Their Queen Returns novel Chapter 1

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Chapter 1 The Ghost Of The Past

"Are you sure about this, Sienna? You don't have to go back to Solara. You could stay here, with us."

Outside the airport terminal, a woman in a chic white suit held Sienna's hand, her own trembling. Her blonde hair and blue eyes were swimming with a desperate plea. "Please, stay," she begged.

Sienna, a vision of cool elegance, met her foster mother's gaze. She pulled her into a deep, meaningful hug, her own eyes stinging.

"I have to go back, Mom," she said softly. "But I'll be back. I promise."

But as the plane taxied down the runway, she knew this was a promise she might not be able to keep.

Three days ago, the dam of her memory had broken. Ten years, washed away in an instant, revealing the truth of who she was.

She was Sienna Hart, eldest daughter of the prestigious Hart family of Vallaris.

At eighteen, a trip abroad had ended in a fiery plane crash. By some miracle, she survived, only to be found by a kind couple who, believing she had no one, adopted her and raised her as their own.

Now, at twenty-eight, the past had come rushing back. Her family was alive. The weight of that knowledge was a moral compass she couldn't ignore. She had to go home.

The flight was long, but sleep was a distant stranger. Sienna spent the hours piecing together the fractured memories of her family. It all felt like a bizarre, vivid dream from another lifetime.

At ten past 10 at night, Sienna arrived in Vallaris. She hailed a cab, and the driver greeted her with thick Vallaris accent. "Where to, Miss?"

A faint smile touched her lips. "88 Maplecrest Avenue, please."

"Well, I'll be," the driver said, catching her accent. "You don't look local. I thought you were a tourist."

Sienna's smile widened. "I'm from here. It's just... "

The smile faltered, a shadow of old pain and fresh hope passing through her eyes. "... it's been a long time."

Ten years. A lifetime. Everything she knew was gone. 'Are you okay, my dear sisters?' She thought to herself with a bitter smile.

The driver chattered on, a friendly monologue about how kids these days should visit their parents more.

When they pulled up to the address, Sienna paid and stepped out, her brow furrowing. A sleek, pulsing nightclub stood where her memories insisted it shouldn't be.

Charmvale. The name felt foreign on her tongue. The world had truly moved on without her.

But as she turned to leave, a heated argument at the club's entrance caught her eye. A man, radiating a lazy arrogance with his hands shoved in his pockets, had the kind of face that promised heartbreak. His voice was a whip of cold indifference.

"Get it through your head," he was speaking to a young girl, who looked painfully thin in her simple dress. "You're a stand-in. A substitute. Do I have to spell it out for you?"

The girl's eyes were red-rimmed, her pretty face streaked with tears.

"Mason, I already told you," she replied. "I don't feel well. I'm not going to the hospital to donate blood today."

Mason let out a cruel laugh. He grabbed her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. "Not feeling well? Is that why you're here, selling drinks? Or is it something else you're selling, Vivian?"

Vivian's jaw tightened. With a sharp crack, her hand flew across his face.

"You're a monster, Mason," she spat, her voice trembling with rage. "I've paid my debts. We're done. Now get away from me!"

"Done?" Mason scoffed. "You don't get to say when we're done. Did you forget? Without my family's engagement to yours three years ago, the Harts would be bankrupt. You want to walk away? Go ahead. But I wonder what your father would have to say about that."

With that, he grabbed her arm, and started dragging her toward his car. "If you want to keep playing the part of my fiancée, you'll do as you're told. Chloe needs your blood. It's the only thing you're good for, after all."

A wave of utter despair washed over Vivian. She closed her eyes, defeated.

It was always like this. Three years ago, she'd thought he was her savior. He'd seemed to genuinely like her. But it was all a lie. He was just using her as a living, breathing medicine cabinet for the woman he actually loved.

Every month, another transfusion. And when she tried to end it, her own father had slapped her for even suggesting it.