At the core of Emerald City's secret economy lay an untraceable system—The Black Room. A place where power wasn't earned. It was taken, traded, and sealed with blood.
Tonight, Jayden Ochieng was summoned.
He entered wearing a black coat embroidered with silver patterns only known to the Four Founding Families. Around him, twelve figures stood cloaked.
A woman stepped forward—Lady Saphira Delacroix, once a lover of his late father, now the Head of the Shadow Bank.
"Sign this," she said, holding out a crimson-dipped pen.
Jayden glanced at the contract:
> In exchange for full recognition as the Ochieng Heir, Jayden shall cut ties with personal interests, especially female attachments, until the War of Inheritance is concluded.
He smirked.
"What if I refuse?"
"Then your name dies with you."
Jayden pricked his finger, signed Jayden Ochieng, and said:
"But I never agreed to follow the rules."
The room fell silent.
---
Meanwhile, Maggy found herself being followed. It wasn't paparazzi—it was someone more dangerous.
Agent Reed, a rogue intelligence officer hired by one of Jayden's rival families, approached her on campus pretending to be a student.
"You're quite close to Jayden," he said with a smirk. "Tell me, how much do you know about the night of the Crystal Fire?"
She froze.
That fire had killed her older brother—one she never spoke of. And the only survivor from that night… was a boy named Ochieng.
Was Jayden hiding more than his name?
---
Lyka Velour was not just a seductress—she was an assassin trained in psychological warfare. She had three nights to make Jayden forget Maggy.
At a masquerade party hosted at the Glass Palace, Lyka made her move. She lured Jayden to the upper balcony where moonlight touched his face.
"I know you're scared of what you're becoming, Jayden Ochieng," she whispered.
He didn't respond.
She leaned in closer. "So let me be your escape before the world turns you into something… unrecognizable."
Their lips almost touched—
And then, he pulled away.
"No one escapes from what they were born to be."
Lyka stared in surprise.
Then smiled.
"That's what I wanted to hear."
---
On his way back, Jayden spotted a strange figure at the fountain. A girl dressed in white, barefoot, hair dripping as if she had walked out of a lake.
She whispered, "You're not ready for the awakening."
"Who are you?"
She tilted her head. "I'm the reason you were hidden. The reason your father died. And soon, you'll forget Maggy… just like before."
Jayden's eyes widened. "What?"
But she vanished.
---
Back in his room, Jayden found a velvet box on his bed. Inside was a ring—the same ring his father used to wear—and a note in a familiar handwriting.
> "You've made it this far, Jayden Ochieng. But remember:
Not all who call you heir want you alive.
– Tielen."
He turned to the shadows, knowing something had changed.
He wasn't just fighting for his name now.
He was fighting against a destiny that wanted to erase everything he loved.
---