My Revenge Begins With a Divorce

Chapter 5: The Invitation to Hell

"Send the dress to the alley."

Leon’s command still echoed in Elena’s mind as she stood in the center of the Sovereign Estate’s grand dressing room. Ten world-class tailors stood around her, their hands trembling as they adjusted the hem of a gown made from liquid silver and crushed diamonds.

"Is the shade to your liking, Ms. Thorne?" the lead tailor whispered.

Elena looked at her reflection. She didn't see a woman. She saw a weapon wrapped in silk. "The shade is perfect. It looks like moonlight on a blade."

"The Sovereign has excellent taste," the tailor added, bowing low.

"The Sovereign doesn't have taste," Elena corrected him, her eyes cold. "He has an agenda. This dress is not for beauty. It is for dominance."

The doors to the dressing room opened, and Albert stepped in, holding a small black velvet box. The tailors quickly gathered their tools and retreated, sensing the shift in the room’s energy.

"The Young Master sends his regards, Ms. Thorne," Albert said, opening the box. Inside lay a necklace featuring a teardrop-shaped blue diamond the size of a pigeon’s egg. "The Heart of the Abyss. It hasn't been worn since the Ardent family left Europe fifty years ago."

Elena reached out, her fingers hovering over the cold stone. "He is giving me the family jewels? This is more than a proxy role, Albert."

"The Young Master is making a statement," Albert replied. "He wants the Capital Families to know that the Thorne family is no longer just a local power. You are the shadow of the Syndicate now."

"And what about the other gift?" Elena asked, her voice dropping. "The one for the alley?"

"It has been delivered," Albert said, a grim smile touching his lips. "The scouts report that Ms. Miller hasn't left the ruins of her office. She is currently sleeping in a cardboard box near the service entrance."

"Does she know what’s coming?"

"She knows nothing but hunger and regret. But once she opens that package, she will have hope. And as the Young Master says, hope is the most cruel form of torture."

Five miles away, the rain had finally stopped, leaving Northwood City shrouded in a thick, sulfurous fog. Sarah Miller sat on the wet pavement, her back against a rusted dumpster. Her red dress was now a rag, her skin covered in bruises from where the guards had shoved her.

She was staring at a puddle, watching her own distorted reflection, when a black courier van pulled up. A man in a clean uniform stepped out, carrying a large white box tied with a gold ribbon.

"Sarah Miller?" the man asked.

Sarah looked up, her eyes wide with a sudden, desperate light. "Yes! That’s me! Is that from Leon? Did he send for me?"

"The Sovereign sent this for the gala tomorrow night," the courier said, placing the box on the ground. "There is an invitation inside. Don't be late."

The van sped away before Sarah could ask another question. With shaking hands, she tore into the box. Inside was a dress. It was red, just like the one she wore at the Hilton, but the fabric felt thin and cheap. It was a mass-produced imitation, a cruel mockery of her former status.

But Sarah didn't care. She clutched the dress to her chest, sobbing with relief. "I knew it! I knew he couldn't forget me! He wants me there! He wants to show everyone that we are back together!"

She found the invitation at the bottom of the box. It was a heavy, gold-embossed card.

The Sovereign Requests Your Presence. Witness the Beginning of the New Era.

"The New Era," Sarah whispered, a crazed smile spreading across her face. "Our era, Leon. I’ll make it up to you. I’ll be the best wife. I’ll help you kill Julian myself!"

She didn't see the tiny fine print at the back of the card. Admission through the service entrance only.

Back at the Sovereign Estate, Leon was in the gym. He wasn't lifting weights. He was standing in front of a heavy bag, his knuckles bleeding as he struck the leather with a speed that was barely human. Each punch sounded like a whip cracking.

"You’re overthinking the left hook, sir," a voice said from the doorway.

Leon stopped, his chest heaving. He didn't turn around. "The Capital Families sent a messenger, didn't they?"

"They did," Elena said, leaning against the doorframe. She was still wearing the liquid silver gown, looking like a goddess of war. "A man named Silas from the Crawford family. He’s waiting in the garden."

"Silas Crawford," Leon spat the name. "The man who tried to buy my father’s company for pennies while the body was still warm."

"He says he wants to negotiate a peace treaty before the gala," Elena added. "He claims the Four Families had no idea Julian Vance was acting against the Syndicate’s interests."

"Liars," Leon said, taking off his hand wraps. "They didn't just know. They provided the leverage. They wanted to see if the Ardent heir was a tiger or a kitten."

"Shall I send him away?"

"No. I want to see how much fear is in his eyes," Leon said.

They walked out into the moonlight garden, where a middle-aged man in a fur-trimmed coat was pacing nervously. Silas Crawford was a man used to being the most powerful person in any room, but here, surrounded by Leon’s silent elite guards, he looked small.

"Leon! My boy!" Silas said, stepping forward with an artificial smile. "It’s been too long! You’ve grown! You look just like your father!"

Leon didn't offer his hand. He didn't even stop walking until he was inches away from Silas. "My father is dead, Silas. And the last thing he saw before he died was your signature on a betrayal plot."

Silas’s smile vanished. "Now, Leon. Let’s be reasonable. Business is business. We heard you had some trouble with a local girl. The Miller girl? A shame. But the Four Families are ready to offer you a real alliance. My daughter, Cecilia, is—"

"Your daughter is a pawn, Silas. And I don't play chess with amateurs," Leon interrupted.

"You’re being arrogant, boy," Silas hissed, his face turning red. "You think because you destroyed a few local nobodies like the Millers and the Vances that you can take on the Capital? We control the national grid. We control the ports."

"You control what I allow you to control," Leon said. "Elena."

Elena stepped forward, her tablet glowing. "As of ten minutes ago, the Crawford family’s offshore accounts in Switzerland have been flagged for terrorism financing. The global freeze will take effect at dawn."

Silas laughed, though it sounded forced. "Terrorism? That’s a ridiculous accusation! No bank would believe that!"

"The banks believe the Syndicate," Elena said calmly. "And the Syndicate just submitted three thousand pages of evidence linking your construction firms to the Black Dragon Triad’s smuggling routes."

Silas turned to Leon, his eyes bulging. "You... you’re insane! You’ll destroy the national economy just to get to us?"

"The economy can be rebuilt," Leon said. "But my father’s honor? That is a one-time debt."

"Leon, listen to me!" Silas cried, his voice cracking. "We can give you the names of the others! The ones who actually pulled the trigger! Just lift the freeze!"

"The gala is tomorrow night, Silas," Leon said, turning his back on him. "I suggest you spend your last few hours of wealth buying a very sturdy rope. You’re going to need it when your creditors find you."

"You can't do this!" Silas screamed as the guards grabbed him. "The Four Families will burn this city to the ground before they let you win!"

Leon stopped and looked back over his shoulder. The moon caught the cold steel in his eyes. "Tell them to bring the matches. I’ve been waiting for a reason to start a fire."

As Silas was dragged away, Elena walked up to Leon’s side. "He was right about one thing, My Lord. They will strike back. The gala won't be a party. It will be a battlefield."

"I know," Leon said. "Is the guest list finalized?"

"Every enemy you have ever had is on that list," Elena replied. "Including the ghost from your past."

"The ghost?"

"The woman who betrayed your father before the Millers even existed," Elena said softly. "Lydia Ardent. Your aunt."

Leon’s jaw tightened. The mention of his aunt brought back memories of the fire that had consumed his childhood home. The real reason he had gone into exile for three years wasn't just a vow to his grandfather. It was to hide from the woman who had tried to kill him.

"She’s coming to Northwood?" Leon asked.

"She is the guest of honor for the Capital Families," Elena said. "She wants to see the boy who survived the flames."

Leon looked at the Heart of the Abyss necklace around Elena’s neck. "Then we shall give her a show she will never forget. Albert!"

"Yes, Young Master?" Albert appeared from the shadows.

"Double the security. And tell the chefs that I want the main course to be served exactly when the clock strikes midnight."

"And what is the main course, sir?" Albert asked.

Leon looked out toward the city, where the lights of the Northwood skyline were flickering.

"The truth," Leon said. "And the total annihilation of the Ardent bloodline’s enemies."

In the distance, the wrecking ball at the Miller Group site hit the final pillar of the building. The structure collapsed into a pile of dust, sending a shockwave through the ground that could be felt all the way to the Sovereign Estate.

Leon didn't flinch. He simply watched as the dust rose into the night sky, covering the moon.

"The stage is set," Leon whispered.

"And the actors are in place," Elena added.

The camera of the city’s destiny was rolling, and by the next night, the world would finally know the name of the man who had been a ghost for too long.