Chapter 2 — The Night of Fire
“I should have killed her too.”
The words hung in the ballroom like poison.
No one moved.
No one dared breathe.
Maya felt as if the floor beneath her had vanished.
Her fingers tightened around her baby until her arms trembled. The child whimpered softly, sensing the terror radiating from his mother.
Did she hear that correctly?
Killed?
Her?
Her mother?
No…
No, this couldn’t be real.
Across the hall, the king stood frozen, staring at Isabella as though he were looking at a stranger.
His wife.
The woman who had stood beside him for decades.
The mother of his children.
The queen.
And now—
A confessed monster.
Arthur’s voice came out rough.
“What did you just say?”
Isabella’s chest rose and fell rapidly.
For one second, it looked like she regretted speaking.
But then something inside her snapped.
The elegant mask she had worn for years shattered completely.
Her lips curled into a smile.
Cold.
Cruel.
Unhinged.
“You heard me.”
Gasps rippled through the guests.
Arthur’s face drained of color.
“No…”
Isabella laughed bitterly.
“Yes.”
She lifted her chin proudly.
“I should have killed Elena’s little brat the same night I burned that estate to ashes.”
The ballroom erupted.
People screamed.
Champagne glasses shattered against marble.
Maya’s ears rang.
Burned?
Estate?
No.
No.
This couldn’t be happening.
Arthur staggered backward.
“You started the fire?”
His voice cracked.
“Impossible.”
Isabella tilted her head.
“Why impossible?”
Arthur shook violently.
“Twenty-five years ago, forty-seven people died.”
His eyes turned red.
“My sister died.”
Isabella smirked.
“No.”
She looked directly at Maya.
“She escaped.”
Silence.
Arthur’s breath stopped.
“She survived the fire.”
Maya could barely stand.
Her mother survived?
Then why—
Isabella answered the question before anyone asked.
“She escaped with the baby.”
Her eyes narrowed at Maya.
“You.”
Maya’s pulse thundered.
Her mother ran with her.
Saved her.
Protected her.
Tears blurred her vision.
Arthur whispered:
“Elena lived…”
“Yes.”
Isabella’s smile widened.
“For three more years.”
Maya froze.
Three years?
Her mother died when she was six.
That didn’t match.
Arthur noticed too.
His eyes sharpened.
“You’re lying.”
“Am I?”
Isabella leaned closer.
“She survived the fire.”
Pause.
“She hid.”
Pause.
“She begged.”
Pause.
“She ran.”
Each word landed like a knife.
“She knew someone wanted the bloodline erased.”
Arthur’s jaw tightened.
“Why?”
Isabella’s eyes flashed.
“Because Elena was a threat.”
“Threat to what?”
“To me.”
The room fell silent again.
Even the guards seemed stunned.
Arthur whispered:
“You’re insane.”
“No.”
She smiled.
“I was practical.”
Arthur stared.
Isabella stepped forward despite the guards.
“Do you remember what Father wrote in his final will?”
Arthur’s expression shifted.
No.
No…
She continued.
“If you died without a daughter…”
Arthur’s eyes widened.
The truth hit.
Inheritance law.
Royal succession.
If Arthur had no daughter…
Elena’s child would inherit claim to the crown.
Maya’s blood ran cold.
Isabella saw realization spread.
“Yes.”
Her voice dripped venom.
“Elena’s daughter ranked above my sons.”
The guests gasped.
No one had known.
Not even the princes.
Adrian’s face hardened.
“Mother…”
She ignored him.
“I spent years securing power.”
Her breathing intensified.
“I built alliances.”
Her hands shook.
“I sacrificed everything.”
Then her eyes burned with obsession.
“I would not let a baby destroy that.”
Maya whispered:
“You killed people… for power?”
Isabella looked at her.
“No.”
She smiled cruelly.
“I killed them for survival.”
Maya trembled.
Arthur roared.
“You murdered my family!”
Isabella snapped back.
“And I’d do it again!”
Silence.
Arthur’s body shook with rage.
For the first time in decades, the king looked like a man on the edge of violence.
“You monster.”
Isabella laughed.
“Monster?”
She pointed at Maya.
“That girl is the monster.”
Maya recoiled.
“She exists, and everything I built collapses.”
Arthur’s voice dropped.
“So Elena escaped.”
“Yes.”
“She raised Maya.”
“Yes.”
“She was killed later.”
Isabella smiled.
“Yes.”
Maya stopped breathing.
No.
No.
Please no.
Arthur asked the question.
“Did you kill Elena?”
Isabella’s silence answered everything.
Maya screamed.
The sound tore through the ballroom.
“No!”
Her legs gave out.
Adrian rushed forward and caught her before she hit the floor.
She clutched his coat with shaking fingers.
“My mother…”
Her voice shattered.
“You killed my mother?”
Isabella stared at her.
Emotionless.
“Yes.”
Maya’s soul broke.
She had spent her whole life wondering.
Wondering why her mother disappeared.
Wondering who attacked them.
Wondering why no one helped.
And now—
The answer stood right before her.
Wearing diamonds.
Wearing silk.
Calling herself royalty.
Maya’s body shook violently.
“Why…”
Tears poured endlessly.
“Why?”
Isabella’s expression remained cold.
“Because she refused to surrender you.”
Arthur closed his eyes in horror.
Maya’s voice cracked.
“She begged for my life…”
“Yes.”
“She cried?”
“Yes.”
“She suffered?”
Isabella didn’t hesitate.
“Yes.”
Adrian tightened his arms around Maya.
He could feel her collapsing.
Then Maya whispered something that chilled everyone.
“How did she die?”
Arthur turned.
“Don’t answer.”
But Isabella smiled.
“She fought.”
Maya’s breathing stopped.
“She stabbed one of my men.”
Arthur shouted:
“Enough!”
Isabella continued.
“She ran with you in her arms.”
Maya shook uncontrollably.
“She was bleeding.”
“No…”
“She begged me.”
“Stop…”
“She said, ‘Take me, spare my daughter.’”
Maya screamed.
“No!”
“She got on her knees.”
“STOP!”
“She cried like an animal.”
“STOP!”
“And then—”
Arthur roared.
“ISABELLA!”
Too late.
The queen delivered the final cruelty.
“I shot her.”
Maya broke.
Completely.
She collapsed into Adrian’s chest, sobbing so violently that even hardened military officers looked away.
Adrian held her tightly.
His eyes burned with hatred toward his mother.
Arthur’s hands shook.
“You shot Elena.”
“Yes.”
“You murdered my sister.”
“Yes.”
“You orphaned this child.”
“Yes.”
Each answer came without remorse.
Arthur whispered:
“How did Maya survive?”
Isabella’s smile faded.
“For the first time… I made a mistake.”
She looked at Maya.
“I thought she died too.”
Maya trembled.
What?
Isabella continued.
“When Elena fell, the child disappeared.”
Arthur narrowed his eyes.
“Who took her?”
Silence.
Isabella frowned.
“I never found out.”
That changed everything.
If Isabella didn’t save Maya—
Then someone else did.
Someone hidden.
Someone who knew.
Arthur looked at Maya.
“Do you remember anything?”
Maya struggled to breathe.
Only fragments.
Rain.
Blood.
A hand.
Warmth.
A voice.
Her eyes widened.
Voice.
There was a voice.
Someone carried her.
Someone whispered—
She gasped.
“I remember…”
Arthur stepped closer.
“What?”
“A man.”
Gasps.
“What man?”
Maya squeezed her eyes shut.
“He carried me.”
Arthur leaned forward.
“What did he say?”
Maya’s voice trembled.
“He said…”
She tried to hear the memory.
Rain.
Darkness.
A deep voice.
Then—
Her eyes flew open.
“He said…”
Silence.
“‘Forgive me, princess.’”
The ballroom froze.
Arthur stopped breathing.
Adrian stiffened.
No.
Impossible.
No.
Arthur turned slowly.
Toward one person.
General Victor Blackwood.
The commander of the royal guard.
The oldest living military officer in the kingdom.
Seventy years old.
Loyal for decades.
He stood near the back.
Silent.
Too silent.
Arthur whispered:
“Victor…”
The old general didn’t move.
Arthur stepped closer.
“Look at me.”
Silence.
“Victor.”
The old man slowly raised his head.
Tears filled his eyes.
The king’s voice cracked.
“Tell me…”
Pause.
“Did you save her?”
The general’s lips trembled.
Twenty-five years of silence.
Twenty-five years of guilt.
Twenty-five years of secrets.
Finally—
He dropped to his knees.
Gasps exploded.
The king’s strongest general.
Kneeling.
Crying.
“Yes.”
The ballroom erupted.
Arthur staggered.
“No…”
Victor sobbed.
“I found Elena dying.”
Maya stared.
The general looked at her like he had seen a ghost.
“She placed the baby in my arms.”
Maya stopped breathing.
No.
Victor’s tears fell.
“She knew she would die.”
Arthur whispered:
“Elena spoke to you?”
“Yes.”
“What did she say?”
Victor broke down.
“She said…”
He couldn’t continue.
Arthur shouted.
“What did she say?!”
Victor sobbed.
“She said…”
He looked at Maya.
Then finally spoke.
“‘Tell Arthur… I never betrayed him.’”
Arthur froze.
Betrayed?
What did that mean?
Victor shook violently.
“She said someone inside the palace betrayed House Valemont.”
Arthur slowly turned toward Isabella.
Everything connected.
The fire.
The massacre.
The cover-up.
The lies.
The missing child.
The dead witnesses.
Twenty-five years.
Because of one woman.
Isabella.
Arthur’s face changed.
No longer grief.
No longer shock.
Only judgment.
Only wrath.
He straightened.
The king returned.
His voice became absolute.
“Queen Isabella.”
She swallowed.
“For treason.”
Silence.
“For mass murder.”
Silence.
“For conspiracy against the crown.”
Silence.
“For the murder of Princess Elena.”
Silence.
Arthur raised his hand.
“I strip you of your title.”
Gasps.
Isabella’s face went white.
“No…”
“I strip you of your power.”
“No!”
“I strip you of your name.”
She screamed.
“No!”
Arthur’s final words shook the kingdom.
“Take her to the dungeon.”
The guards moved.
Isabella panicked.
“No!”
They grabbed her arms.
She screamed wildly.
“ARTHUR!”
No mercy.
Then—
She suddenly laughed.
A terrifying laugh.
Arthur frowned.
Why was she laughing?
She looked at Maya.
Then at Adrian.
And smiled.
“Oh…”
Her voice became sweet.
“You still don’t know.”
Arthur narrowed his eyes.
“Know what?”
Isabella grinned.
“The real betrayal.”
Adrian stiffened.
No.
No…
Not that.
Please.
Isabella’s smile widened.
“Ask your son.”
Silence.
Arthur slowly turned.
Toward Adrian.
The prince stood frozen.
Maya felt his body tense behind her.
Her heart sank.
No.
Why did he look terrified?
Arthur’s voice became dangerously quiet.
“Adrian.”
Silence.
“What does she mean?”
Adrian said nothing.
Maya whispered:
“Adrian…?”
His breathing became uneven.
Arthur took one step forward.
“Answer me.”
Adrian closed his eyes.
Pain twisted across his face.
When he opened them—
Maya saw something horrifying.
Guilt.
Deep guilt.
Arthur’s voice thundered.
“ADRIAN!”
The prince finally spoke.
May you like
And one sentence shattered Maya’s world again.
“I knew who she was… before I married her.”
