CHAPTER 1 — THE NAME THEY BURIED
The ballroom remained frozen in silence.
Victoria’s voice still hung in the air like a broken echo: “That’s not possible…”
Lena stood motionless, the silver tray trembling violently in her hands now. Adrian didn’t move. Charles looked like he had just seen a ghost from a past he tried to erase.
Then Adrian spoke again—quieter this time, but heavier.
“Princess Elena Volkov… was declared dead fifteen years ago.”
A wave of shock passed through the room.
Lena’s breath stopped.
Dead.
The word should have meant nothing.
But instead—it cracked something open inside her.
A flash hit again: burning chandeliers, collapsing stone walls, a man grabbing her arm, running through smoke.
A woman’s scream calling her name.
Elena… run…
Lena dropped the tray.
Metal clattered across marble. The sound echoed like a gunshot.
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Victoria stepped back, whispering, “We erased that name…”
Adrian’s eyes sharpened. “Not all truths stay buried.”
