Chapter 5 - Shadows at St. Michael’sThe night before the wedding was suffocatingly quiet.
I stayed at a private luxury hotel secured entirely by Nikolai’s personal security detail. My mother had tried to visit three times, frantic to regain control over the wedding arrangements, but Nikolai’s guards had turned her away at the lobby doors without hesitation.
She had sent a flurry of text messages instead:
Evelyn, you are ruining your sister's happiness! Julian is depressed! The press is calling Serena a homewrecker! You need to fix this!
I deleted the messages without replying. The girl who used to apologize for existing was officially dead.
At two in the morning, my phone buzzed on the nightstand.
It wasn't my mother. It was an unknown, encrypted number.
I answered it, placing the phone to my ear. "Hello?"
"Evelyn."
Julian’s frantic, erratic voice filled the receiver. He sounded heavily intoxicated, his breathing ragged and uneven.
"Julian?" I frowned, sitting up in bed. "How did you get this number?"
"It doesn't matter!" Julian stammered, panic lacing his words. "Evelyn, listen to me. You can't marry Nikolai tomorrow! You have no idea who he really is! He's a monster! He... he executed two syndicate captains in cold blood last month!"
"And you thought marrying me would make you look brave enough to stand next to him?" I asked coolly.
"Evelyn, please!" Julian begged, his pride entirely shattered. "I made a mistake! Serena... Serena is a nightmare! She's demanding a million-dollar budget for our wedding, she's fighting with my mother, and she doesn't care about the business at all! I want you back, Evelyn. We can leave Chicago tonight! We can go to Paris!"
A cold, mocking smile touched my lips in the dark room.
"Julian," I said softly, my voice dripping with absolute indifference. "You left me standing in a ballroom while holding my sister's hand in my dress. You didn't just break an engagement; you revealed how small you truly are."
"Evelyn—"
"If you ever call this number again," I continued, my tone hardening into pure steel, "I won't tell my father. I will tell my husband. And we both know what Nikolai does to men who bother his wife."
I hung up the phone and blocked the number instantly.
May you like
I laid back against the soft silk pillows, looking out at the rain washing over the city windows. For the first time in my life, I felt no fear, no doubt, and no regret.
I was ready for the throne.
