His Bride, Her Revenge-Chapter 81: The King’s Mistake

Cambria’s pulse hammered in her temples as Brienne’s words echoed in the tense silence of the war room. Her fingers shook involuntarily, but she forced herself to focus.

"Knox."

She couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think.

"No," Cambria whispered, shaking her head. It was impossible. Knox had been too cautious, too strategic to make such an obvious move. And yet, the cold fear seeping into her bones told her otherwise. There was no mistaking the look on Brienne’s face, pure, unadulterated dread.

"Tell me what you know," Cambria demanded, her voice low but firm.

Brienne hesitated before pulling out a small tablet and tapping a few commands. The screen flickered, and a video appeared.

The footage was grainy but unmistakable. The camera angle suggested it was a hidden surveillance feed, likely from one of the many networks Knox had access to. In the dimly lit room stood a figure tall, imposing, and unmistakably familiar.

Cambria’s blood ran cold.

It was her.

The video was from her quarters, showing her fast asleep in her bed, unguarded, vulnerable. And then, the next frame was a close-up of her face, the soft, peaceful expression she wore when unaware of the chaos threatening her life.

But it wasn’t the image of her that made her stomach twist. It was the caption below the video:

"I’m closer than you think."

Cambria’s mind raced as she tried to piece the information together. Knox was playing a game one much more dangerous than she’d anticipated. He had access to her inner circle, her most private moments, and now, it was clear he was waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

Brienne spoke again, her voice trembling. "Cambria, Knox has infiltrated the city. Our systems, our networks, they’re compromised. He’s planting seeds of doubt, destabilizing alliances... he’s already begun making moves against you. Against us."

"How did he get access?" Cambria’s mind was spinning. Knox was a master manipulator, yes, but to break into her systems, to get that close...

"I don’t know," Brienne replied, her expression strained. "But the breach is real. We’ve been tracking strange encrypted signals over the last few days, and this " She gestured to the screen. "This confirms it. He’s playing a game we’ve never seen before. A game with no rules."

Cambria stood motionless for a moment, absorbing the weight of Brienne’s words. Her father’s return, the project Pandora, the threats looming on all sides... It was too much. She had known, on some level, that Knox would make a move eventually. But not this quickly. Not this dangerously.

"Where’s Maddox?" Cambria asked, her voice suddenly harsh.

"Still in the city. We’ve been tracking him, but he’s moving cautiously. He’s been keeping his distance ever since "

"Since he confessed," Cambria finished for her. "I know."

Brienne nodded. "He’s been working with us, but he’s clearly torn. His loyalties are... complicated."

Cambria clenched her fists at her sides. The weight of responsibility pressed down on her chest, but there was something else, something heavier: a gut-wrenching doubt. She trusted Maddox, yes, but there was always that lingering question. Could she trust him fully? Or had he been playing his own game all along?

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden beep from her phone. She didn’t need to look at it to know it was another message from Knox.

But this one was different. The message was not an image or a video. It was text.

"You think you can fight me? I’ve already won." ƒrēenovelkiss.com

The words sent a cold shiver through her body. There was no mistaking the certainty in that message. Knox wasn’t just threatening her. He was predicting the future. He had already set his plan in motion, and it seemed like he was confident that victory was inevitable.

Cambria’s mind raced. If Knox had already infiltrated her systems, her networks, then he knew everything. He knew her every move, every weakness. He was one step ahead, ten steps ahead.

She couldn’t let him win.

"We need to act, and we need to act now," she said, turning back to Brienne. "Prepare a full lockdown of the city’s infrastructure. I want every major building, every company, every strategic position locked down. No one enters or leaves without my approval. And get our best operatives to sweep the city for any traces of Knox."

"Cambria " Brienne began, but Cambria cut her off.

"No arguments," Cambria snapped. "We don’t have time to waste. If Knox thinks he’s already won, then it’s up to us to prove him wrong."

Brienne nodded, stepping back and pulling out her phone to issue the orders. As she walked away, Cambria remained standing by the table, the weight of the situation pressing down on her.

Her mind flickered back to her father’s words "You are me." Lucien had said it, and as much as she hated to admit it, she was beginning to see the truth in it. The Vale blood ran through her veins. The ambition, the drive, and the hunger for power were all there, just waiting to be unleashed.

But now, it was no longer just about vengeance. It was about survival.

And in the battle for survival, there was no room for weakness.

Elsewhere, Hidden in Plain Sight

Lucien Vale sat in a darkened room, far from the chaos that was about to unfold. The glow from his computer screen illuminated his face as he read the encrypted messages on his screen. Every word was deliberate, calculated. His plans were set in motion. Everything was falling into place.

But there was something else, something more dangerous than Cambria’s rebellion, more insidious than Knox’s schemes.

There was the matter of his own mistake.

Lucien had always believed that his daughter would be the one to inherit his empire, to carry on his legacy. But there was a flaw in his plan: a crack in the foundation. Cambria had been a child when he vanished, too naive to understand the magnitude of what he’d built. She had been forced to grow up in a world where survival meant becoming something else. And in doing so, she had strayed from the path he’d set for her.

Lucien’s mistake was thinking that he could control her. That he could shape her into the perfect weapon. But in doing so, he underestimated her strength and determination. She was becoming something greater than even he had imagined.

And that, in itself, was dangerous.

Lucien turned away from the screen, his expression darkening. The pieces on the board were moving, but he couldn’t afford to make any more mistakes. Not now. The fate of everything he had built rested on a single choice. A choice that was swiftly slipping from his grasp.

He wasn’t the only one playing this game. Others had been waiting for the right moment to strike. And now, that moment was upon them.

The war for control of everything power, legacy, and destiny had only just begun.

The clock on the wall ticked down the seconds like a countdown to disaster.

Cambria watched as Brienne worked with swift precision, issuing orders and making preparations for the lockdown. The room was a blur of activity, a hive of strategy and action, but Cambria’s mind was elsewhere on the message from Knox. On the threat that was growing larger with each passing minute.

And then, as if the universe itself was playing some cruel joke, her phone buzzed again. Another encrypted message.

This one was different.

It was a location.

The coordinates pointed to an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city.

But the message itself was even more chilling:

"I’ve taken something of yours. Come and get it. Or lose everything."

Cambria’s heart raced as she processed the words. She didn’t need to ask what had been taken. She knew.

It was her mother’s legacy. It was the key to everything in her father’s empire, the truth behind the Vale legacy, and the power that could either save her or destroy her.

"Brienne," Cambria said, her voice cold and steady despite the storm brewing inside her, "I need a team ready in fifteen minutes. We’re going to find out what Knox is really after. And we’re going to make sure he regrets ever crossing me."

Brienne nodded, her eyes sharp with resolve. "Yes, ma’am."

As Cambria turned to leave, she felt the weight of the choices before her. The risks. The betrayals. The shadows of the past are closing in around her.

And yet, even with everything on the line, she couldn’t help but feel something else, something that sent a chill down her spine.

Knox might not be the only one playing this game.

The doors to the war room slammed open, and a voice rang out.

"Cambria! You need to see this. It’s Lucien. He’s activated Project Pandora."

Cambria froze. The words hit her like a tidal wave. Project Pandora was the last, most dangerous weapon her father had ever created.

The world was about to burn.