The next speaker rose. A Sovereign student from House Solara—silver-haired, composed, and unreadable until now. His sleeve caught the dome light, revealing the platinum thread of Sovereign rank—authority worn, not flaunted.
He didn't bother with a preface. Just began—measured, deliberate.
"Scenario Two."
The Sovereign councillor didn't raise his voice. He didn't need to.
Each word landed like glass on marble—clear, precise, impossible to ignore.
"A figure rises. Not by campaign. Not by conquest. But the system responds."
A pause.
"Visibility accelerates. Access expands. Influence begins to pool—not by intention, but design."
Another pause. Sharper this time.
"She didn't request it. She didn't chase it. But now she has it."
And then—
"The question is no longer how she got here. The question is what she plans to do with what was handed to her."
His gaze didn't shift. Still angled just left of Aria. But the weight in the chamber moved—toward her.
"The system gave her leverage. And when Avalon gives power without precedent... we are expected to ask: will she align? Will she destabilize? Or will she serve something no one accounted for?"
His final words dropped like protocol carved in steel:
"Because power without ancestry demands oversight. And leverage without legacy... invites intervention."
The silence that followed wasn't static.
It was preparation.
A blade waiting for instruction.
He didn't look at Aria. He didn't need to.
But the implication was etched into every breath of the room.
She was the scenario.
Not a participant.
A case file in motion.
Aria didn't move.
She didn't need to.
She'd already felt the shift—subtle, surgical.
Another trap.
If she claimed she would use it boldly—she'd confirm their fears.
If she said she didn't want it—they'd mark her as unstable. A system error. Unfit to hold reach.
She could've said she'd serve something greater.
She could've aligned herself to Avalon.
Said the words they were calibrated to approve.
On paper, it would've been flawless.
But Avalon doesn't judge language.
It judges intent.
Perception.
History.
And in this chamber, her history was already coded—
Not as heir.
Not as ally.
As deviation.
So even if she gave the perfect answer—
YOU ARE READING
Valmont Series - Inheritance Code
Teen FictionWhat if your perfect life was just a rehearsal? On their twelfth birthday, Aria and Aiden Lancaster wake expecting luxury, freedom, and the future they were promised. Instead, they're given an ultimatum: Leave everything behind - their friends, thei...
