All Chapters of The billionaire's vengeful queen: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The penthouse smelled of orchids, truffle oil, and the metallic tang of coming war.Aurora Ryder stood barefoot on the heated marble, the hem of her crimson silk gown pooling like fresh blood. She’d chosen the dress for its color (Damien once said red made her look “untouchable”), and tonight she needed every inch of confidence that she could get. Ten years of marriage, and she still measured herself against his approval.She checked the dining table for the third time. The wagyu had been flown in from Kobe that morning; the risotto simmered under a silver cloche; the chocolate soufflé waited in the warmer, its dome already beginning to collapse. She’d cooked it herself “no staff tonight she thought to herself”. She wanted him to taste her hands in every bite.The elevator clicked at 9:17 p.m.Damien walked in, loosening his tie with the absent grace of a man who’d never had to wait for anything. His suit cost more than most people’s rent. His eyes “storm-gray, always calculating”look

The elevator didn’t climb; it groaned, cables singing the same three-note they had always hummed since the building was new. Aurora leaned in onto the mirrored wall, hoodie reversed, wet hair dripping on the marble that cost more per square foot than most people’s rent. The keycard sat against her ribs as it burned against her skin; the flash drive in her bra moved with every heartbeat.The elevator stopped at Forty-seven.Doors parted with a tired sigh.Victor Kane waited in a robe the color of dried blood, oxygen hissing from the tank beside his wheelchair. Snow-white hair, parchment skin, storm-gray eyes damien’s eyes, only older locked on the faint curve beneath her hoodie.“You’re late,” he rasped. “And you’re not traveling light.”he said staring down on her stomachAurora’s hand flew to her stomach. “How—”she muttered as if trying to ask him how he knew she was pregnant“Sit.”he said to her but she didn’t. “You knew my mother.”? She said as if asking a question “I loved her.” Hi

3:36 a.m. – Voss PenthouseAurora ran.The everything seemed blurred as she walked through the corridor,barefoot,her hair free falling on her shoulder all messy ,beating louder than the monitors. The nurse tried to stop her, whispering between them something about oxygen saturation and morphine, but Aurora, unable to hear them, pushed open the doors to Victor’s room with the little strength she could gather. On entering the room she was met with the metallic taste in her mouth,a sterile scent which felt final. Victor laid there lifeless on the pillows, skin the color of fading parchment. His chest barely rises. The oxygen mask hung loose at his jaw. When his eyes found her, they lit up but not with life, but with duty.“You… came,” he managed to say while trying to lift his .“I always do,” Aurora said admist sobs exactly the same words she had said to Damien hours ago. “Don’t you dare die before telling me what the hell the ‘blood moon’ means.”she said Victor’s cracked lips curved in

It was 5:12 a.m.somewhere lost in the Adirondacks, three miles off 73,Lila wrestled the SUV down a rutted track that wasn’t even a ghost on Google Maps. Branches scratched the roof like fingernails,She turned off the headlights because dawn was finally rising up,making the surface look violet,Aurora sat in the passenger seat, barefoot, nightgown stiff with dried blood and God knows what else from the birth that hadn’t quite happened yet. A shotgun laid across her lap, the flash drive in the dash port kept vibrating this blue light, it was the only thing in the car that looked calm.“Turn left in fifty yards,” the GPS voicedExcept it wasn’t the usual bored robot lady,It was a kid’s voice ,the voice was young and familiar too,Lila tightened her grip on the wheel. “Tell me that’s not the car talking.”she asked, Aurora not even blinking said it's not the car,The track shrank to nothing more than two frozen ruts,Snow started coming down then big, sloppy flakes that hit the windshield,

11:47 p.m, at the safe House 4B, Jersey CityThe room had the smell of burnt plastic and cheap coffee with one lamp, one table, and three laptops glowing like altars Aurora sat wrapped in a blanket that still carried the scent of the Adirondacks pine needles and gunpowder,Her tummy was touching the edge of the table, thirty-four weeks and counting, every kick now feeling like a countdown,Lila’s fingers flew over the keyboard, green code reflecting in her eyes, “File’s triple-encrypted Whoever might have sent this definitely knew I would be the one opening it,she saidOn the center of the screen was a bold written two words (PROJECT REBIRTH )Damien Ryder,the computer arrow blinked on the screen,Aurora’s voice was rough “Open it.”she told lila,Lila showed hesitation for half a second, then hit ENTER,the screen filled with medical scans, DNA helices, and a live feed showing a time of six hours ago a man was lying on an operating table with his head shaved ,chest split open, gold