Villain's Last Chance Chapter 4: Shadows Behind the Throne

I stood frozen, the letter crumpling slightly in my grip. The words burned into my mind, not just for what they said—but for what they ant.

Soone knew.

Soone had seen through this body, through the delicate noble mask I now wore.

But who?

Lord Valcrest's gaze was sharp, his fingers tapping impatiently against the arm of his chair. "Well? What do you have to say for yourself?"

I smoothed the parchnt between my fingers, my mind racing through possibilities. My father was not the kind of man to concern himself with hidden threats unless they interfered with his personal ambitions. Which ant...

He wasn't asking because he was worried for .

He was asking because he thought I was the threat.

I carefully folded the letter, setting it on the table between us. "And why do you assu I had sothing to do with this?"

His lips pressed into a thin line. "Because," he said, voice edged with suspicion, "you have changed."

My pulse steadied, my mind sharpening. Of course I had changed. The Elara Valcrest he had raised had been timid, naive. An obedient daughter ant to serve his ambitions. And now, the girl before him smiled too easily. Held herself with too much confidence.

He was beginning to notice.

I lowered my lashes, letting my expression slip into one of controlled disappointnt. "I have changed, Father," I admitted. "Because I know my duty now. I have accepted this engagent. I have embraced the path you have laid before ."

A pause. His gaze flickered across my face, searching for deceit.

Then, slowly, he exhaled.

"Good," he murmured, rubbing his temple as if exhausted. "You should know, Cairon Everhart will not tolerate foolishness. He is a man of war. A man who—"

"Killed his enemies before they saw the blade coming?" I finished smoothly.

His eyes snapped to mine.

I smiled. "You do not have to remind who he is."

I picked up the letter again, running my fingers over the wax seal, morizing the shape. An ally, the sender had called themselves. But what kind of ally hides in the dark?

And why now?

I burned the letter that night, letting the flas consu the fragile parchnt. If soone wanted to play this ga with , they would have to do better than cryptic warnings.

And I would find them before they found again.

---

The next morning, I was summoned to the Everhart estate.

The carriage ride was long, the air thick with the scent of rain-soaked earth. By the ti I arrived at the towering estate gates, the sky was a dull gray, as if the heavens themselves were uncertain of my fate.

I was led through grand halls lined with tapestries of past victories, chandeliers casting fractured light across the polished marble floors. This was a house built on war. Every inch of it a reminder of power seized and held with an iron grip.

And at its center stood the man who had taken everything from .

Cairon Everhart.

He sat at the head of the chamber, reviewing docunts with the ease of a man who had been raised on tactics and bloodshed. When I stepped forward, his gaze lifted—cold, unreadable.

"You ca," he said simply.

I curtsied, keeping my voice light. "I was invited."

His lips quirked. "And yet, you ca alone."

A test.

I t his gaze evenly. "Should I have brought an army?"

Silence stretched between us before he gestured toward the seat opposite him. "Sit."

I obeyed, my every movent asured. There was a reason he had called here, and I needed to know why.

He studied for a mont, then set his papers aside. "Tell , Lady Valcrest," he said. "What do you think of this engagent?"

A dangerous question.

I tilted my head. "I think it is politically advantageous."

"And personally?"

I smiled, the kind that didn't quite reach my eyes. "I think that is not what matters."

He leaned back, his expression giving nothing away. "Your father says you were reluctant."

"I was," I admitted. "But I understand my duty."

"And what duty is that?"

I t his gaze, unflinching. "To stand beside the strongest."

Sothing flickered in his eyes. Amusent? Approval? I couldn't tell.

Then, to my surprise, he laughed—low, quiet, but unmistakable. "You are not what I expected, Lady Valcrest."

I kept my voice steady. "Nor are you, Lord Everhart."

For a mont, we simply watched each other, the ga shifting between us. He was testing . asuring how far he could push. And I was doing the sa.

Finally, he stood. "The wedding is in three weeks."

Three weeks.

A countdown had begun.

As I left the Everhart estate, my mind spun with calculations. If soone was working against this engagent, I needed to know who. And if I was going to survive this marriage, I needed to understand what ga Cairon Everhart was truly playing.

Because one thing was clear—

I was not the only one keeping secrets.