chapter 26 " falls , feasts and fathers "

The sun dipped low over Brentford as the school bell rang for the last time that day. Students poured out of classrooms like a rising tide, buzzing about the upcoming midterm break and the whispers of new scandals.

Tessy packed her books quietly, eyes flicking toward the hallway every so often—half-expecting another confrontation, another explosion. But today… was oddly quiet.

She reached home just after sunset.

The golden gates of the Aluko estate opened slowly as her driver pulled into the marble driveway. Their mansion stood like a miniature palace—white pillars, trimmed hedges, and a koi pond bigger than the Brentford library.

Inside, the aroma of fried rice and grilled chicken filled the air.

Tessy stepped into the grand dining hall where her parents—dressed in matching ivory robes—sat on opposite ends of the long glass table.

“Good evening, Mom. Dad,” she said politely, bowing slightly.

Her father glanced up briefly. “Welcome. You’re early.”

“School closed early,” she said, moving to sit near her mother, who was already dishing her a plate with more food than she could finish.

Her mother smiled faintly. “Eat well. You look thinner.”

Tessy offered a quiet smile, but her mind was elsewhere—on Helena, on Greg, on everything they’d uncovered.

And on what they still didn’t know.

Meanwhile — Helena’s Dorm Room

The bathroom tiles were slick with steam. Helena stood beneath the shower, letting the water beat against her tired skin. Her mind buzzed with everything: the essay, the hidden file, Sophia’s voice...

One wrong step.

Her foot slipped.

There was a sharp crack. Her body hit the tile floor hard, her head smacking the porcelain edge of the tub.

The world went black.

Greg – A Different Address, A Familiar Face

Greg pulled into the driveway of a freshly-built duplex, parked beside a black Jaguar, and stepped out. The new estate his father had built after the Carter mansion burned was sleek and cold—too polished, too perfect.

Inside, his father sat reading the paper by the fireplace, as if nothing had ever gone wrong.

Greg cleared his throat. “You wanted to see me?”

“Always good to check on blood,” his father said without looking up. “Especially when it’s getting... entangled with scandals again.”

Greg’s jaw tightened. “It’s not what you think.”

His father folded the paper, finally meeting his eyes. “It never is.”

Greg’s phone buzzed.

A message from Theo.

Theo: “Helena’s in the hospital. Bathroom accident. It’s bad.”

Greg didn’t wait.

He turned on his heel and bolted back out the door, heart pounding.

Hospital – A Rush of Footsteps

Tessy was just about to lie down when her phone rang.

She answered immediately. “Theo?”

“She’s in the hospital. Head trauma. They’re running tests.”

Tessy didn’t even change out of her slippers. She grabbed her car keys and ran.

Saint Jude’s Hospital – Room 208

Helena lay unconscious, pale against the white bedsheets. A bandage was wrapped around her forehead. Monitors beeped steadily, keeping rhythm with her pulse.

Greg arrived first, breathless, his shirt wrinkled and damp with sweat. He nearly ripped the curtain aside.

“The nurse said she might wake up soon,” Theo said quietly.

Tessy arrived minutes later and immediately began pacing.

“She slipped?” she whispered. “Just like that?”

Greg stared at Helena, his voice low. “Or someone made it look that way.”

Theo frowned. “You think someone—?”

“I don’t know,” Greg interrupted. “But it’s not over. This? It’s a warning.”

Tessy took Helena’s hand and squeezed. “She’s strong. She’ll come back to us.”

Outside the room, the hallway light flickered once… then again.

Watching.

Waiting.

Cliffhanger Ending – Chapter Twenty-Six

On Helena’s bedside table, the nurse had placed her phone and a small folded note found in her bathrobe pocket.

Later that night, the note was quietly slipped into Greg’s hand.

Scrawled in ink:

“They always fall first. Then they forget why they stood at all.”

Greg looked at Helena’s motionless face.

And for the first time in days…

He was truly afraid.

The white hospital room buzzed softly with the sound of machines. Beep. Beep. Beep.

Helena was still unconscious.

Greg sat stiffly in the chair beside her bed, his fingers interlaced, jaw tight. His eyes hadn’t left her face in over an hour.

Theo leaned against the wall, chewing on the edge of a pen cap. “What if this wasn’t an accident?”

Tessy—her hair still slightly damp from the frantic drive—folded her arms tightly. “She slipped in her bathroom, Theo. It’s not always a conspiracy.”

“But it could be,” Greg muttered. “After everything—Tessy being tied up… the threats… the envelope in my locker. Someone’s playing a game. And Helena just became their next move.”

Tessy looked at Helena’s sleeping form. “She was already in the game. We all are.”

Silence filled the room, heavy as the scent of antiseptic.

Then suddenly—

Helena stirred.

Her fingers twitched first.

Then her eyelids fluttered.

Greg jumped to his feet. “Helena?”

Her eyes opened slowly, glassy with confusion. She blinked up at the ceiling, then turned slightly—wincing at the pain in her head.

“Where…?” she rasped.

“You’re in the hospital,” Tessy said gently, rushing to her side. “You slipped in the bathroom.”

Helena’s brows furrowed. “Bathroom?”

Greg nodded. “You hit your head. We were so scared.”

Helena winced again and tried to sit up. Greg gently held her shoulder down.

“Take it easy. You’re safe now.”

But as the pain eased and her memory flickered back, Helena’s expression darkened.

“I remember… I felt dizzy. But… I didn’t trip.”

They all froze.

Greg exchanged a sharp look with Theo.

Tessy whispered, “You think someone drugged you?”

Helena hesitated. “I don’t know. It’s all fuzzy. I was brushing my hair, then everything started spinning…”

Greg clenched his fists. “That’s it. We’re not quitting. Whoever is behind this—they want us scared. They want us gone.”

Helena’s voice was weak but certain. “Then we do the opposite. We dig deeper.”

A nurse entered to check Helena’s vitals, and the group stepped outside to give her space.

In the hallway, Greg turned to Tessy and Theo.

“We’re going back in. Tonight. We’ll comb everything—footage, class records, even past teacher files. If Sophia really was sent away, someone signed it. Someone knows.”

Theo nodded slowly. “What about Bianca?”

Greg’s jaw set like stone. “Bianca’s hiding something. And she’s too loud about hating Helena. That’s either guilt… or a cover-up.”

As the nurse came out to tell them visiting hours were nearly over, Tessy asked quietly, “You think Helena will be okay?”

Greg didn’t answer right away.

He looked back into the room, watching Helena close her eyes against the fluorescent light.

Then he said quietly, “She has to be. She’s the only one who scares them.”

Late That Night – A Shadowed Dorm Room

Back at Brentford, a hooded figure slipped into the girls’ dorm bathroom.

They knelt beside the spot Helena had fallen.

And placed something small under the sink.

A thin glass vial.

Empty.

The figure smiled to themselves, then slid a matchstick across the tiled floor—and left it unlit.

Just a warning.

They weren’t finished.