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Chapter 86: Fractures Between Friends
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2025-10-19 03:56:10
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Behind The Mask Chapter 90: A Lie Too Perfect
Zara's POV When I got back home, I drowned myself in research about polygraphs. Every article, every documentary, every late-night forum thread screamed the same thing, scientists don’t believe it works a hundred percent. It’s not magic, it's manipulation.I stumbled across a test of a high-profile criminal on video. He answered every question flawlessly. Then came the final one: “Did you lie during this interview?”“Yes,” he said calmly.The machine agreed.That moment hit me like a slap. He’d lied and trained himself so thoroughly that not even the needles on the polygraph twitched. He didn’t just lie; he believed it. His pulse stayed steady, his breath smooth, his eyes blank but sure.So, I started doing the same. I repeated it over and over until my throat felt raw: “I am Aria Everhart.”I practiced possible questions, answering them with unwavering calm, slipping into her skin like a second soul. I spoke her name in the mirror until it stopped sounding like a mask and started so
Behind The Mask Chapter 89: Jammed Truths
Zara's POV I took a deep breath and dropped the phone. When Sterling called later, I told him work was overwhelming and I needed to spend the weekend buried in it. We'd meet next week. He didn’t push, and I was grateful.But as I laid on my bed staring at the ceiling, the question gnawed at me, what if the test exposes me? What if the machine screams that I am not Aria?Restless, I grabbed my laptop and started searching. Polygraph test. Hundreds of results poured in. I clicked a video. A man sat with wires wrapped around his chest, cuffs on his arm, sensors pressed to his skin. The screen showed his pulse, his breathing, the faintest electrical tremors in his body.I leaned forward. The truth is, the machine doesn’t actually know if you’re lying. It only listens to the body, the racing heartbeat, the hitch in a breath, the surge of sweat on the skin. That’s what betrays you. The examiner reads those spikes on the graph, and in their world, stress means deception.So no, the polygrap
Behind The Mask Chapter 88: The Voice
Zara's POVI opened my eyes, but I couldn’t move. My chest rose and fell, but my body felt like stone, my tongue glued to the roof of my mouth. It wasn’t like sleep paralysis, it was something darker and heavier, like being trapped under ice.‘What’s happening?’ I screamed inside my head.Then a voice answered. ‘Who are you?’My pulse thundered. It was my voice, but not mine. It was coming from inside, echoing like a ghost.‘What? Who’s there?’ I asked.‘How are you here?’ the voice demanded again.A cold pull snatched at my insides, like invisible hands trying to peel me out of my own skin. My vision flickered.“No! No, stop… STOP!” The last word tore from my throat, jagged and loud.I bolted upright in bed, drenched in sweat, my hands trembling. My voice was back, my body was mine, but my heart wouldn’t stop hammering. This had never happened before.Was Aria trying to come back?The thought slashed through me like ice. I had built her life. I had worn her skin. I had deceived every
Behind The Mask Chapter 87: Missed Chances
Zara's POV I returned to Dominic’s place and pushed my body until my muscles screamed. Every punch, every kick, every bead of sweat that hit the mat was me trying to silence the storm in my chest. My lungs burned, my knuckles stung, but I welcomed the ache. I needed the distraction.The irony wasn’t lost on me, I was training with the very man who had become the wedge between Raina and me. Every time his gaze lingered a second too long, I wanted to scream at him, but I bit down hard on the words. Maybe I had been too harsh on Raina, but I know her too well. She’s a lover girl to her core, soft where I’m steel, and I’ve seen her fall too easily, then drown in regret. And the thought of her repeating that mistake with Dominic? It churned my stomach.By the time I dragged myself home, every muscle was trembling. I showered until the water ran cold, threw on an oversized shirt, and forced myself to eat something. The silence of the house pressed in, Cassian was still out. Good. One less
Behind The Mask Chapter 86: Fractures Between Friends
Zara's POV The car hummed softly as it pulled back into Sterling’s driveway. He kissed me goodbye, lingering like he didn’t want to let go, and then stood there with that boyish grin, fascinated as the sleek AI took me away into the night.By the time I got home, I collapsed onto my bed, my lips still tingling, my body still humming with aftershocks. A smile curved across my face. For a fleeting moment, I allowed myself to feel something dangerous, content.After a hot shower, I slipped into bed and since I was in a good mood, I turned on the burner phone. I left it beside me as I opened Aria’s journal, thumbing through her handwriting. Secrets disguised as memories.My other phone buzzed, Sterling. His voice was soft, affectionate, and I said goodnight with a warmth I hadn’t planned for. But the moment I hung up, the burner vibrated. Raina.We were silent for a long beat, the kind of silence that makes your skin prickle. Finally, she spoke.“I’ve been trying to reach you.”“I know.”
Behind The Mask Chapter 85: Riding The City Lights
Zara's POV Sterling’s gaze lingered on me, a small, knowing smile tugging at his lips.“What? Are you surprised?”“Yes,” I admitted, the word slipping out before I could dress it in composure.He set the photographs down, his sigh cutting through the silence. “Cassian is my nephew. I know him, he is wicked, ambitious, and never satisfied. From the moment he came of age and started working, he has wanted to unseat me. He still does. He’s been clawing at my position ever since.”I frowned. “But why? Isn’t he already part of the empire?”“The way our family empire works,” he said, “is through succession from one siblings family to the other. It’s never meant for one person to own everything. Since his father was chairman, I was next. Then, one day, it would pass to Cassian’s child, and then to my grandchild. It’s a cycle meant to keep balance, but Cassian doesn’t want balance. He wants the throne, all of it, forever.”“Oh.” The simplicity of my response felt almost foolish, but the pict
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