00:00Maya stared at the photograph on her phone.
00:03Tommy, smiling and unaware,
00:06seated across from someone whose face had been deliberately cropped out,
00:10except for a single wedding ring resting beside an untouched glass of wine.
00:14That ring, Isabel whispered,
00:17taking the phone with shaking hands.
00:19I know that ring.
00:21You know it, Marcus asked sharply.
00:24It belonged to Reverend Aldous Kane, Isabel said.
00:28He officiated our ceremony three years ago.
00:31He was the only outside witness present,
00:34besides Helene and two palace guards who've since retired.
00:39Then we need to find Reverend Kane.
00:41Immediately.
00:43Marcus's expression hardened.
00:46Marcus worked his contacts from Maya's cramped apartment kitchen table,
00:50laptop open,
00:51while Isabel paced anxiously near the window,
00:54and Maya sat frozen,
00:56staring at Tommy's smiling face on her phone screen.
01:00Reverend Kane retired from active palace duties 18 months ago, Marcus said,
01:05scanning through records,
01:07officially residing in a small parish outside the capital.
01:11Unofficially, he paused, frowning at the screen.
01:14He hasn't filed a tax record, medical claim,
01:17or utility bill in over four months.
01:20He's missing two.
01:21The pieces settling into place with growing dread,
01:26or hiding, Marcus said.
01:28Which, given everything else happening tonight,
01:31might be the safer assumption.
01:34Marcus, if Reverend Kane has been missing for four months,
01:38that's long before any of tonight's events,
01:40before Adrian and Maya's accident,
01:43before Lawrence Ashworth made his move.
01:45Which means, Marcus said grimly,
01:49whatever this is,
01:50it started long before we thought it did.
01:53Isabel stopped pacing abruptly.
01:55They drove three hours through the night
01:58to the small rural parish listed as Reverend Kane's last known residence.
02:02Arriving just as grey morning light broke over quiet farmland,
02:07the church was locked,
02:08the attached rectory dark
02:10and clearly unoccupied for some time.
02:13A thin layer of dust covered the front steps,
02:17undisturbed,
02:18except for a single set of fresh footprints
02:20leading around the side of the building.
02:22Someone's been here recently,
02:24Marcus said,
02:25drawing his weapon carefully
02:27as they followed the tracks around back.
02:29Behind the rectory,
02:31they found a small root cellar door,
02:33slightly ajar,
02:35a faint light flickering from somewhere below.
02:38Marcus descended first,
02:40weapon raised,
02:41Maya and Isabel following close behind.
02:44The cellar was small,
02:46cluttered with old church records
02:48and forgotten furniture,
02:49and in the far corner,
02:51curled beneath a threadbare blanket,
02:54sat an elderly man,
02:55gaunt and pale,
02:57flinching violently
02:58at the sudden light.
03:00Reverend Kane,
03:02Isabel said softly,
03:03kneeling down slowly.
03:05The old man squinted up at her,
03:07disbelief spreading across his weathered face.
03:10Princess Isabel,
03:12you're alive,
03:12so are you.
03:14Isabel said gently,
03:16Reverend,
03:17what happened to you?
03:18Why are you hiding down here?
03:20Reverend Kane's hands trembled
03:22as he clutched the blanket tighter
03:24around his shoulders.
03:25Because four months ago,
03:27someone came to my parish,
03:29asking questions about your wedding ceremony,
03:32questions no one should have been asking,
03:34and when I refused to answer them,
03:37they made it very clear
03:38what would happen
03:39if I stayed where they could find me.
03:41What questions?
03:43Marcus asked.
03:44What could possibly matter
03:46about a wedding ceremony
03:47from three years ago?
03:49Reverend Kane looked between Isabel and Marcus,
03:52his expression heavy with guilt
03:54he'd clearly been carrying in silence for months.
03:57The ceremony you remember,
03:59he said slowly,
04:01the one recorded in the official palace archive.
04:04It was never actually completed.
04:06Isabel went completely still.
04:08What are you talking about?
04:10I was there.
04:11I remember every moment of it.
04:14You remember the ceremony we performed,
04:16Reverend Kane said,
04:18but the final documentation,
04:20the legal marriage certificate itself,
04:22was never properly filed.
04:23King Frederick asked me personally
04:26to hold the paperwork
04:28until diplomatic timing allowed
04:30for a public announcement.
04:31I was told it was a formality,
04:34a delay of only weeks,
04:36and then Maya pressed.
04:38And then Isabel's accident happened,
04:41Reverend Kane said quietly,
04:43and the paperwork simply disappeared
04:46into palace archives,
04:48unfiled, unofficial.
04:49As far as any legal record shows,
04:52Princess Isabel and Prince Adrian
04:54were never actually married at all.
04:57The cellar went silent
04:58as the full weight of the revelations
05:00settled over them.
05:02That's why the note said,
05:04almost married.
05:05Maya said slowly,
05:07whoever's behind this
05:08knows the marriage
05:09was never legally finalized.
05:11Which means, Marcus said,
05:13working through the implications aloud,
05:15that legally,
05:16in the eyes of Belmore law,
05:18Isabel has no binding claim
05:20to the throne,
05:21to Adrian,
05:22or to any protection
05:23the crown would otherwise
05:24be obligated to provide her
05:26and Lucia.
05:27And it means,
05:29Isabel said,
05:30voice hollow,
05:31that whoever engineered
05:32Maya's involvement with Adrian
05:34may have known this detail
05:36from the very beginning.
05:37If I was never legally his wife,
05:40then there was never a legal obstacle
05:41standing between Adrian
05:43and a new engagement at all.
05:45Maya felt sick.
05:46You're saying someone orchestrated
05:48all of this?
05:50Adrian's escape from his own
05:51engagement party?
05:53The crash?
05:54My involvement?
05:55Because they already knew
05:56Isabel's marriage
05:57had no legal standing.
05:59I'm saying,
06:00Marcus said grimly,
06:02someone with access
06:03to palace records
06:04has been planning this
06:05for a very long time.
06:07Reverend Kane reached beneath
06:09the threadbare blanket
06:10and pulled out a small
06:12worn envelope,
06:13hands shaking
06:14as he handed it to Isabel.
06:16They didn't just threaten me,
06:17he said.
06:18They gave me a message
06:19to deliver,
06:20in case anyone ever found me.
06:22I've been too afraid
06:23to send it myself.
06:25Isabel opened the envelope
06:26with trembling fingers,
06:28unfolding a single typed page.
06:30She read it once in silence
06:32before looking up.
06:34Ashen.
06:35It's addressed to Maya,
06:36she said quietly,
06:38handing it over.
06:39Maya took the page,
06:41hands shaking
06:42as she read the words aloud.
06:44By now you understand
06:45the marriage was never legal.
06:47That makes you far more useful to me
06:50than Isabel ever was,
06:51and far more expendable
06:53if you don't cooperate.
06:55Your brother remains safe
06:56as long as you convince Adrian
06:58to finalize an engagement
07:00to you instead,
07:01publicly,
07:02within the week.
07:03Refuse,
07:04and Tommy becomes
07:05a much smaller problem to manage
07:07than the alternative.
07:09Maya lowered the page,
07:10hands trembling.
07:11The true shape of the threat
07:13finally becoming horrifyingly clear.
07:16They don't want to destroy
07:17the royal family,
07:18she whispered.
07:20They want to control
07:21who sits at the center of it,
07:22and they're using Tommy
07:24to force me into position.
07:26Isabel placed a steadying hand
07:28on Maya's shoulder.
07:30Whoever this is,
07:31they need you alive,
07:33cooperative,
07:33and publicly engaged
07:35to Adrian.
07:36That gives us more room
07:37to work with
07:38than Lawrence Ashworth
07:39ever did.
07:40Marcus's phone
07:41buzzed sharply.
07:42He glanced at the screen,
07:44and his expression
07:45shifted to something
07:47Maya hadn't seen
07:48from him all night.
07:49Genuine shock.
07:50What is it?
07:51Maya asked.
07:53Marcus turned the screen
07:54toward her slowly.
07:55It was a live news alert,
07:57already trending
07:58across every major outlet.
08:00Maya stared at the headline,
08:02heart pounding.
08:04I never agreed to that,
08:05she said.
08:07Nobody asked me.
08:08Coming up in episode 12,
08:10the announcement.
08:11As the palace moves forward
08:13with an engagement
08:14Maya never agreed to,
08:15she must decide
08:16whether to expose
08:17the blackmail publicly
08:18or play along
08:19to keep Tommy safe.
Comments