Novel & Cerita Palace 3: The Lost Daughter

"Thank you for coming tonight. But tonight is not just a regular gala." He paused, his sharp eyes scanning the massive crowd, a proud smile forming on his lips. "Tonight, I officially introduce to all of North America my sole heir. My daughter, Aurora." The entire crowd gasped. "The Alpha King has a daughter?!" "Goddess, she is the future Alpha Queen!" Amidst the sea of shocked whispers, my father turned and reached his massive hand toward the backstage shadows. "Come out, my princess." I took a steadying breath, lifted the hem of my heavy dress, and slowly stepped out of the shadows.

A procession of somber figures in black filed in. At the forefront was a woman with silver-streaked hair, clutching a photo in a black frame. The girl in the picture beamed, her smile as bright as Evelyn's. "My daughter, Melody Rogers, was Frank's student, too," the woman's voice broke. "He conned her into stealing my credit card and transferring him thirty-four thousand five hundred bucks. Once he had the money, he dumped her. Overwhelmed, she jumped from a building last year. She was just nineteen."

My limbs weirdly loosing strength as gravity pulls me to the ground. ★★★★★★★★ ★★★★★★ (BACK AT THE PALACE WHEN THEY FINALLY REALIZED THAT A PARTICULAR PERSON IS MISSING!!) Third person's pov. "What do you mean that you can't find her?" Queen Veronica solemn face flickers. "Double the search. Triple it! Find her!" "Your majesty every single nook and cranny of the place has been combed through. Not even the woods were left out, right to the pack boder. But we still can't find my lady." The head of the palace warrior bows in fear.

No one at family banquets had ever truly met me, and even the heads of the major families didn’t know who actually controlled the Vittori empire from the shadows. Thanks to years of careful maintenance, I still looked like a woman in her early thirties. Even so, I never imagined my own daughter would mistake me for Valentina, the adopted girl. “Please…” Lea suddenly dropped to her knees in front of me, crying so hard her shoulders shook. “Just let me see Mother once. The second I meet her, I’ll leave. I swear I’ll never appear in front of you again. Please, Valentina. I only want to see my mother.”

The palace had been a beacon of hope, filled with laughter and celebration just days ago. Pearl had been skipping through these very halls, her eight-year-old giggles bouncing off the gilded walls as she chased butterflies in the garden. She was a pure light in a world that had already taken too much from me, only to get blown apart in a single, cowardly explosion that no one could explain. The peace of the realm and the palace that we had restored with blood and sacrifice had been snatched away again in the blink of an eye, right alongside my little girl. It felt like the universe itself was mocking us, dangling happiness only to yank it back with cruel hands.

Phoenix Violet had only been gone for maybe two minutes when I hear her startled cry. I freeze for a moment, scared of who might have found her, who I’ll have to face to guarantee her safety. I run off in her direction. My eyes widen as I see my sister, Beatrix, pin her to the ground as she tauntingly says, “Well, well, well, if isn’t Penelope Fox’s daughter, the new white wolf. Looks like she got caught in the wolf’s den.”

But as soon as he reached the courtyard, all his wishes came to an end seeing the pile of corpses scattered everywhere. All the servants had been killed and their corpses were scattered in a side. Beside those, there was a delicate little figure of a girl lying, drenching in rain. And near that little corpse, there was another slender figure lying in a pool of blood. He was too late. A sudden unbearable pain surged through his mind. He had failed his master again.He had failed to protect the young miss who was the living heiress of family. He had failed to protect the Lady Jiang who was carrying the unborn heir of the family.

Kai scoffed when he saw the girl's face when she turned around. "It's just the girl at the halls." He muttered. He tried to turn his gaze away, but the smile on her face wouldn't let him. Kai was perplexed as to why she appeared to be having so much fun washing so many clothes. She's a palace maid, virtually a slave, and she's this content? He has everything he could ever want, and he has never grinned so broadly. "What are you looking at?" "Nothing, let's go meet mother."

He let out a wet, rattling gasp. "Kaelor?" His eyes snapped open. They were solid silver. "Aradaa?" His voice was a whisper. "I'm here." I sobbed. Snot hit his chest. "I'm here." He reached up, his hand trembling. He touched my face. "The baby... is he..." "He’s fine. He’s kicking." The boy with three eyes was gone. The ballroom was empty. "We have to go," Kaelor wheezed. "The Palace... it’s dying."

⸻ The moment they crossed the golden pathway, the universe changed. They stood before an enormous palace. Its walls were black crystal. Its towers reached into the stars. Golden wolves guarded the entrance. But when they saw Amara and Lucian, they immediately bowed. Amara whispered: “This place feels like home.” Lucian looked at her. “It does.” The doors opened by themselves. Inside was a gigantic hall. At the end stood three thrones. Two large ones. And one tiny throne between them. Amara smiled. “Our daughter’s throne.” The child floated from her arms.