> "There are places even memory dares not go. But we? We go anyway."
— Excerpt from Eliora's hidden journal, Page 42
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🕯 Sharon's Disappearance
Jayden didn't realize Sharon was missing until breakfast.
Her seat — always neatly aligned in the prefects' row — was empty. Her name wasn't called at roll. And worst of all?
No one mentioned it.
Not the staff.
Not the students.
Not even the girl who usually borrowed her extra pen.
Jayden's chest tightened as he scanned the dining hall again, willing her to appear. But all he found were eyes too quiet, voices too careful.
He pushed away his tray and stormed out.
Something was wrong.
Again.
---
📁 The Tape Kelechi Left Behind
Zuri found the envelope tucked under her dorm mattress.
No name. Just the symbol: a circle with a single vertical line through it — the same mark Sharon had once scribbled in the margins of a confiscated note.
Inside: a cassette tape. Old school. Almost too old for the tech on campus.
She tracked down a portable recorder in the music room and locked herself in a storage closet.
She pressed play.
> "They don't erase you all at once."
"First they erase the whispers."
"Then your version of the story."
"Then the records."
"And finally… you."
"…But if you're hearing this, it means she made them scared again."
Zuri hit pause, heart pounding.
She rewound.
Played it again.
She didn't cry until the end of the tape — when Kelechi's voice broke.
> "She made them remember. Don't let them forget again."
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🎤 Reina's Secret Broadcast
At exactly 3:07 p.m., every screen flickered.
The library. The cafeteria. The labs. Even the counselor's waiting room.
The school's digital network was hijacked.
Then Reina's voice came through — not live, but clear.
> "Her name was Eliora."
The screen lit up with images: photos of Eliora in class, laughing in debate club, walking alone under moonlight. Then the footage Ugo had recovered — the chair, the silent scream, the figures in suits.
> "She didn't run away. She didn't break a rule. She was taken. Because she knew too much."
Gasps filled every room.
> "You were lied to."
The transmission ended with a black screen and one word in bold red text:
> REMEMBER.
In the silence that followed, no one moved.
Not even the teachers.
---
🧬 Bianca's Stand
Bianca knew it was over when the headmistress called her into the office and shut the door.
"I know you were involved."
Bianca met her gaze. "So?"
"You're done here."
Bianca didn't flinch. "Good."
She dropped a drive on the desk. "That contains everything. Test files. Project R. The falsified exit reports. Even the memory wipe protocols."
"Why?"
Bianca stood, tall and unafraid. "Because it's time someone chose differently."
"Do you think this changes anything?"
Bianca smiled. "No. I think it exposes everything."
Then she walked out, slow and deliberate — no longer a red-band, no longer bound by silence.
Just… Bianca.
---
📌 End of Chapter Twenty-Eight
> The lies are cracking. The truth is spreading. And those who orchestrated it all? They're losing control.
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🔜 Coming Up in Chapter Twenty-Nine: Restoration Day
– Jayden leads a sit-in.
– Reina finds Eliora's last letter — one she never sent.
– A vote is held: shut the school down or take it back.