The biting cold of the Arctic fortress seeped into her bones, yet Ella Lin barely felt it.
She stood motionless before the glass console, her reflection fractured by the gleaming surface.
In that reflection, she saw a woman who had clawed her way through betrayal, heartbreak, and loss. A woman who had once sworn never to bow to anyone again.
And yet…
Here she was, standing in the very heart of the empire built by the man she hated—no, the man she could never stop loving.
Her fingers trembled as she pressed them to the biometric scanner.
Click.
The heavy black case hissed open.
Inside lay a crown unlike any she had ever seen—gold forged so dark it seemed black under the flickering lights, inlaid with rare obsidian diamonds that shimmered with dangerous beauty.
Beneath it, a single blood-red envelope.
She unfolded it with trembling hands.
"Ella,"
"By the time you read this, you will have conquered everything I once ruled. But the question remains—have you conquered yourself?"
"You spent your life running from my darkness. But love… you were always meant to wear this crown. You were born for this throne. And no matter how far you run, the world will always remember you not as the woman who walked away… but as the queen who stood above it all."
"So tell me, Ella… will you destroy my empire? Or will you sit upon my throne and finish what I started?"
"With all the love a monster can offer—Leon."
Her chest heaved painfully. The tears she'd fought so hard to bury flooded her vision.
Her knees buckled, and for the first time in years, she collapsed—her sobs loud, raw, and unrestrained.
She hated him.
She hated him for loving her so selfishly, for ruining her, for making her heart beat for a man who never knew how to love without destroying everything in his path.
But above all…
She hated herself for still loving him.
Hours seemed to pass as the storm raged outside.
But when she finally rose to her feet, something within her had changed.
No more running.
No more hiding behind the illusion of peace.
She turned to face her sons.
They stood near the doorway, their small faces pale, wide-eyed with confusion and worry.
"Mommy… are we going home now?" the younger twin asked softly.
Ella stepped toward them, crouching down to their level.
"Listen carefully," she began, her voice low but commanding. "We are going to take back everything that was once ours. And we will do it on our terms, not his."
She took their tiny hands into hers, her eyes blazing with newfound purpose.
"Your father built a world meant to control us. But now… we will rise and rule it on our own terms. The Xu legacy ends with me. From this day on, we write our own story."
The twins exchanged a glance, and for the first time, Ella saw it—the fire of the Xu bloodline burning quietly in their young eyes.
They weren't just children anymore.
They were heirs.
To power.
To vengeance.
To a future she would shape with her own hands.