*Bellingham Tower —12:00am(Exactly Midnight)*
Same rooftop, past midnight. Candles have burned to stubs. The buffet's chaos is half-strangled: chocolate-stained napkins, soda cans with lipstick kisses, and a cluster of empty snack bowls. A mellow lo-fi playlist hums with emotional undercurrents—too quiet, too tender. The city hums below them, full disconnect and latent electricity.
Reintroducing the casts
Tony – stoic, shadowed, heart-rate still racing from truth bombs.
Clara – posture taut, arms crossed over chest, wine glass long abandoned.
Mai – half-lidded eyes, lips curved with mischief and meaning.
Aaron – quiet and jittery, halfway between leaving and staying for the wreckage.
Lisa – silent sentinel, background cleaning, stepping forward only when things go sideways.
12:07 AM — ROUNDS CONTINUES
Mai (lodging her fingertips in the neck of an empty bottle):
"Next round's different. No more cute stuff. Truths only. Double-dare punishments if someone refuses."
Clara (snorts): "Is that… even allowed?"
Mai (shrugs like she's dared the ocean to rise): "It is now."
Aaron's shoulders tighten. Lisa drifts closer, light from her broom glinting like steel.
🔥 ROUND ONE: Mai → Tony
Mai:
"Truth: Have you ever pretended to be okay when you were one decision away from burning everything down?"
Tony's(Kai's) jaw clicks once. He looks up at the blurred skyline, then shifts his gaze to the half-empty bottle in Mai's hand.
Tony (quietly):
"…Every single board meeting this year."
A hush. Even the synth beat in the playlist drops. Clara's nails dig into her arm; Aaron's breath is uneven.
🔥 ROUND TWO: Tony → Clara
Tony (leaning forward):
"Truth: If I disappeared tomorrow, would you actually miss me?"
Clara's gaze is razor-sharp. She smooths her shirt, opens her mouth—then closes it—then drops her arms to her side.
Clara (softly):
"The real one has already disappeared but that depends. Are you asking because you plan to run… or because you want someone to chase you?"
Tony's face is still. His voice quiet and loaded:
Tony:
"Answer the question."
Clara (after a breath):
"Yes. I'd miss you. And I'd hate myself for it. Because slowly, I've started to prefer you to the real one."
Tony stares. The wind presses the remaining candles to flicker.
Tony thought to himself. "Did she love the real Tony???"
🔥 ROUND THREE: Clara → Mai
Clara:
"Truth: What are you really doing here?"
Mai pushes off from the couch, socks sliding on the wooden deck.
Mai (slow smile):
"…Looking for the glitch in your perfect little empire."
Tony's fist curls at his side.
Tony:
"You mean me?"
Mai (tilting her head, glowing):
"No, my darling sweetheart. You're the code. I'm looking for the crash."
🍷 VIBE SHIFT
Heavy silence. Aaron fidgets with his phone.
Aaron:
"Um, Master Tony. I'll just go—"
Clara, with perfect calm:
"Sit."
Mai claps slowly.
Mai:
"No one leaves till the last round. That's the rule."
He sinks back, Lisa's silhouette steady behind him.
🔥 ROUND FOUR: Mai → Aaron
Mai (smirking like a cat):
"Truth: What's one thing you've never said out loud because you know it would ruin everything?"
Aaron's gaze darts to Tony, then Clara.
Aaron (voice almost trembling):
"That I wish I didn't know what I know about Master Tony."
Tony leans forward, pinning Aaron with intensity.
Tony:
"What do you think you know?"
Aaron's lashes flicker.
Aaron (softly):
"Nothing I should say. Not here. Not now. Not while memories are being made."
He turns away, the playlist's crackle filling the silence.
Tony thought to himself. "Does he know more about me....as Kai???? Or does he know I'm a fake?"
🔥 ROUND FIVE: Aaron → Clara
Aaron (quietly):
"Truth: When was the last time you lied to protect someone here?"
Clara closes her eyes briefly.
Clara (voice low):
"Few days ago. I covered for Tony. Again."
Tony's head snaps up. Clara adds:
Clara:
"I shouldn't have. But I did. You pull me in like gravity, and I keep pretending it's physics—not weakness. I don't still understand why!"
Tony rubs his jaw. Lisa clears her throat, unseen brushstrokes across the deck.
🔥 ROUND SIX: Clara → Mai
Clara:
"Truth: Do you actually care about anyone here?"
Mai arches a brow.
Mai:
"I care about outcomes. Emotions make people predictable. I prefer chaos."
Lisa steps into dim candlelight.
Lisa (deadpan):
"That's not a no."
Mai's smile tilts sharper.
Mai:
"Cute, Lisa. Real cute."
🔥 ROUND SEVEN: Mai → Tony
Mai (voice low):
"Truth: What have you wanted to tell Clara for some time?"
Tony closes his eyes, rubs his forehead.
Tony (softly):
"That I wasn't the man she thought I was. That maybe she fell for a mask. And I don't know who I am underneath it anymore."
Clara's hand twitches in her lap.
Clara (steady whisper):
"I didn't fall for anyone, but....Then take it off."
Tony (shaking his head):
"It doesn't come off. That's the problem."
The playlist clicks to the next track, a heart-stringing ribbon of piano.
🔥 ROUND EIGHT: Clara → Aaron
Clara:
"Truth: If you had the chance to walk away from all of this—us, them, the empire—would you?"
Aaron stares ahead. He touches the lip of a glass.
Aaron(answering with great difficulty):
"Yes. But only when I stop believing anything real is possible here."
Mai watches and smiles like she predicted nothing else.
(Is it only me, or has Mai been acting strange????)
🔥 PENULTIMATE ROUND – YOU CAN FEEL THE GRAVITY
Mai → Tony:
"Truth: What's the thing you've never admitted to yourself?"
Tony's eyes go dark. City lights glimmer in his pupils for a long moment.
Tony (barely audible):
"That I fear that… without the mask, there's nothing left. No loyalty, no power, no purpose."
Clara's breath catches. Lisa stands frozen, broom halfway up.
🔥 FINAL ROUND: Lisa → Tony
Lisa (voice breaking):
"Truth: Who was the last person you dreamed about?"
Tony's gaze goes inward. A tear glints in the candle stub's glow.
Tony (barely a whisper):
"…I don't remember the face. Just the feeling. They said my name like they meant it. Like I wasn't broken."
Clara (softly):
"Was it real or imagined?"
Tony (shrugs, lips trembling weakly):
"Doesn't matter. Woke up alone either way."
⚡ AND THEN — THE CUT
Everything goes dark—the mellow playlist dies in mid-verse. The skyline winks half off.
Clara (tense inhale):
"What the hell—?"
Lisa (stepping forward, sweeping the air with a flashlight):
"Security says someone tripped the breaker in the lower vaults."
Tony (straightening):
"Someone's inside Bellingham HQ?"
Mai tilts her head, illuminated by the single beam.
Mai (soft smile):
"Oops. Did the truth just get too real—or too dangerous?"
Far below, a siren wails.
🕵️♀️ POST-POWER CUT CHAOS
Lisa snaps her fingers. Instantly, security guards rush the rooftop elevator.
Security Lead (voice crackling through Tony's phone):
"All clear—You're all secure. Must have been a power surge."
Tony glares at Mai.
Tony:
"'Surge.' Right."
Clara stands, reaching out. Her fingers brush his arm — a silent pact.
Clara (firm):
"Game's over. Sleep's optional."
Mai kneels to scoop stray candle wax into an ash tray.
Mai:
"Who needs sleep when you've just scrubbed all the bullshit off?"
Aaron stands. His legs shaky like he's about to fall.
Lisa:
" Power or no power, nobody's answering that elevator for now."
Aaron nods, collects his jacket and wears it.
✨ EPILOGUE: DAWN PEEKING
Clara and Tony remain, huddled under Mai's neon jacket—forgotten from earlier. They are all still trapped on the rooftop.
Tony:
"Truth or dare?"
Clara rolls her eyes, but she's smiling—a fragile, knowing smile.
Clara (smirking):
"Truth."
He tucks a stray strand of hair behind her ear. His voice is rough from emotion.
Tony:
"Do you still…?"
Clara (leans in):
"Would I still miss you if you disappeared tomorrow?"
He closes the gap, silence full of vocabulary.
Tony (barely):
"Yes."
Clara: Yeah, I definitely would miss you, Kai!
They stay like that as dawn blankets the city. Behind them, the rooftop is littered with broken shells of tonight's confessions—emptied bottles, half-burned candles, secrets exposed. But it wasn't finished!
TO BE CONTINUED…