Her childhood was forged in shadows, and she was sharpened into a weapon, trained to be a ghost, a killer—an instrument of vengeance. The target: a decorated general who brought down her family.

But fate doesn't follow orders.

Just as Lara was about to execute her long-planned mission, everything spiraled out of control. A military convoy intercepted her escape route—escorting none other than the general himself. And then came the moment that changed everything.

A blinding crash. Screeching tires. Her body was thrown like a ragdoll, then darkness.

She had a fleeting recollection of another world, another lifetime where kings ruled the land with an iron fist.

But she woke up, and twelve long months had passed. 

She did not know where she was or who she was. She remembered nothing.

They told her different names.

A child with trembling hope whispered, “Mommy, your name is Moira Torres.”

Her doctor insisted, “Your admission slip says Larissa Reyes.”

A hardened general leaned close and commanded, “Remember who you are. Remember your mission.”

Then another general—dangerously calm, incredibly familiar—looked at her as if she mattered and asked, “Can I call you Lara?”

The name unlocked something buried deep in her soul.

Lara Norse Kromwel.
Daughter of General Odin Norse.
Empress of the First Empire.

But the man who watched her most closely dismissed it with cold certainty.
“This is the 21st century,” he said. “What nonsense are you spouting? What Empress?  You are my woman.  You can only be mine!"

Not rebels from the streets. Not nameless extremists.


But men trained under the same flag the Norse family had bled for.


That must have been the cruelest cut of all.


To dedicate generations to protecting a nation… only to have that nation's own soldiers storm a child's birthday party and turn it into a massacre, injure a Norse wife, and abduct a Norse precious child.


No wonder the Norse family never spoke of it. It was taboo.


It wasn't just a tragedy. It was betrayal.


Lara closed her eyes briefly, imagining it — the chaos, the screaming, the gunfire tearing through balloons and birthday banners.


Chloe Fuegerra, Madeline's best friend.


Elegant. Warm. Laughing as she adjusted party decorations. A mother celebrating her son's second year of life — probably dressed in something soft and expensive, her joy effortless.


Chapter 92 - What Happened Back Then - Flash Back