Everyone assumed my world had ended that evening—until the shareholders received an urgent alert.

Julian was out of options. The loan sharks were circling. His car had been repossessed. He had thirty dollars in his pocket and nowhere to go.

It was raining heavily when he walked the five miles back to the Obsidian Resort. The neon lights blurred through the downpour. He approached the grand entrance, shivering, soaking wet, a pathetic ghost of the man who had stood there a week ago.

He didn't make it past the front steps.

Vance stepped out of the glass doors, opening a large black umbrella, accompanied by two guards.

“You were explicitly told you are permanently banned from this property, Julian,” Vance said, his voice completely devoid of emotion.

“I need to see Victoria,” Julian begged, his teeth chattering, water streaming down his face. “Please, Vance. They’re going to kill me. I owe the Petrov family two million dollars. I just need to talk to her. I’ll sign whatever she wants. I’ll leave the country. Just tell her to help me.”

“She’s busy,” Vance said.

But then, the glass doors parted.

I walked out, standing under the expansive awning, flanked by my executive team. I wore a stunning black evening gown, preparing to attend a charity gala in the main ballroom. I looked down at the man shivering in the rain.

“Victoria!” Julian cried out, dropping to his knees on the wet pavement. It was the ultimate, crushing humiliation. The former king, groveling in the dirt before his queen, while tourists and guests watched in stunned silence. “Please! I’m begging you! You loved me once! Don't let them kill me!”

I looked down at him. I searched my heart for a flicker of pity, a shred of the love I had harbored for twelve years.

There was nothing.

“You killed the woman who loved you, Julian,” I said, my voice cutting through the sound of the rain. “You killed her the moment you threw her out of this building to impress a cheap escort. The woman standing before you is a Vanguard. And Vanguard's do not negotiate with traitors.”