The heavy parchment slipped from Amelia's trembling fingers and fluttered to the marble floor like a cursed butterfly.
Her vision blurred. The cheers of the royal celebration felt like a cruel mockery now—empty, distant echoes mocking her shattered reality.
Her sons… the children she had sacrificed everything for, suffered for, bled for…
Not even his.
Not Ethan Blake's.
Not anyone's…
Born from a scheme she never agreed to, a cruel manipulation buried in contracts and bloodstained deals.
Her knees buckled. The dazzling royal garden spun wildly around her.
Prince Alexander caught her just before she collapsed completely, holding her tightly against his chest.
"Breathe, my Queen," he whispered into her hair, his voice low and calming, but even he couldn't mask the storm raging behind his composed eyes.
Aiden stepped forward, his young face carved from stone, but his clenched fists betrayed his inner turmoil.
Aaron's eyes flashed dangerously as he grabbed the cursed will and ripped it into pieces, the torn fragments scattering like ash across the wind.
"We don't care about this!" Aaron's voice cracked with raw emotion.
"Bloodlines? DNA? What does that change? You raised us, Mother! You built this life with your own hands!"
But Victoria Blake wasn't finished.
With a wicked smirk, she threw another document onto the ground before the stunned crowd.
"This isn't just about who fathered your children," she sneered. "It's about power. About legacy. And legally, without that connection, neither of these boys has any rightful claim to the Blake family fortune—or their place in this royal lineage."
The whispers among the powerful guests grew louder. The vultures circling, sensing a scandal large enough to destroy the legend of Amelia White before their very eyes.
Amelia's head pounded. Her heart ached so deeply she could barely breathe.
Had everything she built… everything she endured… all been for nothing?
But then—
Through the haze of confusion and pain, a soft, determined voice cut through the chaos.
"Mother," Aiden said quietly but firmly, his voice steady despite the storm.
He walked up to the grand stage, turning to face the entire assembly of royals, billionaires, and powerful dignitaries.
Aaron stood beside him, their shoulders squared, their gazes proud and unshakable.
Aaron's voice rang out next, strong and clear.
"Listen well, everyone. We don't need the Blake name. We don't need their blood or their legacy."
Aiden took over, his piercing gaze sweeping across the crowd.
"We carry the name White. That is the only name we're proud of. And it's the name of a woman stronger than any man standing here today."
The entire crowd fell into stunned silence.
Aaron stepped forward, pulling out a small black box.
With a dramatic click, he opened it to reveal two new, gleaming rings—each engraved with the name White in exquisite calligraphy.
In a symbolic gesture before the entire world, Aiden and Aaron slipped the rings onto their own fingers.
"Today, we publicly and permanently renounce the Blake name," Aiden declared.
"From this day forward, we are Aiden White and Aaron White."
A roar of approval erupted from the crowd.
The scandal that was meant to destroy Amelia became the moment her legend became immortal.
Amelia, still trembling, felt tears fall freely down her cheeks—but this time, they were tears of indescribable pride.
She rose slowly, her eyes meeting Victoria's pale, furious face.
In that moment, Amelia was no longer just a Queen.
She was an Empress—unshakable, untouchable.
Her voice rang out clear and final.
"Legacies aren't written by bloodlines… they're written by the lives we choose to live and the love we give. And today, the name Blake dies. But the name White… will reign forever."