Chapter 1: The Governor’s Daughter

The city’s fear of me ran deeper than the river at midnight—Governor’s daughter, yes, but something far more dangerous.

That title was a warning, whispered behind neighbors’ fences and over the crackle of porch lights. My father’s name got you a seat at the table; mine made people cross the street.

Tonight, I picked the fiercest prisoner in the old county lockup: the one with a muzzle strapped tight to his jaw, just begging for trouble. I was ready to indulge myself.

The old county lockup was buried beneath city hall, where the paint peeled and the air stank of bleach and old sweat. My boots thudded on the concrete as I stopped before his cell, heat crawling up the back of my neck at the stares from both sides of the bars. The man with the muzzle stared back, eyes flat and wild.

Suddenly, the peanut gallery in my head started popping off, like TikTok comments scrolling too fast to keep up:

[Bruh, she just picked the final boss as her pet. Girl’s got zero chill.]

[She’s flexing now, but when he escapes, he’s gonna come back with thirty thousand dudes and turn the whole city to dust.]

[Lol, villain queen, just fall in love and save him already!]

It was like my brain was hijacked by a snarky livestream. I let a smirk slip, savoring their anticipation.

I flicked my riding crop—black leather with silver studs catching the flicker of a busted fluorescent. I’d grown up with a crop in hand, breaking horses on my father’s land and sneaking through courthouse tunnels. I knew power; I knew how to use it.

Let him conquer my bed before he conquers my city.

The thought was wild, reckless—exactly how I liked it. If I was going to play villain, I’d do it my way.