Chapter 157 THE PRICE OF THE CROWN
The message did not disappear.
It burned.
Eliana stared at the screen, her fingers frozen around the phone as if letting go might shatter reality.
Kill Ethan Blackwood.
The words were simple, direct, merciless.
Her chest tightened slowly, painfully, as memories flooded her mind. Ethan’s voice, his touch, the nights he stayed awake to protect her, the way he looked at her as if she were the only thing that mattered in a world full of chaos.
Was it all a lie?
Or was it the only truth she had ever known?
She slowly lowered the phone and turned toward the mirror.
The girl staring back at her looked familiar, yet dangerously different.
Her eyes were darker.
Her expression was harder.
Her soul felt heavier.
“Seraphina,” she whispered softly, testing the name on her lips.
The name did not feel foreign anymore.
It felt like destiny.
Outside, the city slept.
But the world around her did not.
Somewhere far away, Victor Hale stood on the balcony of a towering fortress, the night wind brushing against his coat. His gaze was fixed on the horizon, but his mind was on her.
“She has reached the edge,” he said calmly.
A man stood beside him, bowing his head slightly.
“Will she obey?” the man asked.
Victor smiled faintly.
“She has no choice,” he replied.
Back in the mansion, Ethan stood alone in the training hall.
The lights were dim.
The air was heavy.
He was punching a metal post repeatedly, his knuckles bleeding, but he didn’t stop.
Each удар was filled with anger.
With fear.
With love he refused to admit anymore.
Clara watched him from the doorway, her arms crossed tightly around her chest.
“She’s changing,” she said quietly.
Ethan didn’t turn.
“I know,” he replied.
“She might actually accept Victor’s offer,” Clara continued.
This time, Ethan stopped.
Slowly, he turned to her.
His eyes were no longer gentle.
“They will have to kill me first,” he said.
Clara swallowed hard.
For the first time, she understood something terrifying.
Ethan was not joking.
Later that night, Eliana walked through the silent corridors of the mansion.
Her footsteps were slow, deliberate.
She was not running.
She was not hiding.
She was searching.
When she reached the training hall, she stopped at the door.
She could hear Ethan inside.
She pushed the door open.
The sound echoed softly.
Ethan turned instantly.
Their eyes met.
Time stopped.
Neither of them spoke.
The silence between them was thicker than words.
Eliana walked inside slowly.
The lights reflected off the floor, casting long shadows behind her.
“You should be sleeping,” Ethan said quietly.
“I can’t,” she replied.
He studied her face carefully.
Something about her was different.
Not broken.
Not confused.
Focused.
“Did he contact you again?” Ethan asked.
She didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, she walked closer.
Step by step.
Until only a few inches separated them.
“Yes,” she said.
Ethan’s jaw tightened.
“What did he say?”
Eliana looked into his eyes.
Her voice was calm.
“He gave me a task.”
The air changed.
Ethan’s instincts sharpened.
“What task?”
She hesitated for a brief moment.
Then she said it.
“He wants me to kill you.”
The words fell into the hall like thunder.
Ethan did not move.
He did not react.
He simply stared at her.
For a long moment.
Then he spoke.
“If you came here to do it,” he said quietly, “why are you still standing?”
Her fingers curled slowly into fists.
“I don’t know,” she whispered.
Ethan stepped closer.
His voice was low.
Dangerously soft.
“Because you still love me,” he said.
Her eyes trembled.
For a second, the mask cracked.
But only for a second.
Then she lifted her head again.
“Love is weakness,” she said.
Ethan felt something twist inside his chest.
“Who told you that?” he asked.
She looked away.
“He did,” she replied.
Ethan’s voice hardened.
“Victor Hale is turning you into him.”
She looked back at him sharply.
“And what if he’s right?” she asked.
Ethan froze.
Her voice grew colder.
“What if love is the reason people get destroyed? What if feelings are the chains that keep us weak? What if becoming his heir is the only way to survive?”
Ethan stared at her.
For the first time, he saw fear in her eyes.
Not fear of him.
Fear of herself.
“Eliana,” he said slowly, “if you cross that line… you will never come back.”
She swallowed hard.
“And if I don’t?” she asked.
He answered without hesitation.
“Then he will kill you. Or me. Or everyone you love.”
Silence fell again.
The world felt fragile.
Then Eliana slowly raised her hand.
Ethan’s body tensed instantly.
Her hand trembled slightly.
For a moment, it looked like she might strike him.
Or kill him.
Instead, her hand stopped in the air.
Her voice broke.
“I don’t want to become a monster,” she whispered.
The confession was barely audible.
Ethan stepped forward without thinking.
He grabbed her wrist gently.
“You’re not a monster,” he said firmly.
She looked at him.
Tears filled her eyes.
“But what if I have to be one to survive?” she asked.
Ethan pulled her closer.
His voice was steady.
“Then I’ll fight the world with you,” he said.
Her heart shook.
Outside, lightning flashed across the sky.
Inside her chest, something shattered.
She leaned forward slowly.
Her forehead touched his.
For a moment, they were close enough to forget the world.
Then her phone vibrated again.
The sound broke everything.
She pulled away instantly.
She looked at the screen.
A new message.
From Victor.
“Time is running out. Choose.”
Her hands trembled.
Ethan watched her silently.
He already knew the truth.
The war had started.
And this time…
the enemy was not outside.
It was inside her.
The next message appeared.
Short.
Cold.
Merciless.
“If you don’t kill him tonight, I will kill Clara.”
Eliana’s eyes widened.
Her breath stopped.
Slowly, she lifted her head.
Her gaze met Ethan’s.
And for the first time, he saw something terrifying.
Not love.
Not fear.
But decision.
She whispered softly:
“I’m sorry.”
Then she turned and walked away.
Leaving Ethan standing alone in the hall.
Not knowing whether she was going to save him…
Or destroy him.