My Revenge Begins With a Divorce

Chapter 4: The New Queen's Shadow

"They want to know if the Sovereign is looking for a new Queen."

Elena’s voice lingered in the cold, sterile air of the War Room. The remaining billionaires held their breath, their eyes darting between the woman in white and the man who held their lives in his hands.

Leon Ardent leaned back, a faint, dangerous smile playing on his lips. "A Queen, Elena? I just finished burying a ghost. Why would I want to invite another one into my palace?"

"Because a Sovereign without a consort is seen as a conqueror, My Lord," Elena replied, her tone professional yet daring. "But a Sovereign with a Queen is a Dynasty. The Thorne family gala is not just a party. It is an audition. Every high-ranking family in the country is currently grooming their daughters for you."

"Let them groom," Leon said, his eyes turning to the city lights outside. "I’m not looking for a doll in a silk dress. I’m looking for a sword."

"Then you have already found one," Elena said, bowing her head.

"We shall see," Leon stood up, the motion so sudden the CEOs nearly jumped out of their seats. "Albert, get the car. I want to see the ruins of the Miller Group."

"It’s three in the morning, Young Master," Albert noted.

"The best time to see a funeral," Leon replied.

They left the estate in a single, unadorned black sedan. No motorcade, no sirens. Leon wanted to feel the cold air of the city he had conquered from the shadows. As they drove toward the business district, the smell of dust and pulverized concrete filled the air.

The Miller Group headquarters was no longer a skyscraper. It was a jagged stump of steel and broken glass. Giant floodlights illuminated the site, where heavy machinery was already clearing the debris.

"Stop the car," Leon commanded.

He stepped out into the damp night. A figure was huddled near the perimeter fence, sitting on a pile of shattered marble that used to be the building’s lobby sign. It was Sarah. Her red dress was now black with soot, and she was clawing at the rubble with her bare hands.

"Leon?" she whispered, looking up. Her eyes were bloodshot, her face gaun. "Leon! You came back for me!"

Leon didn't walk toward her. He stood ten feet away, his hands in his pockets. "I didn't come for you, Sarah. I came to see if the trash was cleared yet."

"I found it, Leon! Look!" She held up a small, dusty picture frame. The glass was cracked, but the photo inside showed Sarah and Leon on their wedding day. "We were happy! Look at your face in this picture! You loved me!"

"I loved a lie," Leon said, his voice flat. "The man in that picture died the moment you invited Julian Vance into our home."

"It was just business, Leon! I needed the Vance contract to save the company! I did it for us!"

"Business?" Leon let out a short, dry laugh. "You traded a Sovereign for a petty thief. That’s not business, Sarah. That’s bad math."

"Please," she sobbed, crawling toward him on her knees. "I have nothing left. My father is in jail. My mother is in a state of shock. They won't even let me into the hotel to get my clothes. I’m cold, Leon. I’m so cold."

"The cold is good for you," Leon said, looking down at her. "It reminds you that you are alive. Something Julian Vance’s victims never got to feel."

"Where am I supposed to go?"

"The same place you told me to go three years ago," Leon replied. "The street. The gutter. The shadows. Enjoy your freedom, Sarah. It’s the only thing I’m leaving you with."

He turned back to the car.

"Leon! If you leave me here, I’ll kill myself!" Sarah screamed, her voice cracking with desperation.

Leon paused at the car door. He didn't look back. "Then do it quietly. I hate a messy ending."

The car drove away, leaving Sarah’s wails behind in the dust of her father’s legacy. Inside the sedan, Elena looked at Leon with a curious expression.

"You are surprisingly patient with her, My Lord," Elena said.

"Patience?" Leon asked.

"Most men in your position would have had her silenced hours ago," she noted. "Allowing her to linger is... a choice."

"Death is an exit, Elena," Leon said. "I want her to stay in the theater until the very last act. I want her to see me marry the woman she could never be. I want her to see the Ardent name reach the heavens while she searches for coins in the dirt."

"And who is this woman she could never be?" Elena asked, her voice dropping to a whisper.

Leon looked at her. For a moment, the silence in the car was heavy with a different kind of tension. "The Thorne gala, Elena. Don't disappoint me."

"I have never disappointed a client, sir."

"You are not dealing with a client anymore," Leon reminded her. "You are dealing with the Sovereign. If you stand by my side, you become a target for every hidden enemy I have. Are you ready for that?"

"I was born for it," Elena said, her eyes flashing with a cold, blue fire. "My father spent twenty years preparing me to be the Thorne family’s greatest asset. But he was wrong. I am not an asset. I am a partner."

"We’ll see," Leon said. "Albert, take us to the Northwood docks. I have a meeting with the 'Ghost of the East'."

"The docks, sir? At this hour?" Albert asked. "That area is controlled by the Black Dragon Triad."

"Not anymore," Leon said, pulling a silver coin from his pocket. "As of midnight, I bought their debt too."

The car arrived at a dimly lit warehouse at the edge of the harbor. The air was thick with the smell of salt and diesel. A dozen men in leather jackets stood guard, their hands on the hilts of concealed knives. When the black sedan pulled up, they moved to surround it.

Leon stepped out alone.

"Who are you, suit?" the lead thug asked, spitting on the ground. "This is private property."

"I’m the new landlord," Leon said.

The thugs laughed. "The landlord? You got a deed, pretty boy?"

Leon tossed the silver coin. The lead thug caught it, his eyes widening as he saw the dragon crest engraved on the metal. His laughter died instantly.

"The... the Sovereign Seal?" the man stammered, his knees beginning to shake.

"Tell your boss, Han, that Leon Ardent is here to collect the interest on his life," Leon said.

Within seconds, the warehouse doors were thrown open. A tall, scarred man in an expensive silk robe ran out, falling to his knees before Leon could even reach the threshold.

"Master Ardent! I didn't know you were back in Northwood!" Han cried, his forehead hitting the concrete. "Please! Give me more time! The shipments were delayed!"

"I’m not here for the money, Han," Leon said, walking into the warehouse. Elena followed him, her heels clicking rhythmically on the floor.

"Then... then what can I do for you?"

"I want the names," Leon said. "The names of the people who funded the Vance Group’s rise. Julian was too stupid to build an empire on his own. Someone gave him the capital to destroy the Millers."

Han looked up, his face pale. "Sir, those names... they are dangerous. If I speak, I’m a dead man."

"If you don't speak, you are a dead man right now," Leon said, his voice as sharp as a razor.

Elena stepped forward, pulling her tablet from her bag. "We already have the bank records from the Caymans, Han. We just need the verbal confirmation to initiate the 'Red Protocol'. Do you want to be on the list of targets, or the list of survivors?"

Han looked at Elena, then at Leon’s cold, unforgiving eyes. He let out a long, shaky breath. "It was the Capital Group. The four families from the capital city. They wanted a foothold in Northwood, so they used Julian as a puppet to swallow the local businesses."

"The four families," Leon whispered. "So, the war is bigger than I thought."

"They are planning something for the Thorne gala, sir," Han added, his voice trembling. "They heard the Sovereign had returned. They want to test your strength."

"Test my strength?" Leon turned to Elena. "It seems your audition just got more interesting."

"What are your orders, My Lord?" Elena asked.

"Let them come," Leon said. "I want the gala to be a massacre of reputations. I want every family that stood behind Julian to be bankrupt by the time the sun rises on the gala’s morning."

"And Sarah?" Elena asked.

"Send a dress to the alley," Leon said.

"A dress?" Elena was confused.

"A cheap, imitation red dress," Leon clarified. "And an invitation. I want her to see the moment the throne is filled. I want her to witness the exact second her last hope is extinguished."

Leon walked out of the warehouse, the wind ruffling his hair. He looked out at the dark ocean, his mind already three steps ahead of his enemies.

"Young Master," Albert said as they got back into the car. "There is one more thing. The Ardent main branch in Europe. Your uncle has called for an emergency meeting. He says your return to Northwood is a breach of the family’s non-interference pact."

Leon’s eyes turned into cold slits. "My uncle thinks he still has a vote. Tell him that the non-interference pact ended the day my father was buried. Tell him if he wants to talk, he can come to Northwood and kneel like everyone else."

"Understood, sir."

The car sped away into the night, leaving the docks behind. In the backseat, Elena watched Leon. He was a man of steel and ice, a king returning to a kingdom that had forgotten his name.

"Leon," she said softly.

"Yes?"

"Why me? Why did you choose me to be your proxy?"

Leon turned to her. In the dim light of the car, his gaze was intense, almost suffocating. "Because everyone else wants a piece of my crown, Elena. You are the only one who wants the blood on the sword that guards it."

Elena didn't look away. "Then I will be the sharpest sword you have ever held."

"Good," Leon said. "Because by this time next week, Northwood will be a graveyard for anyone who doesn't know their place."

As the car disappeared into the heart of the city, a single red invitation sat on the seat next to Leon. It was addressed to no one, a blank slate for a future that was about to be written in gold and iron.