Page 77 of The Broken Queen

“You see, Lars ismybiological father, not Raven’s. Hemurderedmy mother and then shipped me off to the States so he wouldn’t be reminded of his past. Then he met Raven’s mother and you all know how that ended.”

The King scoffed, “You can’t prove shit.”

Slade chuckled, “Indeed I can.” He held up the Manila folder that held everything inside. The DNA test stating that Lars was in fact Slade’s father. Evidence collected over the years for the murders he committed, including his mother’s and mine. Information on the trafficking ring he conducted, with a black list of names the cops could go after.

And then he held up one more thing.My journal.He placed it on top of the folder and gave it to the cops. My mind raced. They couldn’t see that journal. I would go to prison in a heartbeat if they read what I’d done to that poor man.

He gave me a head nod and took a step back, and the cops moved towards Lars. “You’re under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law.”

They read the Miranda rights to him and all the pressure that was on my shoulders seemed to fade away until Zeke decided he wasn’t going to go down without a fight.

He grabbed hold of my hair and dragged me to him. A small scream came from my lips, and it was then that I decided I would no longer be hisvictim.

I would no longer be his plaything that he could use whenever the fuck he wanted. I’d had enough of him. Enough of his bullshit, of his desires, and of him causing me a grotesque amount of pain.

I pulled against him, and he wasn’t prepared for that. The veil fell from my hair, along with his hand. Without waiting for anything else to happen, I took the knife from the bouquet and stabbed him in the chest.

“Oh my God!!” Someone screamed from the crowd and people took off running.

Slade moved through the crowd, pushing the cops out of the way to get to me. He pulled me into his arms and held me through the chaos. He lifted my chin as tears leaked from my eyes. Being in his arms, after everything I went through, made the memories briefly disappear. “I will make this go away. I promise. All of the pain, fear, and heartache they’ve put you through. This will go away. That is my vow to you.” His lips met mine in a heated kiss and the pain in my heart temporarily healed.

In a heartbeat, the cops pulled us apart. I’d only been successful at killing one other person in my lifetime. At that point, I knew the only punishment I would receive for it was the one I gave myself. Now, as an adult, and “Queen” of a country, I had rules to follow and laws to abide by. I’d just commited the worst crime one could commit.

Both the King and Queen’s chess pieces fell on the day of the wedding funeral.

Epilogue

Slade

I arranged the tools on the table, and then made sure the straps were secured on both men.

Elijah and Dexter were standing against the wall, smirks on their faces. Elijah and I had made up, but that didn’t mean I trusted him fully. He had a long way to go before he earned my trust back.

Lars and Zeke were restrained to two chairs with ball gags in their mouths. A long time ago, I told myself I would be the one to enact revenge on them so Raven wouldn’t have to. The day of the wedding proved to me just how much the two of them had fucked her up.

Watching her take a knife and stab Zeke in the chest, her face void of emotion as they took her off to the station messed with me. It made me a whole new level of angry.

Thankfully, it didn’t take long to clear her name. After the police looked through all the evidence I had collected, and reading the journal I gave them, they cleared it as self defense.

Not to mention, parliament proclaimedme as King shortly after. So Zeke and Lars didn’t get their way like they’d hoped. After I became King I made a deal with the police to help them crack down on the trafficking ring Lars created, to help them make several arrests. But if I were to do that, I needed both Zeke and Lars released to me, no questions asked.

It was a very corrupt thing to do, and probably not the best route to take being the new King, but I was protecting Raven and our daughter from ever being harmed by these two again.

I cracked my knuckles and tried to figure out which tool to use first. I circled around them, watching them quiver in fear. “You know, it’s pretty interesting. Watching the two of you, eyes wide, squirming underneath your restraints because you’re scared.” My eyes went to Lars, who had no remorse for what he’d done. “You weren’t scared when you torturedmyQueen.” My gaze switched to Zeke’s who showed me exactly why he couldn’t be King. He was a fucking pussy. “You weren’t scared when you raped and defiled her repeatedly, using her to get to the top when you wouldn’t have made it. You would’ve been the second weakest king this country had ever seen.”

Elijah piped in, a grin covering his mouth. “Can we get started, King? I’m getting a little giddy at the thought of giving these fuckers a taste of their own medicine.”

I nodded, but held up a finger. I hadonemore thing to say to Lars. I took the knife from the table, leaving the rest of the tools for the boys. He had placed a mask over his face, a survival tactic that wouldn’t last long. “Elijah, place his hand down. Hold it still.”

He came over and did just that. For one final time, my gaze met Lars. The biological father whoabandonedme for Raven, to only end up abandoning her and putting her through a torture no one should have to live through. “This is for everyone you’ve fucked over, including our mothers. Enjoy hell, because youwon’t be coming back.”

I raised the knife and slammed it down, cutting off his hand. He screamed bloody murder through the ball gag, and I took several steps back. I laid the knife on the table and raised my hands. Looking at Elijah and Dexter, “It’s your turn boys. Have your fun with them, but I will give the final blow.”

I left the room and went to wash my hands. We were at the estate in the dungeon and as much as Raven protested keeping this place around, it only made sense to keep it standing.

My family from the compound came and stayed at the estate. This was now their home. Most of the people Lars had employed were hired on to stay. The ones I knew back from when I lived here, the ones we could trust.

Raven and Julianna moved out to the home I created for them, with other houses on the same spit of land, for those who needed to be there to protect them. It was a new estate, built from the ground up, with only happy memories.

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