have it all," Euphoria whispered.
"Not the love… not the legacy… and certainly not Ochieng."
They fought.
Blood was drawn.
A mirror shattered.
The room smelled like lavender and war.
By the end, only one walked out.
Maggy.
But her tears told another story.
---
At the banquet, Ochieng faced an old ghost.
Veronica Creed — 24, former class president turned underworld lawyer, known for smiling while sentencing men to death.
She handed him a case file.
Inside?
Photos of Maggy kissing Tobias Drex — the same boy Euphoria was using as bait.
> "It's fake," he whispered.
> "Or maybe it's your reality," Veronica replied.
"The game has changed, my prince. Love is now a weapon."
Ochieng left the table without a word.
But his knuckles were bleeding from how tightly he held the case.
---
Later that night, in a secluded vineyard of the Vale, Ochieng met with a girl dressed in nothing but shadows and perfume.
Soraya Vex — 22, heiress of an oil empire, known for having no known photos, no past, and a scar that ran from her back to her ribs.
She lit a gold cigarette.
> "You want revenge, love, or legacy?" she asked.
> "Can I have all three?" he said, voice cracking.
She smiled like the devil.
> "Then sign."
He did.
With his own blood.
---