Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 71 - Chapitre 80

The heavy, suffocating storm clouds over the European Alps mirrored the absolute, devastating wreckage inside Zara's chest.A massive motorcade of armored, midnight black vehicles tore through the freezing rain, ascending a treacherous mountain road. Zara sat entirely numb in the back of the lead vehicle. The terrifying, slow acting poison was completely gone from her veins, but the sheer, agonizing pain in her heart was a million times worse.She stared blankly out the tinted window as the massive, ancient iron gates of the Valerius Estate loomed out of the fog. It wasn't just a mansion; it was a sprawling, centuries old stone fortress. Heavily armed paramilitary guards patrolled the high perimeter walls. It was a fortress built to keep the world out, but to Zara, it was the ultimate, inescapable prison.The motorcade stopped in the sprawling cobblestone courtyard."Welcome home, Your Highness," a completely emotionless guard stated, opening her door.Zara ignored the title. She step

The heavy, suffocating silence of the Valerius Estate was finally broken by the distant, echoing sounds of the arriving global elite.In the highest tower of the stone fortress, Zara stood perfectly still in the center of the wildly opulent bedchamber. The storm outside raged violently against the floor to ceiling glass, matching the absolute, devastating wreckage inside her chest.Spread across the massive four poster bed was her executioner's uniform, a breathtaking, custom-made midnight-blue velvet gown.Duke Cassius's ruthless blackmail echoed on a terrifying, agonizing loop in her mind. If you do not put on that dress and swear your loyalty to me, the federal regulators will seize his empire and throw Lucian Sterling into a black site prison for the rest of his life.Zara closed her icy blue eyes. A single, hot tear slipped down her pale cheek. She remembered Lucian's heavily scarred hands, the deep, feral rumble of his voice when he claimed her in the dark. He had sacrificed his

The obsidian cufflink burned a literal hole in Zara's palm.The chaotic, deafening roar of the ballroom faded into a dull buzz. Her vision narrowed. Lucian was here. Her massive, feral King had actually crossed the ocean. He was somewhere in this freezing stone fortress, hunting in the shadows.A terrifying realization hit her chest like a freight train. If Lucian breached the main floor right now, he would walk straight into a massacre. Duke Cassius had hundreds of heavily armed mercenaries patrolling the perimeter. Lucian only had a ghost squad. She couldn't let her husband start a war until she ripped the power away from her enemies legally.She had to cut the head off the snake. Tonight."Smile, Princess," Cassius muttered, his grip tightening painfully on her waist. He raised his champagne flute toward a group of wealthy oil barons.Zara forced a stiff, dead eyed smile. Her brain was moving at a million miles an hour. She needed a distraction.Ten feet away, a waiter carrying a ma

The grand ballroom of the Valerius Estate went completely, horrifyingly silent.The classical music was dead. The frantic flashing of the press cameras simply stopped. Hundreds of European aristocrats froze in absolute terror.Lucian Sterling didn't walk. He prowled.He stepped over the unconscious body of an elite Laurent mercenary like the man was a piece of trash. The heavy crystal chandeliers cast harsh light over the American billionaire. His expensive white dress shirt was violently ripped at the shoulder. Rainwater and fresh blood dripped from his dark hair. His knuckles were wrapped in black tactical tape, and the knuckles underneath were split open and bleeding.He looked like a feral god of war who had just crawled out of hell to collect his due.Duke Cassius staggered backward. His pristine, pitch black military uniform suddenly looked like a cheap Halloween costume next to a real predator."Shoot him!" Cassius screamed at the remaining guards, his voice cracking with pure,

The tires of the armored black SUV hit the wet asphalt with a heavy, rhythmic thud.Zara leaned her head against the thick bulletproof glass. The endless, glittering skyline of the city was a million miles away from the freezing stone of the Valerius Estate. Cassius was rotting in a mountain dungeon. The crown officially belonged to her, but right now, all she cared about was the three little heartbeats sleeping at the very top of the Sterling tower.Lucian sat beside her in the dark cabin. He had changed out of the blood ruined shirt on the private jet, now wearing a crisp black sweater that stretched tightly across his massive chest and shoulders. His heavily scarred hand rested firmly on her thigh, his thumb drawing slow, territorial circles against the dark fabric of her jeans."Ten minutes," Lucian rumbled, his pitch black eyes fixed on the rain hitting the windshield. "Then we lock the doors for a week. Nobody gets in."Zara closed her icy blue eyes and let out a shaky breath. "