[POV: Sofia Lanka]

"Stay back, Mother. Don’t take another step toward that helicopter or I will vent the fuel lines and turn this entire terrace into a crater. I don't care about the Northern Throne or the 'golden line' you think you’ve discovered. My children are not diplomatic chips, and I am not your puppet. If the Royal Family is coming, let them come. They can find their lost heir standing over the ashes of everything you built."

Sofia’s voice didn't tremble. The golden light in her eyes was no longer a flicker or a glitch; it was a steady, blinding radiance that seemed to push back the smoke and...