Chapter 13 - THE TWO FAMILIES AT WAR
Matthias Keller had served Helena for nine years.
He knew her schedules.
Her passwords.
Her medical history.
Her father’s final hours.
And most importantly, he knew about her plan to live privately in America.
Only six people had known where Helena was going before she arrived.
Matthias was one of them.
Adrian placed a map on the table.
“He boarded a private flight from Geneva.”
“Destination?”
Daniel asked.
“Unknown.”
Helena looked toward him.
“Your mother owes the Sterlings sixty-eight million.”
Daniel nodded.
“Keller’s wife received sixty-eight million.”
The coincidence was impossible.
Adrian spoke quietly.
“Someone used the same debt twice.”
Helena understood.
“Sterling funds Evelyn.”
“Evelyn funds Keller.”
“And Keller gives her royal intelligence.”
Daniel finished the chain.
“But why?”
No one answered.
The next morning, the answer arrived publicly.
Madison Sterling appeared on national television.
She wore cream silk and looked devastated.
“I was reluctant to speak.”
Helena watched from the residence library.
Madison continued.
“But I believe the public deserves to know Queen Helena deliberately entered the Hawthorne family under a false identity while her government was considering billions in contracts involving Hawthorne companies.”
The interviewer leaned forward.
“Are you suggesting influence?”
“I’m asking questions.”
Daniel swore under his breath.
Madison’s performance was perfect.
She never made a direct accusation.
She did not need to.
Within an hour, commentators were discussing foreign influence, secret relationships, defense contracts, and royal manipulation.
Varenne’s parliament demanded an emergency inquiry.
Hawthorne Capital shares fell eighteen percent.
Sterling Meridian fell twenty-four.
Evelyn called a press conference.
She stood outside Hawthorne Hall wearing black.
“I welcomed Nora Ellis into my home.”
Daniel stared at the screen.
Helena almost admired the audacity.
Evelyn continued.
“I now know Nora Ellis never existed.”
“She manipulated my son.”
“She deceived our family.”
“And any suggestion that I knowingly mistreated a foreign monarch is absurd.”
Sophie entered the room.
“No.”
Everyone turned.
She was holding a flash drive.
Daniel frowned.
“What is that?”
“The house security archive.”
His eyes widened.
“Mom controls it.”
“She controls the current system.”
Sophie looked at Helena.
“Grandfather installed a separate backup after Mom fired three housekeepers and claimed they stole jewelry.”
Daniel slowly stood.
“Where is it?”
“Old wine cellar.”
Sophie held up the drive.
“I copied eight months.”
Helena stared at her.
“What’s on it?”
Sophie’s expression hardened.
“Everything.”
The hidden cameras had recorded Evelyn instructing staff to remove Helena’s luggage.
They had recorded her ordering the heating shut off in Helena’s room.
They had recorded Madison entering Nora’s bedroom without permission.
And three nights before the wedding, one camera had captured something far more important.
Evelyn stood in the library with Victor Dane.
Victor placed a folder on the desk.
Then he said six words.
“Keller wants the final payment tomorrow.”
No one in the room breathed.
May you like
Sophie looked at Daniel.
“We can prove it.”
