My Revenge Begins With a Divorce

Chapter 07: The Bloodline’s Curse

"Leave her. She finally found her place in the trash. Let her stay there."

The elevator doors hissed shut, burying Sarah’s broken laughter beneath the sound of luxury machinery. Leon Ardent stood in the center of the lift, his reflection in the gold-plated walls looking like a stranger.

"You seem restless, Young Master," Albert said, not looking up from his tablet.

"Restless?" Leon adjusted his cuffs. "I just deleted a decade of filth from this city. I should feel light."

"And do you?"

"I feel like the air is getting thinner, Albert. My aunt Lydia didn't come here just for a gala. She came to witness a funeral. But whose?"

The elevator reached the penthouse. The doors opened to a command center buzzing with elite Syndicate operators. Elena Thorne was already there, her white suit stained with a single drop of wine from the ballroom.

"My Lord, the decryption is finished," Elena said, her voice unusually tight.

"And?" Leon walked toward the main console. "Show me the offshore accounts Lydia was hiding."

"It isn't about the money, Leon," Elena said, turning the holographic screen toward him. "It’s about the wooden phoenix. The one Sarah broke."

Leon leaned in, his eyes narrowing as lines of DNA sequencing scrolled past. "A paternity report? Why would my grandfather hide a paternity test inside a gift for a commoner?"

"Because Sarah Miller isn't a Miller," Albert whispered, stepping up behind them.

Leon froze. He looked at the names on the screen. Subject: Sarah Miller. Biological Father: Marcus Ardent.

"Marcus?" Leon’s voice was a low growl. "My uncle? The man who currently sits on the European High Council?"

"The same," Elena confirmed. "She isn't your victim, Leon. She is your cousin. And according to the Ardent Charter, an illegitimate child with a marriage bond to the main heir has a stronger claim to the Syndicate’s core assets than a Sovereign in exile."

"Wait," Leon said, his mind racing. "My grandfather forced that marriage. He knew."

"He didn't just know," Albert added. "He was trying to neutralize her. By marrying her to you, he kept her claim under your name. But now that you’ve divorced her and stripped her of her status..."

"I’ve made her a free agent," Leon finished the thought. "A weapon that Marcus can now use to legally challenge my leadership."

"Exactly," Elena said. "The moment she signed those papers, she became the greatest threat to your throne."

Suddenly, a red light flashed on the console. A communication request from an encrypted satellite line appeared on the screen.

"Accept it," Leon commanded.

The screen flickered to life. A man with silver hair and a sharp, aristocratic face appeared. He was sitting in a study that looked like it belonged in a royal palace. Marcus Ardent.

"Nephew," Marcus said, his voice smooth and cold. "I heard you had a busy night in Northwood."

"Uncle Marcus," Leon replied, his face a mask of stone. "I assume you’re calling to apologize for Lydia’s behavior."

Marcus chuckled. "Lydia was always too emotional. A blunt instrument. But I must thank you, Leon. You did exactly what I hoped you would do."

"You wanted me to destroy the Millers?"

"I wanted you to cast Sarah out," Marcus said, leaning forward. "For twenty years, she was a secret I couldn't touch. My father kept her hidden in that pathetic construction family, guarded by a marriage contract I couldn't break. But you? You were so blinded by your petty revenge that you handed her back to me on a silver platter."

"She’s a broken woman, Marcus. She’s losing her mind in a park," Leon spat.

"A broken woman is easy to reprogram," Marcus retorted. "And once I bring her to Europe and restore her name, the Syndicate’s board will have to choose between a 'cruel' nephew who destroys his own family, or a 'tragic' daughter who only wants her birthright."

"The board follows strength, not tragedy," Leon said.

"We shall see," Marcus smiled. "I have already sent a recovery team to Northwood. They should be at the park by now. Don't try to stop them, Leon. You already divorced her. She is no longer your concern."

The screen went black.

"Albert! Where is the nearest extraction team?" Leon roared.

"Two minutes away from the park, sir! But Marcus’s private security is already in the city airspace!"

"Elena, get the car," Leon said, grabbing his jacket. "We’re going back to the trash."

"You’re going to save her?" Elena asked, stunned. "After everything she did?"

"I’m not saving her, Elena," Leon said, his eyes glowing with a dark, predatory light. "I’m reclaiming my property. If she belongs to Marcus, she is a bomb. If she stays with me, she is a prisoner."

They reached the park ten minutes later. The rain had started again, turning the grass into a swamp of grey mud. In the distance, a silver helicopter with the Ardent crest was hovering over the playground.

"There!" Albert pointed.

Sarah was sitting on a swing, humming that tuneless song. She didn't look up as four men in tactical gear rappelled down from the helicopter.

"Ms. Ardent?" the lead soldier asked, kneeling before her. "Your father has sent for you. We are here to take you to your real home."

Sarah stopped swinging. She looked at the men, then at the black sedan screeching to a halt nearby. She saw Leon stepping out of the car.

"Leon?" she whispered, her voice cracked.

"Don't go with them, Sarah," Leon said, walking toward her. The soldiers instantly raised their weapons, aiming at his chest.

"Stay back, Master Leon," the lead soldier warned. "She is under the protection of the European Branch now."

"She is in my city," Leon said, his voice vibrating with a power that made the soldiers’ hands shake. "And in this city, I am the only law."

"Leon, help me!" Sarah cried, her eyes darting between the soldiers and her ex-husband. "They called me Ardent! They said I’m a princess!"

"They’re lying to you, Sarah," Leon said. "They want to use you as a puppet. They’ll put you in a cage made of gold instead of one made of wood."

"And what will you do?" Sarah screamed, standing up on the swing. "You already threw me away! You called me trash! You gave me a five-dollar coin!"

"I gave you a choice," Leon said. "And I’m giving you one more."

"A choice?"

Leon stepped past the gun barrels, ignoring the red laser dots on his forehead. He stopped in front of her. "Come back with me. You’ll be a prisoner in the Sovereign Estate. You’ll never have your company back. You’ll never have your pride back. But you’ll be alive."

"And if I go with them?"

"Then you are my enemy," Leon said. "And I don't leave my enemies alive for long."

The helicopter lowered, the wind from the rotors whipping Sarah’s cheap red dress around her legs. The lead soldier reached out his hand. "Ms. Ardent, your father is waiting. A world of luxury is waiting. Don't listen to this man."

Sarah looked at the soldier’s hand. Then she looked at Leon’s cold, unforgiving face.

"Leon," she said, a strange, lucid smile appearing on her face.

"Yes?"

"Do you know what I realized when I was sitting in the mud?"

"Tell me."

Sarah leaned in close, her eyes wide and manic.

"I realized that I’d rather be a dead princess than your prisoner."

She reached for the soldier’s hand.

"Sarah, no!" Elena screamed from the car.

"Albert, fire!" Leon commanded.

But it was too late. A flash-bang grenade hit the ground between them, blinding everyone in a white explosion of light. By the time the smoke cleared, the silver helicopter was already rising into the dark clouds.

Leon stood alone in the mud, his hands clenched into fists. Albert ran up to him, his face filled with dread. "They got her, sir. They’re heading for international waters."

Leon didn't move. He looked up at the retreating lights of the helicopter.

"Young Master, what are your orders?" Elena asked, her voice trembling. "If she reaches Europe, Marcus will declare war."

Leon turned to her. His face was no longer human. It was the face of the Sovereign who had finally found a reason to burn the world.

"Order the fleet to move," Leon said.

"The entire fleet, sir?"

Leon looked at the broken piece of the phoenix still lying in the mud. He crushed it under his heel.

"Tell the world that the Ardent Syndicate is no longer in Northwood," Leon commanded. "Tell them we are going home to Europe. And tell my uncle..."

"Yes, sir?"

"Tell him I hope he likes the smell of ash. Because I’m coming for his throne, and I’m bringing hell with me."