Chapter 5 - THE BOX MY MOTHER HID FOR TWELVE YEARSMy mother arrived at the palace twenty minutes later.
She had changed out of the pale blue dress she wore to the wedding.
Now she wore black trousers, a cream blouse, and the expression of someone who knew running was no longer possible.
“Emily.”
I didn’t hug her.
“Tell me about the storage unit.”
Her eyes closed briefly.
“Caroline told you.”
“The police told me.”
That hit harder.
Mom looked toward King Edmund.
He dismissed everyone except Julian, Caroline, and Colonel Vale.
Then he shut the drawing-room doors.
Mom sat.
I remained standing.
“Start at the beginning.”
She swallowed.
“Your father left instructions.”
“What instructions?”
“If he died unexpectedly, I was supposed to move several boxes out of the house.”
“You told us his office had already been cleared.”
“I lied.”
I looked away.
Another lie.
They were everywhere now.
Mom’s voice broke.
“I thought I was protecting you.”
I turned back.
“Do not say that to me.”
She flinched.
“I’m serious. Caroline said the same thing. Everyone keeps lying to me and calling it protection.”
“I was scared.”
“So was Dad.”
“I know.”
“No. Apparently I’m the only person who didn’t know anything.”
The king quietly said, “Emily—”
I lifted a hand.
“Please.”
He stopped.
I looked at Mom.
“What was in the boxes?”
“Records. Photographs. A hard drive. Journals.”
“Dad’s?”
“Yes.”
“And the field case?”
“I never opened it.”
“Why?”
“He told me not to.”
“For twelve years?”
“He said it belonged to you.”
I stared.
“Then why didn’t you give it to me?”
Her face crumpled.
“Because the day after his funeral, somebody followed me.”
The room became still.
“What?”
“A black sedan. Everywhere I went.”
She wrapped her arms around herself.
“Two nights later, someone broke into the house.”
I remembered that.
Mom told Caroline and me nothing was stolen.
Police called it a burglary attempt.
“You knew they were looking for Dad’s files.”
“I suspected.”
“Why not tell the FBI?”
“Your father left a number.”
“Whose?”
She looked at Edmund.
“His.”
The king nodded slowly.
“Margaret contacted my private secretary.”
“And then?”
Edmund answered.
“We moved the material.”
“But you just said you didn’t know where Dad’s remaining archive was.”
“I didn’t.”
Mom looked ashamed.
“I lied to him too.”
Even the king looked surprised.
Mom continued.
“I gave Bellmarian security three boxes. I kept the field case.”
“Why?”
“Because Robert wrote your name on it.”
She looked at me.
“I couldn’t give away something he intended for you.”
“Yet you couldn’t give it to me either.”
“No.”
“So you hid it.”
“Yes.”
“For twelve years.”
“Yes.”
My anger had nowhere to go.
Mom cried quietly.
“I watched what Dad’s death did to you. You became harder overnight. You stopped sleeping. You took care of Caroline. You took care of me. Then you joined the Navy.”
“I was already in ROTC.”
“You doubled down on everything.”
She wiped her face.
“I thought if I gave you proof that his death might not have been an accident, you would spend your life hunting whoever caused it.”
She was right.
That made me angrier.
“You didn’t get to make that choice.”
“I know.”
“No. You know now because you’ve been caught.”
Mom lowered her head.
I hated seeing her hurt.
I also needed to let myself be angry.
For once, I didn’t rescue anyone from the consequences of hurting me.
Colonel Vale’s phone buzzed.
He checked it.
“Commander, Alexandria Police have opened the case.”
“Can they open the box?”
“They’re waiting for your authorization.”
“I authorize it.”
Mom stood abruptly.
“Emily.”
“What?”
“There’s a combination.”
“Do you know it?”
She nodded.
“0417.”
My heart stopped.
April seventeenth.
Dad’s birthday?
No.
Caroline whispered, “That’s Emily’s birthday.”
Mom nodded.
Colonel Vale relayed it.
Minutes passed.
Nobody spoke.
Then a secure video connection appeared on the palace screen.
Detective Pierce stood in a fluorescent-lit storage office.
The green military case sat on a table.
“Commander?”
“I’m here.”
“We opened it.”
Inside were four items.
A weatherproof notebook.
A stack of photographs.
A flash drive sealed in plastic.
And a small silver medal.
I recognized the medal immediately.
The Navy and Marine Corps Medal.
Dad’s.
He never wore it.
When I was little, I asked what he did to earn it.
He told me he had gone swimming.
That was Dad.
Detective Pierce lifted the notebook.
“There’s another envelope.”
“For me?”
“Yes.”
“Read it.”
He opened it.
“Emily, if this box is open, something has gone wrong.”
A strange chill moved through me.
“If Edmund is still alive, give him the red drive.”
The detective held up a red USB drive.
“Do not give it to any member of the Privy Council.”
King Edmund’s expression hardened.
The detective continued.
“Marcus Vane knows part of the truth, but he is not the architect.”
I looked at Edmund.
Caroline whispered, “What?”
Pierce read the final line.
“The person behind this has been closer to the throne than Marcus will ever be.”
The room went dead silent.
Julian slowly turned toward his father.
“Who was closer to the throne?”
Edmund didn’t answer.
I thought about Dad’s warning.
Trust the king. Not the Crown.
Not the Crown.
Meaning the institution.
The palace.
Someone inside it.
Detective Pierce said, “There are photographs.”
He held one toward the camera.
The image showed my father standing on a marina dock.
Beside him stood a younger King Edmund.
And a third man.
Thin.
Silver-haired even then.
I recognized him immediately from the wedding broadcast.
He had been standing directly behind Edmund during the ceremony.
Sir Alistair Crane.
The Lord Chamberlain.
The highest-ranking officer of the royal household.
The man responsible for palace access.
Invitations.
Protocol.
Security coordination.
And the royal wedding.
King Edmund stared at the photograph.
“No.”
His voice sounded almost childlike.
Julian said, “Father?”
Edmund stepped closer to the screen.
“Alistair has served our family for forty years.”
I remembered Dad’s words.
Trust the king.
Not the Crown.
“Maybe that’s exactly the problem,” I said.
The palace door suddenly opened.
A security officer rushed inside.
“Your Majesty.”
“What is it?”
“Sir Alistair cannot be located.”
Edmund’s face changed.
“When was he last seen?”
“Twenty-three minutes ago.”
“Seal the palace.”
“It already is.”
“Find him.”
The officer hesitated.
“Sir…”
“What?”
“He used his clearance to enter the royal archive.”
Edmund went pale.
“What section?”
“The sealed succession records.”
Julian swore.
Then another guard appeared.
This one breathing hard.
“Your Majesty, we have a larger problem.”
Edmund turned.
“What?”
“The cathedral security network just detected an unauthorized transmission.”
“From where?”
“The crypt beneath Saint Aurelia’s.”
Colonel Vale moved toward the door.
I followed.
Julian stepped behind us.
“Where are you going?”
“To the cathedral.”
“I’m coming.”
King Edmund said, “Julian—”
“No.”
The prince removed his ceremonial sash.
“If this is connected to my family and Emily’s father, I’m coming.”
Caroline stood.
“So am I.”
Julian looked at her.
The silence between them could have frozen water.
“No.”
She went white.
“Julian.”
“You’ve done enough for one day.”
The words landed brutally.
Caroline sank back into her chair.
For a second, I almost defended her.
Old habit.
Big sister.
Fix everything.
Then I stopped myself.
We left.
As Colonel Vale rushed us through a private corridor, my phone rang again.
Detective Pierce.
“Commander, we accessed the red drive.”
“And?”
“Most of it is encrypted.”
“Most?”
“There’s one video file.”
My heart hammered.
“What is it?”
He was silent for a moment.
Then:
“It’s your father.”
I stopped walking.
“When?”
“The timestamp is from two days before he died.”
“Can you send it?”
“I already did.”
My phone vibrated.
A file appeared.
I pressed play.
Dad filled the screen.
Older.
Tired.
Alive.
He looked directly into the camera.
“Emily, if you’re seeing this, then I probably didn’t make it home.”
My knees nearly gave out.
Julian caught my arm.
Dad continued.
“There are people around Edmund who believe the monarchy matters more than the people inside it. That kind of loyalty becomes dangerous.”
He leaned closer.
“Marcus Vane is greedy. Greedy men can be predicted.”
Then Dad said the name.
“Alistair Crane is different.”
King Edmund closed his eyes.
“He believes he is saving the Crown.”
Dad paused.
“And men who believe they’re saving something can justify almost anything.”
The video flickered.
Then he said:
“Emily, the evidence is hidden where Edmund and I first met.”
The file ended.
I looked at the king.
“Where did you first meet?”
He looked toward the cathedral in the distance.
“Not on a ship.”
May you like
His voice was barely audible.
“Under Saint Aurelia’s.”
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