Page 200 of Vexatious Queen

Dad chuckled, and soon everyone was laughing.

“From the mouth of babes, we have the most logical and honest answer to an age-old question. Thank you, Lip, for reminding us of what is really important.”

Things settled down after that, and I actually caught Ronan chatting with Vicky. They didn’t look like they were going to stab each other, and that seemed like a win for one of our meals.

Now…if it could only stay like this for a few more hours.

MARCH 7 – SATURDAY 7:07 PM

Yuliana

The SUV smelled like leather, gun oil, and old ghosts. The ghosts were definitely mine.

Snow slid across the windshield in lazy spirals. It was the kind of night that looked peaceful and beautiful if you didn’t know any better. Vlad drove with both hands steady on the wheel, eyes forward, and his jaw set. Mylo sat beside him. They were both quiet in the way men got when they were prepared to kill for you without being asked. We’d been doing this dance for too many years now.

I hated how they’d given up everything to protect me. They hardly dated. They never married or had children themselves. They’d cut off all contact with their families when they swore to protect me, and we went on the run.

My reflection in the window stared back at me. Eyes that I hardly recognized anymore. I had seen too much, lived with too much pain and regret, and I was the kind of tired that went beyond needing sleep. If it weren’t for Ren and Eddie, I would’ve gotten down on my knees years ago and told God to take me. They were what kept me going.

Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out the picture I carried everywhere with me. It was the last time that Eddie, Ren, and I were all together. I’d vowed to protect Ren at all costs, even if that cost was my life, and I’d do it all over again. I let the ache settle deep in my bones.

My father was alive.

Not just alive, but sitting at Eddie’s table, with our daughter. I didn’t understand why Eddie hadn’t already killed him. Instead, Vadin was laughing, toasting, and breaking bread with the family he never wanted. The family he cast away. My father was existing in a world he had no right to occupy.

The thought burned hotter than any revenge fantasy I’d ever indulged.

How dare he come here?

How dare he be so weak that he chose to hide behind my child?

Vadin Mikhailov didn’t deserve to breathe the same air as Ren.

“You can still turn back,” Mylo said quietly, as if this were any other night. Any other sin.

I smiled without humor.

“If I turn back now, I’ll never stop running from the shadows that chase me.”

Vlad’s eyes flicked to the mirror and met mine.

“Once you step inside,” he said, voice low. “There will be no hiding anymore. Lilya and Mr. Genovese will know that you’ve been alive this whole time.”

“I know,” I agreed. “But it is time I faced the demons I’ve been side-stepping ever since I set these wheels in motion. My daughter deserves to know the truth, and she needs to hear it from me.”

The world believed I was dead. I’d allowed my daughter to grieve a ghost. I’d allowed men who deserved to choke on their own blood to sit comfortably in warm houses and call themselves patriarchs. I’d told myself it was strategy. Protection. Distance as a form of mercy. But now I questioned every decision I’d ever made. The distance hadn’t protected Ren from anything. It had only protected me.

The tall gates were wide open when we turned into the community, and no guard was posted in the tiny booth. I smirked. A trap set as an invitation. Eddie would never allow this unless the place were teeming with guards.

Eddie’s house was at the far end of the street. Teens stood outside the nearby homes smoking and laughing.

“Are you seeing this?”

“Yeah, that’s pretty sly. Who do you think they are,” Vlad asked.

“I don’t know, but as long as they are here to protect my daughter, I really don’t care.”

“What if they are here to kill us,” Mylo asked, subtly pulling his gun out and checking it.