> "You hear the truth only when silence breaks."
— Anonymous terminal log
---
📘 The Journal's First Page
They locked themselves in the unused storage behind the music wing — again. Reina stacked old boxes in front of the door, while Jayden stood watch.
Sharon flipped open Mara's journal with trembling fingers.
> "If you're reading this, it means you made it past the surveillance. I hope you're brave enough to finish."
The handwriting was neat, but uneven — sometimes rushed, other times shaky. Each entry felt like it had been written in hiding.
One line stopped Sharon cold:
> "I trusted someone I shouldn't have. He told them everything."
She stared at the words, then read it again. And again.
Jayden leaned in. "What's wrong?"
She shook her head slowly. "Someone close to her sold her out."
---
🧩 The Voice Behind the Wires
Reina pointed to the entry margins. "Look. That same scribbled symbol — the broken chess piece. She kept drawing it next to the same name... 'D'."
"Damian?" Jayden muttered. "Or…"
They looked at each other.
"Dean Rydell?" Reina whispered.
"No," Sharon said. "She would've written his full name. This is someone younger. Someone like us."
Jayden's phone vibrated. A scrambled number. He hesitated, then picked up.
A distorted voice spoke: "You're not alone. Not everyone on the board agrees."
Jayden's face hardened. "Then help us."
"Not yet," the voice replied. "You're being watched. One of you… already slipped."
The call ended.
Reina swore under her breath. "They're dividing us. Making us question everything."
Sharon clenched the journal. "That's the game. That's what Ugo meant. We're pieces."
---
👥 A Board of Puppeteers
Later that day, a list was quietly posted outside the staff office. Ten names.
Sharon's was on it.
So was Reina's.
But not Jayden's.
That was what scared them most.
"Why wasn't I called in?" Jayden muttered, pacing in the corridor near the art block.
"Maybe they don't know how deep you are," Reina offered. "Or maybe they think you're already one of them."
Jayden paused.
The implication hung in the air.
Reina didn't retract it. And Sharon didn't argue.
---
🧬 False Safety, Real Danger
The interviews were held in the basement of the science building — usually reserved for equipment storage. A single folding chair, one light overhead, and a glass wall on one side. The student couldn't see out. But someone could see in.
Sharon sat there now. Calm on the outside. Fire inside.
A board member in a charcoal suit sat across from her, eyes sharp, smile polite.
"We're just asking questions," he said. "Routine."
"Of course," Sharon replied, matching his tone.
"Have you accessed any restricted files recently?"
"No."
"Do you know a student named Mara Ekene?"
Sharon didn't flinch. "Isn't she the one who transferred years ago?"
The man gave a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "You're quick. But you're not invisible."
A beat passed.
Then: "One last question, Sharon."
He leaned forward.
"Do you believe everything the school tells you?"
---
🕸 The Hidden Threat
Reina watched as Sharon returned to their hiding spot that night. Her face was pale, but unreadable.
"What did they ask?" Reina whispered.
Sharon didn't speak at first.
Then: "They know more than they should."
Jayden arrived minutes later — pale, too. "Something's wrong with the files," he said. "That hard drive we hid? Someone tried to wipe it remotely. I caught it just in time."
Reina stared at him. "That means they're inside the network."
"No," he said. "It means someone we know gave them access."
---
💌 The Message
That night, Sharon stayed behind in the library.
She couldn't sleep. Couldn't think straight.
She turned a page in the journal — and something fell out.
A note. Different handwriting. Curled at the edges like it had been hidden for years.
> "If you're reading this, then you're closer than I ever got. Don't trust the girl with the rose-gold locket."
Sharon froze.
There was only one person who wore that.
---
👒 Bianca's Legacy
Bianca.
Perfect. Poised. Untouchable.
But in the journal's last few entries, Mara had circled her name — again and again.
"She was the Board's shadow project," one line read. "But she wasn't always. They groomed her. Changed her."
Sharon's heart beat faster.
Was Bianca part of what happened to Mara?
Or was she what happened to Mara?
---
🧨 Reina's Reckless Play
Reina didn't wait for permission.
While the others huddled in secrecy, she marched to the student council office and slammed her resignation form on the desk.
"I won't be your puppet anymore," she told Bianca directly.
Bianca's expression didn't change. But the two board members behind her shifted. Quiet. Alert.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Bianca asked softly.
Reina's voice didn't shake. "Completely."
Bianca picked up the form, read it, then smiled.
"I accept," she said.
But her eyes promised something darker.
---
🚨 End of Chapter Twenty-One
> Someone is watching. Someone is listening. And someone… is already too far in to escape.
---
🔜 Coming in Chapter Twenty-Two: The Student Who Never Existed
A discovery in the yearbooks leads Sharon to a terrifying truth: one of the students on campus doesn't have a past.
Reina faces the consequences of stepping out of line.
Jayden begins to distance himself — but Sharon notices something's off in his code.
And in the dead of night… the burned chessboard moves.