The invitation cards glittered like gold.
White linen envelopes sealed with silver wax. Hand-delivered to the elites. The school tried to downplay the scale of the event, branding it as "a celebration of resilience."
But everyone knew.
The Crest Ball wasn't about celebration.
It was a cover-up.
An elegant distraction.
---
Amara stood in front of her mirror, adjusting the dark emerald fabric clinging to her curves. A slit ran high along one leg, revealing just enough to be considered inappropriate by school standards. Her neck bore no jewelry.
She didn't need it.
Her name was the ornament.
Toni sat on her bed, brushing a shimmer over her collarbone. Her gown, a silky bronze, caught light like fire.
"You know if we do this," Toni said, "we might not get out."
Amara met her gaze through the mirror. "Then we make sure we don't go down alone."
Toni smirked. "Say less."
---
Elsewhere, Adrian dressed in silence. His black tuxedo was flawless. The gold lion cufflinks which was a gift from his father glinted as he fastened them.
He wasn't going to the ball as a date.
He was going as a warning.
What the Crown Room told him yesterday still burned in his mind.
"Protect the system, or you're next."
He stared at himself in the mirror. Who was he protecting?
Amara?
Or the empire that bore his last name?
---
The hall was transformed.
From marble to velvet, glass to glitter. The school's rotunda had never looked more royal. Chandeliers gleamed like captive stars.
Security was tight. More than usual. Guests from outside the school...politicians, business tycoons, board members mingled with students too afraid to admit they didn't belong.
And then… the storm entered.
Amara and Toni.
Arm in arm.
Toni smiled with the poise of a royal.
Amara walked like vengeance in heels.
They owned every glance, every whisper. Cameras turned. Teachers stiffened.
And above it all, from the balcony level, Adrian watched them arrive, his expression was unreadable.
He had received a message from Amara earlier:
Watch closely tonight. We're going live.
---
At precisely 9:30 PM, as the orchestra paused and the headmaster's interim speech began, Amara made her move.
She tapped Toni's wrist twice, signal received.
Toni stepped to the side, distracting a faculty member with mock clumsiness.
Amara slipped through the back corridor leading to the media booth.
Inside, a student technician turned when he heard her heels.
"You're not supposed to..."
She showed him a forged pass and a flash of something colder.
The boy backed off.
She inserted the drive into the control unit.
The lights dimmed. The screen behind the stage flickered.
Everyone turned.
And suddenly… the music died.
The footage began.
---
At first, it was glitchy.
Then clearer.
Surveillance clips. Folders. Memos. The hidden structure of Providence.
Every phase of their manipulation.
Hidden cameras in common rooms.
Behavioral charts.
Rankings.
Private evaluations.
Subject files.
Fallon's voice in recordings.
Students stared in frozen silence. Teachers gasped. A few guests walked out. But most remained, too stunned to move.
And then came the final screen.
"Providence Core Candidates:
A. Amara Okonkwo
B. Toni Wuraola
C. Adrian Chukwuma Ikenna Maduako
D. INACTIVE
E. TERMINATED"
Gasps echoed.
All three stood in the room.
All three were here.
---
From the balcony, Adrian's jaw clenched. That final word INACTIVE sent a chill down his spine.
Who was D?
And why did his name appear next to Amara's and Toni's?
He stormed down the steps.
As he reached the floor, a ripple of chaos began.
Some teachers screamed for the footage to stop.
Some students recorded every second.
Then, there was Power cut.... Then, Darkness.
A single spotlight hit the center of the ballroom.
There, stepping into view, was a woman no one expected.
Headmistress Fallon.
Alive.
Draped in black, chin high, eyes blazing.
"I told them," she said, voice calm. "They're not ready."
Students gasped. Someone screamed. The music didn't return.
Fallon raised her hand.
Behind her, two masked figures stood. Neither moved.
One of them was tall, shoulders broad.
The other?
Unmistakable.
The same figure from the Candidate D profile photo Amara found.
Fallon looked straight at Amara.
"You wanted to expose Providence, Miss Okonkwo?" she said smoothly. "You just activated its next phase."
---
End of Chapter 37..... I can't believe we've all gone this far.... If you still here with me, I really appreciate you!
Thank you so very much!