> "You don't destroy power by standing against it.
You destroy it from inside —
While smiling."
---
Sharon woke up the next morning calm. Too calm.
After the setup at the garden, after being watched, tested, threatened — something inside her shifted.
Not fear.
Not panic.
Clarity.
She was done being reactive.
It was time to start feeding the fire herself.
---
🔍 Step One: Watch Them Burn
At breakfast, she sat in her usual spot, watching the table across from her — Bianca, Ikenna, and the remaining loyal Circle members.
Bianca's laugh was louder than usual. Her lipstick darker. Her smile a little too polished.
> She's spiraling, Sharon thought. And trying to control the narrative before it controls her.
When Bianca stood up to leave, Sharon slipped a folded note beneath her abandoned teacup:
> "They're watching you now too."
It was unsigned.
But it would be enough to twist the screw.
---
🐍 Step Two: Ally or Opportunist?
Later that afternoon, Sharon was stopped in the library by a girl most people forgot existed.
Reina Madu — soft-spoken, average grades, never called on in class.
"You left this," she said, holding out a small leather notebook.
Sharon frowned. It wasn't hers.
But inside, on the first page, was written:
> The only way to win is to know what they fear most.
She looked up sharply.
Reina smiled faintly. "That was your sister's."
Sharon's pulse spiked. "You knew Sade?"
"She trusted me once," Reina said, tone unreadable. "She thought I was powerless. Most people do."
Sharon narrowed her eyes. "Why are you helping me?"
Reina tilted her head. "Maybe I want what you want. Or maybe I just enjoy watching queens fall."
> This girl's dangerous, Sharon thought. But maybe I need dangerous.
---
🧨 Step Three: Feed Them a Lie
That evening, Sharon dropped another note — this time in Ikenna's locker.
It read:
> "Bianca gave your name to the staff. Check her files. Then decide whose side you're really on."
It wasn't true.
But it didn't have to be.
---
🥀 Meanwhile…
Zuri caught up with Sharon outside the library, pulling her aside.
"You're playing with matches," she warned. "Someone's going to burn."
Sharon met her gaze.
"Good," she said.
Zuri's face shifted. She'd never seen Sharon like this. Cold. Controlled.
But not broken.
"You're scaring me."
"You should be scared," Sharon said softly. "Because I'm not scared anymore."
---
👤 Final Scene: The Circle Fractures
That night, in the courtyard, Sharon stood hidden near the hedges, watching.
Ikenna confronted Bianca.
Loud voices. Heated whispers. Bianca slapped a folder from his hands, stormed off.
Reina stood across the courtyard in silence, watching too — eyes gleaming like she knew exactly what Sharon had done.
And Damian?
He watched it all from the window above.
Expression unreadable.
But this time… he wasn't interfering.
---
📌 End of Chapter Eleven
> The fire had been lit.
Now Sharon just had to choose who burned first.
---
Up next Chapter Twelve: If You Want to Kill a Queen: