The estate gates creaked open with agonizing slowness, a black convoy sliding through like a serpent slipping into its prey's den.
From the grand balcony, Amelia stood motionless, her silk robe fluttering in the sharp winter breeze.
Her heart thudded painfully against her ribs, her hand unconsciously pressing against her belly.
The child stirred gently within her, as if sensing the danger looming just beyond the marble steps.
Damian appeared at her side, his eyes sharp and dark with the cold calculation of a man preparing for war.
"He's here."
Amelia's lips pressed into a thin, bloodless line.
"Let him in."
The heavy doors swung open.
Lucien Blake stepped through like he owned the very ground beneath his feet.
Tall, perfectly tailored in a jet-black suit, his dark eyes gleamed with cruel amusement.
His presence filled the room like a storm waiting to break, each measured step a threat, each slight smile a promise of destruction.
He stopped a few feet away from Amelia, his eyes drifting down to the faint curve of her belly.
A slow, knowing smirk spread across his face.
"My, my… carrying the future of the Blake name, and yet standing here all alone. How poetic."
His words coiled around her like venomous smoke, suffocating yet strangely intoxicating.
Amelia met his gaze head-on, her spine straightening, her voice like frozen steel.
"I stand alone because I don't kneel to monsters."
Lucien chuckled softly, his eyes darkening with interest.
"Oh, darling… you think this is about monsters? No, this is about legacy. And whether you like it or not, that child you carry—"
He took a deliberate step closer, his voice dropping to a whisper that cut through the air like a blade.
"—belongs to the Blake bloodline. And I will claim what is rightfully mine."
Amelia's fists clenched so tightly her nails bit into her palms.
Her breathing was sharp, her mind racing for a way to end this nightmare before it began.
Damian stepped forward, his broad chest a solid wall between them.
"Touch her, and it will be the last thing you ever do."
Lucien merely smirked, his hands raised in mock surrender.
"Relax, Mr. Frost. This is just… a courtesy visit. The real game begins tomorrow."
He turned on his heel and strolled out as calmly as he had arrived, his voice echoing back through the marble halls—
"See you in court, Queen White."