Chapter 164

Agatha backed away, trembling. Her spine slammed into the corridor wall, breath ragged, chest heaving.

"No... no, bastard! Get away from me!" she shrieked, eyes wide with panic. Jaden stepped closer, slow and calm, the kind of calm that made your skin crawl.

"You killed my mother ten years ago."

His voice cut through the hallway like a blade. Cold. Measured. Void of mercy.

"You sent men after me and my little sister. We were kids, Agatha. Kids!"

She shook her head, tears mixing with mascara. "You don't understand—"

"Shut up."

The rage beneath his voice was ice. No shouting. Just surgical fury.

"You slaughtered innocent people. You buried children. You called it business. Called it power."

Jaden stepped through the puddle of blood from the fallen guards. His boots didn't flinch.

"You're evil, Agatha. And today... your ends fall."

Agatha snapped. Her terror turned manic.

With a scream, she reached under her robe and pulled out two silver pistols. She unloaded without warning.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Bullets tore through the air. Mirrors shattered. Paintings exploded off the walls. The deafening sound ricocheted down the corridor.

But Jaden moved like a ghost. Ducking. Sliding. Turning sideways mid-step. Bullets passed him by inches.

She kept firing, hands shaking violently, teeth clenched. Sweat poured down her brow. She screamed as she emptied both guns.

Click. Click. Click.

Out.

Silence.

Jaden stood unharmed.

Agatha blinked. Reality hit her like a sledgehammer. She dropped the guns and turned, bolting down the corridor in bare feet, dragging her robe behind her.

Jaden didn't rush.

He just walked.

Like death itself. Calm. Inevitable.

She threw open her door, dove inside, and slammed it shut. Locked the bolt. Shoved furniture in front. Anything. Everything.

Then she collapsed in the corner of the room, breathing in jagged bursts. Her hand

flew to her chest. Her heart was pounding hard enough to crack ribs.

She whispered to herself, over and over. "Please... please..."

Then-

BOOM.

The door didn't knock.

It exploded.

Jaden stepped through the smoke.

His expression unreadable. Dead eyes locked onto her.

Agatha screamed, scrambled back. Her heel caught the rug. She fell.

Jaden grabbed her by the hair. Dragged her like trash across the floor. Her nails clawed at the wood.

"NO! PLEASE! I'LL GIVE YOU ANYTHING!" she sobbed. "MONEY! POWER! I CAN

FIX IT! I CAN FIX EVERYTHING!"

He slammed her face into the table.

CRACK.

Blood sprayed. Her nose broke on impact.

Another slam. Her cheek split open. Teeth rattled on wood.

"You remember this room?" Jaden asked, his voice low, inches from her ear. "This is where you gave the order Where you signed off my

mother's death like it was a business deal."

Agatha wept. "I'm sorry. Please..."

"Sorry doesn't fix bones."

Snap.

He broke her left arm at the elbow with a vicious twist.

Agatha screamed so loud the windows should have shattered.

Then he stomped on her shin. CRACK. The bone bent sideways. Her body convulsed.

"You want forgiveness?" he asked, walking across the room.

He picked up the golden urn.

Held it like it was the crown of a queen.

"You see this?"

Agatha blinked through blood and tears.

"This is my mother. Her ashes. Her soul. What's left of her after you torched her alive."

He knelt beside her. She tried to crawl away.

He grabbed her jaw. Wrenched it open.

"No... no please, please!”

Jaden ignored her.

He smashed the urn into her face. Her forehead split. Blood poured down her temple.

Then he tilted the urn. The gray, powdery ashes spilled onto her tongue.

Agatha thrashed violently. But Jaden held her head still, his grip like a vice.

"You took everything from me. Now you're going to swallow everything you did."

He forced her jaw closed. Clamped his hand over her mouth.

"Swallow it," he whispered.

She choked, gagged, her body

min disgust. Her screamet

muffled. Her eyes wide, wild, pleading content belongs to

"Swallow. It."

Her throat moved.

And she did.

Agatha Thornfell, queen of Ravenmoor, swallowed the ashes of the woman she

murdered.

She coughed. Vomited. Cried.

"Kill me... please... just kill me.." she whimpered, barely conscious, blood

andouring from her

ash lips

But Jaden leaned in. His voice soft. Final.

"Oh... no need to rush."

He stood.

"I'm going to kill you. But first..."

He glanced down at her broken, bleeding body.

"I'll take you to my mother's grave. So you can bow to her. Kiss it. Properly."