All Chapters of QUEEN OF THE RUINS: Born to Power. Crowned in blood : Chapter 91 - Chapter 100

KAMARAThe darkness didn't last. The power roared back to life with a violent, electric hum, the neon lights of the suite surging into a blinding purple and red glare. I squinted, the sudden brightness stinging my eyes, but as my vision cleared, I saw the true shape of the nightmare.The silver-haired man was standing now. He was tall with a presence that seemed to swallow the air in the room. I made a move toward the door, my heart screaming Kaela, but Jace’s arm barred my way, pinning me into the shadows of the hallway."Don't," he hissed, his face tight with a terror I’d never seen. "If you walk in there, you’re risking more than your life. You’re risking hers. You’re risking everyone’s. Just leave this to me, Kamara. Stay put.""I am tired of staying still!" I whispered back, my voice trembling with a jagged, irrational heat. "Every time I hide, someone else pays the price. I’m done being pushed down. I’m done waiting for men to decide my fate. I want the truth for myself. I’m go

KamaraBy the time Oscar left the room, the silence he left behind felt heavier than his presence ever had. There was still too much we didn’t know about the Volkovs, too many missing pieces, too many risks, but that didn’t stop the plan from moving forward. Oscar would make a head start tonight. Jace would follow up tomorrow.And me?I felt like I was sinking.The file sat on the small motel desk like it was judging me, its edges sharp under the dim light. I dropped onto the edge of the bed, the thin mattress dipping beneath my weight as I buried my face in my hands. The tears came again, hot, relentless, impossible to hold back.“If only I’d kept my mouth shut,” I choked, my voice muffled against my palms. “I betrayed her, Jace. If I had just stayed in my lane, Kaela wouldn’t be in this situation. She’s already gone through so much, and I just—”My words broke apart.The mattress shifted beside me. Jace sat down, close enough that I could feel the warmth of him even without looking.

KAMARA Morning came, and we had come to a conclusion, one I wasn’t entirely on board with, but we were running out of cards to play. We needed Richard. Returning to the estate was like walking into a graveyard of my childhood. If Jace’s previous visit had been chaotic, this was total annihilation. When we finally stood before him, the man looked like a ghost inhabiting a corpse.My father’s eyes widened, darting between Jace and me, but it was when they landed on Oscar, then Jace, the air truly left his lungs. "You?… Oscar?" my father whispered, his voice cracking like dry parchment."In the flesh, Richard," Oscar replied, his voice devoid of warmth.The explanation followed, a torrent of truth that seemed to physically age my father with every sentence. At some point, he couldn’t believe the things I had done and looked like a dead man even.By the time we finished, he collapsed into a chair, his face buried in his hands as he broke down. The sight of him crying should have mov

KamaraI watched Jace’s face, seeing the way his jaw was locked tight, the way his knuckles were white as he gripped that burner phone. Beside him, my father looked even worse. He had shrunk into his expensive leather chair, his hands over his mouth, looking at me with eyes full of a coward’s regret."No," Jace said, his voice a low, dangerous rumble. He wasn't looking at Richard; he was looking at me. "We aren't doing it. It’s a trap, Kamara. He just wants both of you now. He’s going to take the files and he’s going to take you, and we’ll have nothing.""He already has Kaela," I said, my voice sounding strangely calm to my own ears. "If I don't go, she dies. He wasn't joking about the trash bag, Jace. You heard him.""We'll find another way," Jace stepped toward me, his hand reaching out as if to physically stop me from even thinking about it. "Oscar is already mapping the perimeter. We can—""We can what? Hope they don't see us coming?" I let out a sharp, bitter laugh. "This is Ric

KAMARAThe world didn't just tilt; it disintegrated.I stared at the woman standing by the elevator. My mother. The woman I had wept for until my eyes were raw and swollen.Vivian didn't look like a victim of a gruesome accident. She looked like the timid, innocent lady I remembered poised, elegant, and hauntingly alive.She moved toward me, her eyes filling with a soft, motherly warmth. She reached out, her fingers trembling as she went to cup my face.I flinched back so hard I nearly stumbled, my heart hammering against my ribs. "Don't touch me. You're... you're dead. You are a bloody liar.”"Kamara, please," she whispered, her voice cracking. She looked so small, so fragile. "I know this is impossible to understand. I had to make it believable. I had to make it final so Matthias wouldn't come for you. I did it for you, to keep you far away from the fallout.""By abandoning me?" I hissed. "By letting me think I was alone in the world?""I was protecting you!" she cried, her hands