All Chapters of His Queen of Chaos : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

MalikThe moment the man disappeared into the crowd, every instinct I had screamed danger.“Get everyone out,” I ordered.Darius didn’t hesitate. Within seconds, my security team moved through the ballroom with quiet precision, positioning themselves near exits, stairwells, and balcony doors. The music continued as if nothing had changed. People laughed, champagne glasses clinked, and the city’s most powerful men and women pretended the night was still elegant.They had no idea a room full of predators had just become a hunting ground.Beside me, Zariah stood frozen with her hand still wrapped around my arm. Her breathing had changed, faster and uneven, though she was clearly trying to hide it. She was scared, and I hated seeing it on her.“Stay close,” I said.She shot me an annoyed look, but there was less fire in it than usual. “There you go giving orders again.”I ignored that, mostly because for once, she wasn’t arguing hard enough. That worried me more than her attitude ever cou

MalikNobody moved for several seconds after the lights came back on.The room looked exactly the same as it had before the blackout. My desk was still covered in files. The tablet still displayed Zariah’s photograph. The city still glittered beyond the glass walls like nothing had happened.But everything had changed.One word had done that.Tick.It was not a warning. Warnings gave people a chance to prepare. This was something else entirely. A taunt. A promise. A reminder that whoever was behind this could touch my world whenever they wanted.I didn’t allow people to touch my world.And I damn sure didn’t allow them to touch what was mine.My gaze shifted to Zariah.She stood behind me, her face pale but her chin lifted. Even terrified, she refused to look breakable. That stubbornness should have annoyed me. Instead, it made something tighten in my chest.I turned toward Darius. “Find where the breach came from.”He was already moving to the computer system. “On it.”“Check interna

ZariahThe gunshot echoed through the penthouse, bouncing off the walls until the sound faded into a silence that felt even worse.For a second, I couldn’t move. My body locked in place, caught between panic and disbelief. I had heard gunshots before now. Too many of them. At the cemetery. In Malik’s hallway. In places where death arrived before anyone had time to understand what was happening.But this was different.This was inside the penthouse.Inside the place Malik swore was safe.Nadia grabbed my arm, her fingers digging into my skin. Her face had gone pale, and whatever warning she had been about to give me disappeared beneath the immediate need to survive.“Stay here,” she whispered.I stared at her. “Someone just got shot.”“Exactly.”Another shout came from somewhere down the hall, closer this time. The security guard outside the office yelled something I couldn’t understand, followed by the sound of running footsteps. Fast. Urgent. Chaotic.This wasn’t a power outage.This

Zariah“No.”The word slipped out of me before I could stop it, small and broken in a room full of people who suddenly seemed too quiet.It couldn’t be him.It wasn’t possible.My father was dead. I had stood beneath the rain and watched his casket disappear into the ground. I had listened to people whisper prayers over him. I had gone home with grief sitting so heavy in my chest that breathing felt like work.Dead men didn’t appear on security footage.Dead men didn’t walk through Malik St. James’s penthouse.Dead men didn’t look directly into cameras like they wanted to be seen.Yet there he was.My father.Alive.Moving.Breathing.Staring straight at us from the screen.The room tilted beneath me. For a second, I thought my knees might give out, but a hand settled at the small of my back before I could fall.Malik.For once, I didn’t pull away.I couldn’t.Not when the whole world had just split open beneath my feet.“Pause it,” I whispered.Darius paused the footage immediately.

Zariah After the phone call ended, the room felt too focused on me. I hated it. I hated the way everyone looked in my direction, like I had suddenly become the answer to a question nobody understood. Malik’s men tried to hide it, but I saw the shift. The suspicion. The curiosity. The silent wondering. What had David Brooks left his daughter? The problem was, I didn’t know. That was the part no one seemed to understand. Malik’s gaze stayed on mine. “Zariah.” I crossed my arms, not because I felt strong, but because I needed something to do with my hands. “What?” The word came out sharper than I intended, but I didn’t care. I was tired. Tired of being scared. Tired of being confused. Tired of discovering new lies about my father every few hours. “What aren’t you telling us?” Malik asked. I stared at him. Then I laughed, short and bitter. “Seriously?” His expression didn’t change. “Answer the question.” “I don’t have an answer.” “You might know something without realizing