84
Author: Tianah
last update2025-05-24 00:51:18

Chapter 84

The night air had never felt colder.

As I stepped out of the building, my breath fogging in the moonlight, I had no idea that while I was walking away in search of answers, everything I feared was already being unleashed back at campus.

Damien hadn’t just called to gloat—he had already made his move.

The video started circulating an hour after I left. It wasn’t just a paternity test result. It was a full-blown presentation, cut with precision, laced with venom. Damien had somehow obtained footage of the test, a copy of my birth record, and a slideshow of my moments with the Hayes family, all paired with a damning voiceover:

> “Adrian Hayes? More like Adrian No One. The illegitimate son of a maid, parading around like he’s one of us. How pathetic.”

Within moments, every student, staff member, and even members of the Council had seen it. The message was clear: I was a fraud.

At first, there was silence.

Then came the laughter.

Messages flooded the school forum. Posts, memes,
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  • 85

    Chapter 85I stared at the little window of my room. A stark contrast to the life I had been living in the Hayes mansion. I had stopped going to school for a while now. This semester was supposed to be the time I take out Nathan for everything he has done but I couldn't. Tears welled on my face each time I remembered how I started and how I got to where I was today. I was supposed to live a normal life but not with everything I heard about my father. But he wasn't my real father in actual fact. I looked around the room and nothing had changed. It was still the same way I had left it when I was in the orphanage. A small bed which has been changed to a larger size and also a small wardrobe I had always hid in each time Mother Alisha came looking for me for the morning mass. I let out a sigh and grabbed my phone. I wanted to call Mr Davenport and ask how Zee was faring but the thought of being called different names gnawed at me. I dropped the phone. Maybe I need to stop feeling sorr

  • 84

    Chapter 84The night air had never felt colder.As I stepped out of the building, my breath fogging in the moonlight, I had no idea that while I was walking away in search of answers, everything I feared was already being unleashed back at campus.Damien hadn’t just called to gloat—he had already made his move.The video started circulating an hour after I left. It wasn’t just a paternity test result. It was a full-blown presentation, cut with precision, laced with venom. Damien had somehow obtained footage of the test, a copy of my birth record, and a slideshow of my moments with the Hayes family, all paired with a damning voiceover:> “Adrian Hayes? More like Adrian No One. The illegitimate son of a maid, parading around like he’s one of us. How pathetic.”Within moments, every student, staff member, and even members of the Council had seen it. The message was clear: I was a fraud.At first, there was silence.Then came the laughter.Messages flooded the school forum. Posts, memes,

  • 83

    Chapter 83“ Can I see you for a moment?” Leo said slowly, trying to reach out to me. But I was so engrossed in the little message I was reading that I didn't even know he was calling me.“ Master Adrian,” Leo calls out. Still no reply. My heart skipped a bit when Leo gave me a body push and stretched his neck to catch a glimpse of what I was looking at. “ What are you looking at?” he asked, staring at my face. “ You scared me,” I said, grabbing my phone tightly. “ What is it?” I asked anxiously. I could see Leo’s eyes searching mine. “Ren and Marcus would like to see you.” Leo said slowly, looking at me, And also we need to plan. “ Do you still want to be what you told me about?” Leo asked. “I need some time alone, Leo.” “ Don't be late.” Leo looked at me walking back into the lounge. I felt my face pale. This can't be. Leo made sure and even double-checked. Is this a game? Who sent me this message? I looked at the message again and still didn't believe it. My phone rang,

  • 82

    Chapter 82The air still crackled with the sound of gunfire and betrayal. Smoke coiled in the corners of the warehouse-like whispers of ghosts, and somewhere in the distance, a helicopter’s whir grew louder. I didn’t move. Couldn’t. My legs were numb, not from injury, but from the weight of everything that had just unraveled.Park was dead.The only friend I had, who had once trained me, the one I thought could never be touched, lay still and broken.I crawled over to him, my chest tight. The sight of his lifeless eyes staring into nothing made my stomach twist. I touched his shoulder, gently. “You didn’t deserve this,” I murmured.“He knew,” Marcus said quietly behind me. “He knew it might end this way. He just… didn’t care.”I stared at Park’s face. “He still should’ve lived.”Footsteps echoed again. Mr. Davenport hadn’t left yet. He stood in the arch of the busted entrance, flanked by his black-suited men, one of whom was trying to bandage his bleeding shoulder. He glanced at Park

  • 81

    Chapter 81The bang echoed like thunder.It wasn’t until I felt the heat on my cheek and the sharp sting of something grazing my shoulder that I realized the bullet hadn't been for me—it had been a warning shot, deliberate and taunting.Smoke curled from the muzzle of Nathan’s gun, and he smirked with maddening calm. My body shuddered involuntarily, but I held my ground, one hand pressed against the shallow graze on my arm. Blood trickled slowly down, warm and sticky.Marcus screamed. “Leave him alone!”Nathan turned to him with a mock pout. “Aw, worried about your friend? That’s sweet. Maybe I’ll let you watch him die slowly. But I think you should be worried about yourself. You owe me a lot Marcus and I am not done collecting.” Marcus crawled back into his shell.“Enough!” I roared, the voice that came from my throat unrecognizable. Desperate. Ferocious.Nathan tilted his head, amused, like a predator toying with its prey. “Still trying to play hero?”The flicker of hope I had clun

  • 80

    Chapter 80I felt stupid.Maybe because I could have saved Park's life, or maybe because I watched him die without lifting a muscle. I could have threatened Nathan.Tell him something, maybe.Anything would have worked, and I would have avoided the bloodbath. I looked at his body again, and tears welled in my face.“ You do know you are going to regret all of this, Nathan. You and your father are going to burn in hell!”“Yeah, yeah. I hear that almost every day. The same words on each and every one's tongue.” Nathan laughed.“ You are going to burn in hell, Nathan! Your father is going to die! I am going to kill you, scumbag!” Nathan said, throwing his fist into the air.Jack laughed, seeing his acting prowess.“ But here I am. Standing on my feet, and you are there begging for mercy. And of course, your friends are here on their knees too. You alone can decide their fates. All you need to do is give me the flash drive.”The tension thickened, and I played Leo’s words over and over ag

  • 79

    Chapter 79The words left my mouth before I could stop them.“Yes.”One syllable. Simple. But it sealed the fate of everything that had brought me here.Nathan’s smile widened, cruel and unhinged. He tossed the gun slightly before catching it again, as if it were a toy. “Good,” he said with an exaggerated sense of glee. “Because I’ve been dying to see how far you’re willing to go for your precious little revolution.”Ren raised his head weakly, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. “Adrian… don’t—”“Shut him up,” Nathan ordered without taking his eyes off me.Jack didn’t hesitate. He slammed his foot into Ren’s ribs, sending him sprawling to the ground with a grunt. I clenched my fists, nails digging into my palms as I fought the urge to rush forward.“Let’s make it interesting,” Nathan said, pulling up a sleek metal chair and sitting in it like a king presiding over a sick court. “Since you’re so full of noble intent, let’s see what you choose. You give me the flash drive… a

  • 78

    Chapter 78Leo didn’t answer immediately.The silence stretched in the space between us like a wound. His expression was unreadable, caught somewhere between disappointment and disbelief.Finally, he exhaled and looked at me, not as an ally—but as a father figure forced to confront a choice he never wanted to make.“You sound just like Edwin,” he muttered.I flinched. “No. I’m nothing like him.”“Aren’t you?” He snapped, his voice rising. “You’re talking about power, control, territory—like it’s a game. Like lives don’t hang in the balance.”“I’m talking about survival,” I said through clenched teeth. “He’s taken everything from me. My people are either dead or missing. Marcus, Park… I can’t afford to play nice anymore.”Leo rubbed his face, weariness etched in every line. “Revenge has a price, son. You don’t know it yet, but you will.”“I’m not doing this for revenge.”He looked at me then, sharply. “Then why? Why risk becoming the very monster you’re trying to destroy?”“Because it’

  • 77

    Chapter 77Inside was a flash drive. “This contains recordings. Meetings. Transactions. Documents Sterling never wanted seen. Enough to shake his empire. But you won’t be the only one after it. The moment you walk out of here, he’ll know I’ve picked a side.”“I’ll handle it.”He gave a thin smile. “I hope you’re as strong as you pretend to be. Because from this point on, the game changes. And people will die.”I pocketed the drive. “They’ve already started.”He stood, extending a hand. “Then let the war begin.”Back in the hotel, I locked the door and connected the drive to my laptop. What I saw made my skin crawl—bank records, surveillance footage of Nathan bribing school board officials, even videos of him threatening students and parents alike.One particular video caught my eye: it showed Edwin Sterling, sitting with city officials, discussing plans to tear down the original campus and replace it with a luxury resort. So this was never about education—it was about profit.A knock

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