Alexandra's POV
"It's your turn to hurt."
That sentence echoed in my head as I stood outside the steel-and-glass tower that once belonged to him. I hadn't planned on coming back here so soon, not after what I discovered in the letters locked away in my mother's old suitcase. But now that the truth was out—about my identity, about the betrayal that split my heart into a thousand shards—I couldn't afford to stay hidden any longer.
They thought they had buried me in silence. Instead, they planted the seeds of my resurrection.
My heels clicked sharply against the marble floors as I entered the lobby. The receptionist gave me a confused smile, clearly unsure how someone who looked like a ghost from the past could stride in with the presence of a queen. I didn't bother to announce myself. I was expected, whether they liked it or not.
As the elevator rose, so did my pulse. Each floor passed like a ticking bomb counting down to impact. I remembered what it felt like to stand beside him here—naively in love, thinking I had finally found my place in the world. Now, I was returning not as the girl who once begged for his love, but as the woman ready to make him and everyone who hurt me regret their every breath.
The doors opened.
He was there. Atlas.
Sitting at the head of a long, sleek conference table, surrounded by board members and smug advisors. His expression faltered the moment he saw me. Shock, regret, something like fear—all flickered through his eyes. I almost pitied him.
Almost.
"Miss..." One of the executives started to speak.
"Don't. I'm not here for you," I said, eyes locked on Atlas. "I'm here to claim what's mine."
He stood, his voice low. "You shouldn't be here."
"That's where you're wrong. I should've been here years ago, before I let love blind me. But now I see everything. The forged documents, the fake scandal, your secret meetings with my uncle."
His jaw tightened. "You don't understand."
"I understand everything. You betrayed me to save your empire. You married someone else to protect a lie. And you sold me out to the very people who killed my mother."
A gasp rippled across the room. That was the part no one knew. That he was part of the cover-up.
He reached for me, but I stepped back. "Don't touch me. I've come for answers. And when I'm done, I'll decide if your empire burns."
Outside the building, a black SUV waited. Inside it sat the man who had helped me piece the puzzle together. The only one who had nothing to gain by standing by me—Eli.
He rolled down the window as I approached. "Did he confess?"
"Not yet. But he will."
"Are you ready to go all the way with this?"
I looked back at the tower. "He destroyed my life to protect his lie. It's time I do the same—to protect my truth."
As we drove away, I stared at my reflection in the glass. For a long time, I didn't recognize the woman I'd become. But now? Now I saw her clearly.
The daughter of a woman silenced.
The heiress of a truth buried beneath greed and betrayal.
And a queen with vengeance in her blood.
What I didn't know then was this: The worst betrayal was still to come.
Because just two days later, I would discover the name of the person who had planned it all.
And it wasn't Atlas.
It was someone much, much closer to me.
Someone whose blood I shared.
Run. Hide. Don't turn back.
But my legs didn't listen. I stumbled through the blood-streaked hallway, every flicker of light above me trembling like it, too, was afraid. My breathing was ragged, my throat dry and raw from the scream I hadn't realized I'd let out. Ethan's voice echoed behind me—shouting my name—but I couldn't stop. Not after what I saw.
Adrian. My anchor. My storm. Collapsing under the weight of Lucien's shadow, like a marionette with its strings cut. And Lucien? He hadn't even broken a sweat.
I pressed myself into a narrow stairwell, gripping the cold railing for balance. My palm smeared blood—Adrian's or mine, I wasn't sure. But the image wouldn't leave my head: the way Lucien had moved through the chaos, untouched, unbothered. How he looked at me. Like he'd been waiting.
I leaned against the wall and slid to the floor, swallowing the sob crawling up my throat. I could feel it now—this invisible thread inside me tightening. Pulling.
"You felt it too," Lucien had said.
Yes. Yes, I had. And that terrified me.
I didn't know how long I sat there, knees drawn to my chest, body trembling. But I knew when he found me.
"Alexandra." Ethan's voice broke through the static in my head.
I didn't look up. "Is he dead?"
He didn't answer right away, and that silence sliced deeper than any blade.
"I don't know," he finally said. "He's breathing. Barely."
I closed my eyes, heart splintering. Adrian wasn't supposed to fall. Not like that. Not to him.
"He wasn't even trying, Ethan," I whispered. "Lucien... he's stronger than both of you, isn't he?"
"Yes."
His honesty hurt more than lies ever could.
"I thought I was ready," I said. "I thought I could be queen. That I could take control of my own fate. But now—"
"You're still ready," he interrupted, voice low and firm. "This is just the beginning."
I finally looked up, meeting his eyes. There was a storm there—old, tired, but burning.
He knelt in front of me, brushing a thumb across my cheek. "You don't have to fight this alone."
My breath hitched. "You said loving me would destroy us."
"I lied."
There it was. The truth. Bitter and warm all at once.
"Ethan—"
"I can't stay away anymore. I tried. I thought it was the only way to protect you. But Lucien doesn't play by the rules. And if he's coming for you, then I won't be the one who stands back and watches."
Tears blurred my vision. For a moment, I wanted to believe. To lean into the heat of his promise.
But I'd heard this before—from another man with fire in his eyes.
"You said that once," I whispered. "The day you rejected me."
He flinched. "I regret that every day."
Before I could reply, a tremor shook the floor beneath us. Light fixtures burst overhead. A howl—deep, ancient—ripped through the air.
We both froze.
"What was that?" I asked, pulse racing.
Ethan stood, every muscle tense. "Trouble."
The air shimmered, charged with something old and cruel. Then I felt it—his presence. Lucien. He wasn't done.
"Stay behind me," Ethan said, shifting into his Alpha stance.
"No."
He turned, eyes widening as I stood beside him.
"I'm not running anymore," I said. "If he wants me, he'll have to earn it."
The next instant, the door exploded off its hinges—and Lucien stepped through the smoke like a nightmare made flesh.
He wasn't alone.
A woman walked beside him—her hair black as a starless sky, her gaze fixed on me like she knew everything I'd ever feared. And in her hand?