**Chapter Four: Hidden Names, Dangerous Games**
---
Jayden stared at the message again.
**"We know who you are. You're not the only secret child of a billionaire. Watch your back."**
The screen dimmed, but the words were burned into his mind.
He paced across the rooftop slowly, processing every possible angle. Was this a threat? A warning? A prank? Or worse… was someone watching him?
He quickly scrolled through the number. No contact saved. Untraceable digits. The kind of number that vanished the moment it was used.
He typed back:
**"Who are you?"**
Message failed to deliver. Number disconnected.
His heart thumped harder now, not out of fear—but readiness.
If he was being hunted, he would no longer walk through life like prey.
---
**Back at School – The Tension Builds**
At Eastview High, things were changing.
Jayden noticed it in the whispers. The sideways glances. The way a group of seniors suddenly stopped talking when he entered a room.
There was even a rumor circulating among the school elite:
> "There's a rich heir pretending to be broke."
He kept his expression calm, but inside, anxiety rolled like thunder.
Sasha had grown colder. She still watched him when she thought he wasn't looking. Brandon, on the other hand, now gave him strange, forced smiles. Almost… respectful.
Then one day, a strange thing happened.
A student named **Leo**, who Jayden barely knew, walked up to him in the hallway.
"You're not the only one hiding," Leo whispered.
Before Jayden could ask what he meant, Leo walked away and disappeared into the crowd.
---
**A Family Dinner… and Fire**
That evening, Richard Lexington sat at the long mahogany dinner table, swirling red wine in a crystal glass. Jayden sat at the opposite end, staring at a grilled salmon he didn't want to eat.
"You're learning quickly," Richard said. "The reports from the foundation say you've managed to move three million in donations without drawing attention."
"I wasn't doing it to impress you."
"Good. Impressing me is pointless."
Jayden looked up. "Then why am I here?"
Richard's eyes glinted. "Because my name opens doors. But it also opens graves. You're not the only Lexington in the world. And some of them… want it all."
He leaned forward. "You're not in danger because you're poor. You're in danger because now, you're powerful."
Jayden didn't reply.
Richard tapped the rim of his glass. "We'll talk inheritance soon. But first, I want to see how you handle enemies."
---
**A Mysterious Invitation**
The next morning, Jayden found a white envelope in his locker.
No name. Just a symbol—two snakes wrapped around a crown.
Inside was a card.
**"Midnight. Abandoned church off Ngong Road. Come alone. Or you'll regret it."**
He showed it to no one. But his instincts said this wasn't just about threats. This was about secrets. About power.
He skipped his last class and left school early, blending in with the city's noise.
---
**Midnight – The Abandoned Church**
Jayden arrived just before twelve. The old church was falling apart—roof caved in, stained glass shattered, and graffiti layered like war paint. The moonlight cast eerie shadows through the ruins.
He walked inside slowly, heart steady, eyes sharp.
Then he saw them.
Four figures, all boys—teenagers like him—standing around a candle-lit circle on the old altar.
One stepped forward. It was **Leo**.
"I knew you'd come," Leo said.
"What is this?" Jayden asked.
"We're the children of secrets," Leo replied. "The ones they hide. The ones they train in shadows."
Jayden frowned. "You mean… there are more like me?"
Leo nodded. "We all come from wealth. But we were raised in dust. We're not meant to inherit money. We're meant to inherit control."
Jayden didn't answer.
Leo continued. "The truth is… this city is run by people who fear weakness. You're different. You have the heart of the streets, but the blood of power. That makes you dangerous."
"Why did you call me here?"
Leo stepped closer. "To warn you. Someone wants you dead. Not just out of the way—*dead.*"
Jayden felt the chill crawl up his back. "Who?"
Leo hesitated. "A name you've heard. But one you won't believe."
Jayden's eyes narrowed. "Tell me."
Leo looked him straight in the eyes.
"Brandon."
---
**A Trap Unfolding**
Jayden left the church with his mind spinning. Could it be true? Brandon was wealthy, arrogant, entitled—but a killer?
Still, the pieces were starting to click.
Brandon came from one of Nairobi's powerful families—the Macharias. Whispers of political dealings, shadow businesses, and unsolved scandals followed them.
And Sasha… had been his pawn all along.
Jayden knew he couldn't move recklessly. So he started watching. Listening. Gathering.
And he found out one thing that made his blood run cold:
Brandon's father and Richard Lexington had once been partners… until a betrayal tore them apart. The Macharias had lost everything.
And now, Jayden was Richard's heir.
A living target.
---
**Danger at the Doorstep**
It came on a Thursday.
Jayden was walking home from school—on foot, like always—when a motorbike pulled up beside him. Two men. No plates.
He started walking faster.
Then faster.
They accelerated beside him.
One reached for something under his jacket.
Jayden darted into an alley.
The men followed.
But Jayden wasn't the same boy they mocked weeks ago.
He dropped his bag, ran straight for the broken wall ahead, and vaulted over it like a trained athlete.
He disappeared into the maze of backstreets.
Breathing hard, heart pounding, he took a long detour and made it back to the Lexington mansion.
The men were gone.
But the message was clear.
They were getting bold.
---
**The Circle Begins to Close**
Back at school, Jayden confronted Leo.
"You were right," he said. "They're after me."
Leo didn't flinch. "They won't stop until you're either one of them… or you're nothing."
"What about you?" Jayden asked. "Which one are you?"
Leo smiled bitterly. "I'm still deciding."
---
**The Last Conversation with Sasha**
Sasha cornered Jayden by the staircase one afternoon, her eyes wide with frustration.
"Why are you so cold to me?" she asked. "What happened to you?"
Jayden met her gaze, calm. "Nothing happened. You showed me who you are."
Tears welled in her eyes. "I was wrong. I know that now. I didn't know what I wanted."
Jayden's voice was steady. "You wanted someone with a car. Now you want someone with a future."
He leaned in, his words like ice.
"But you don't want *me*. You want *what I became.* And you lost that right the moment you chose image over heart."
She whispered, "I still love you."
He smiled. "Then love me from afar."
And he walked away.
---
**The Closing Scene**
That night, Richard summoned him to the study.
"You're bleeding from your past, and hunted for your future," he said.
"What do I do?"
Richard looked at him with rare softness.
"You become everything they fear."
Jayden sat down, fists clenched.
From a poor student to a secret heir. From love to betrayal. From quiet to chaos.
Now, his war had begun.
Not for money.
Not for revenge.
But for **control**.
**End of Chapter Four**