Chapter 33
Zora
The evening of my coronation finally arrives. From the top of the grand staircase, I look out over the ballroom as hundreds of guests fill the estate below. Every detail has been planned to perfection, creating exactly the kind of event my dad would've hosted.
As I begin my descent, the room's attention gradually settles on me. Every greeting and every watchful glance serves as the same reminder. Tonight, these people aren't simply welcoming me as Marcus Krogen's daughter. They're deciding whether I'm worthy of leading the empire he left behind.
The first guests approach before I even reach the ballroom floor. An elderly diplomat I vaguely remember meeting years ago offers me a warm smile as he extends his hand.
"Congratulations, Miss Krogen. It feels like only yesterday your father was introducing you to everyone at one of these gatherings. You were barely tall enough to see over the banquet tables."
A quiet laugh escapes me despite the tension in my chest. "I remember hiding behind him for most of the evening."
"You did." He says with an amused nod. "You spent half the night glaring at anyone who tried to speak to you."
"I'd like to think I've improved since then."
"You have." His smile softens. "Your father would've been proud to see how gracefully you've stepped into this role. The Krogen name remains strong under your leadership."
For just a fraction of a second, his words catch me off guard.
I thank him politely, but the compliment lingers long after he moves on.
If only he knew that I'm not trying to preserve my dad's legacy.
I'm trying to build an empire so different from his that one day the Krogen name will no longer be defined by the man who created it.
There is barely enough time to draw another breath before more guests surround me. A CEO from one of Europe's largest shipping conglomerates raises his champagne glass with a confident smile.
"To the new head of the Krogen Empire." He announces loudly enough for several nearby conversations to stop. "May your leadership bring even greater prosperity than your father's."
Several others lift their glasses in agreement.
"To Miss Krogen."
"To the empire."
"To its future."
I raise my glass with a practiced smile. "Thank you all for being here tonight. Your support means more than you know, and I look forward to building the future of the Krogen Empire together."
The response earns polite applause before conversations slowly resume, but I notice the subtle shift almost immediately.
The introductions become easier. People no longer approach me simply because protocol demands it.
They begin asking questions about future expansion, investments, and shipping routes.
They want to understand what kind of leader I intend to become.
Some speak with genuine curiosity. Others are measuring me, trying to determine whether the empire will remain as powerful beneath my leadership as it was beneath my dad's.
I answer every question with confidence, though my attention drifts across the ballroom every so often. Anton catches my eye from across the room and offers the slightest nod before returning to his conversation. It's a small gesture, but enough to steady me.
His presence only makes the other absences more noticeable.
Mikkel, Margrethe, Leonora, Tobias, Nikolaj, and Katya should all be seated at the head table, yet every one of their chairs sits empty.
No one comments on it outright, but the occasional glance in their direction tells me the guests have noticed just as much as I have.
"I heard Mikkel refused the invitation."
"He still doesn't recognize her authority."
"I thought he would've attended for appearances if nothing else."
The conversation dies the moment I approach, replaced by polite smiles and courteous greetings. I return them just as easily, pretending not to notice. Let them speculate. The empire is still standing, and tonight, that's all that matters.
Keith and Aurelia's absence, however, carries none of that bitterness.
Somewhere on the other side of the world, they are probably watching glaciers drift past from the deck of an absurdly expensive expedition yacht while Aurelia convinces Keith to do something reckless in the name of adventure.
The thought brings an unexpected smile to my face.
After everything they endured, they deserve every moment of peace they can find.
The smile fades almost as quickly as it arrives, and before I can stop myself, my gaze drifts toward the estate's entrance.
Nothing.
I tell myself I wasn't looking for anyone in particular, but the lie doesn't survive more than a few seconds. I invited Nico nearly a week ago. The first message had been casual enough that he could decline without feeling obligated. The second had been harder to send.
I hope to see you there.
He never replied. Not to the invitation, not to the second message.
Somewhere over the past few weeks, he'd quietly become part of my routine, and I hate how noticeable his absence has become.
"You're smiling." Sebastian's voice pulls me back before my thoughts can wander any further.
I turn to find Sebastian beside me, impeccably dressed as always, a champagne glass in one hand.
As another group of guests approaches, his free hand settles lightly against the small of my back.
The gesture is subtle, familiar, and entirely expected.
To everyone watching, we look exactly as we always have. The perfect engaged couple.
"What’s so amusing?" He asks quietly.
I meet his gaze for a moment before forcing the expression from my face. "Nothing."
His eyes linger on me as though he knows better, but he doesn't press the issue. The next wave of guests reaches us, and we slip effortlessly back into our roles, smiling for photographs and accepting congratulations as though nothing between us has changed.
Yet beneath the carefully practiced smiles and effortless conversation, an uncomfortable awareness lingers between us.
Neither of us acknowledges it. Neither of us needs to. Some truths have already been spoken without either person saying a single word.
Just as the master of ceremonies steps onto the stage, the lights throughout the ballroom begin to dim. At first, no one seems concerned. I glance toward Erin, expecting a reassuring nod, but instead find her staring at the projector screens with visible confusion. She didn't plan this.
A crackle echoes through the speakers as every screen flickers to life, replacing the Krogen crest with a national news broadcast.
The anchor smiles into the camera.
"Good evening. Tonight marks the official coronation of Zora Krogen as the new head of the Krogen Empire. As the world celebrates the beginning of a new chapter, we take a look back at the legacy of the man who built it all. Marcus Krogen."
Old footage of my dad begins playing across the screens. Around me, guests watch with quiet approval, and I slowly let out the breath I'd been holding.
Then the anchor pauses. It lasts only a second. Barely noticeable. Yet something about it immediately makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
"However..." he continues, his tone shifting from celebratory to serious, "...recently obtained footage has raised unexpected questions surrounding the future of Miss Krogen's engagement."
The ballroom falls completely silent.
"The new heir of the Krogen Empire has been seen in a compromising situation with a man who is not her fiancé."
For a split second, my mind refuses to process what I've just heard. Then the footage begins to play, and my stomach drops.
A familiar hallway fills the screen, and I recognize it instantly.
Elysian Haven. Keith and Aurelia's wedding.
The photograph is grainy, as though it had been taken from somewhere nearby without our knowledge, but it's clear enough to leave no room for doubt.
Nico is standing in front of me, one hand cupping my face as he kisses me.
Even frozen in time, the image tells its own story.
The image is blurred enough that individual facial features are difficult to make out, yet anyone who knows us would recognize us immediately.
Someone nearby gasps.
Another guest quietly mutters, "Dear God..."
Conversations explode all at once.
"What the hell was that?"
"Is that really Miss Krogen? I thought she was engaged."
"Who is the man?"
"How did this happen?"
"I heard the wedding had private security."
"Then who leaked the footage?"
The ballroom erupts into whispers, but I remain frozen, staring at the image still filling every screen. My mind races, trying to understand how anyone could have captured that moment. Elysian Haven's security is not easy to breach.
So who took the photograph?
Across the ballroom, I catch Erin moving before anyone else does. The confusion on her face disappears, replaced by sharp, practiced focus. She intercepts Caleb, speaking to him in quick, urgent sentences I can't make out over the growing noise.
He doesn't hesitate.
One hand goes to the radio clipped to his jacket as he begins issuing orders.
Almost immediately, security personnel stationed around the ballroom spring into motion.
Some head toward the projection booth while others move to the entrances, their sudden coordination telling me everything I need to know.
This wasn't part of the evening. Something had gone terribly wrong.
The questions begin before the screens even go dark.
Reporters surge forward, microphones and cameras suddenly surrounding me from every direction.
"Miss Krogen, can you confirm the photograph is authentic?"
"Who is the man?"
"What does this mean for your engagement?"
The questions blur together as camera flashes erupt across the ballroom. Security rushes to hold the growing crowd back, but every step I take only seems to bring another microphone into my path.
"I..." The word dies before I can finish it. For the first time in years… I don't know what to say.