Chapter 8 - THE UNCLE WHO WANTED THE CROWN:
Prince Edmund Vale had always appeared harmless.
He attended charity dinners.
Opened hospitals.
Smiled beside schoolchildren.
After Alexander’s supposed death, Edmund declined the throne, claiming grief made him unfit to rule.
The monarchy had entered a period of regency.
Eventually, political pressure reduced the royal family’s authority.
Adrian entered business and built Vale International.
Edmund remained a beloved ceremonial figure.
Now Alexander revealed that his younger brother had never rejected power.
He had simply chosen to control it from the shadows.
“Was Edmund part of Project Nightfall?” Adrian asked.
“I never had proof.”
Alexander’s voice was weak.
“But Sebastian could not have moved Royal Guard units without him.”
Victoria stepped closer.
“My father despised Edmund.”
“They needed each other,” Alexander said.
“Sebastian controlled information.”
“Edmund controlled royal authority.”
Adrian studied the photograph.
Eleanor appeared sedated.
Lily was awake.
She looked directly at the camera.
One hand rested against her collar.
Her fingers formed a small circle.
Adrian recognized the gesture.
When Eleanor and Adrian were children, they used hand signals while hiding from palace tutors.
A circle meant look behind the obvious.
Adrian enlarged the photograph.
The helicopter window reflected a stone tower.
Samuel, speaking from his hospital bed, identified it as Saint Orison Abbey.
The abbey belonged to the Royal Council.
Edmund used it for private retreats.
Adrian assembled a rescue team.
Alexander insisted on joining.
“You can barely stand.”
“Edmund is my brother.”
“He helped imprison you.”
“Then I deserve to face him.”
At Saint Orison Abbey, Edmund welcomed them through the main gate.
He wore a dark ceremonial coat.
Royal Guards lined the courtyard.
Lily and Eleanor were not visible.
“My dear brother,” Edmund said.
He embraced Alexander.
Alexander remained rigid.
“You stole my daughter and granddaughter.”
“I rescued them from Sebastian.”
“You attacked our convoy.”
“I could not trust Adrian’s private army.”
Adrian stepped forward.
“Where are they?”
“Safe.”
“Show me.”
Edmund led them into the abbey library.
Lily sat beside a fireplace.
She ran to Adrian.
Eleanor rested on a couch.
A physician monitored her pulse.
Adrian checked Lily for injuries.
“I’m okay,” she whispered.
“Did they frighten you?”
“Uncle Edmund said he was protecting us.”
Edmund smiled.
“She understands reason.”
Lily looked at him.
“No.”
The room became still.
“You said Mommy has to sign something before we can leave.”
Edmund’s smile faded.
Adrian turned.
“What does she have to sign?”
“A temporary guardianship declaration.”
“Giving authority to whom?”
“The Royal Council.”
Alexander laughed bitterly.
“You mean yourself.”
Edmund’s polite expression disappeared.
“Valeria is collapsing.”
“The country has an elected government.”
“The country still needs a symbol.”
“A symbol you intend to control.”
Edmund approached Eleanor.
“Her daughter is the legitimate heir under the old succession law.”
Adrian understood.
Because Eleanor had been born before constitutional reforms, Lily possessed a ceremonial claim stronger than Edmund’s.
If Eleanor signed authority to the council, Edmund could rule as Lily’s guardian.
“You want to use a child as your path to the throne,” Adrian said.
“I want stability.”
“You want a crown.”
Edmund looked toward Alexander.
“You abandoned leadership for sentiment.”
“I was imprisoned.”
“You were weak before that.”
Alexander struck his brother.
The sound echoed through the library.
Royal Guards raised their weapons.
Lily stood between the two old men.
“Stop!”
Everyone froze.
She looked at Edmund.
“My mommy taught me that people who really protect you don’t lock the doors.”
Adrian glanced toward the entrance.
The doors had been secured from outside.
Edmund’s face hardened.
“This discussion is over.”
He ordered the guards to escort Adrian and Alexander to separate rooms.
Adrian attacked the first guard.
The library erupted.
Victoria threw a brass lamp through the window.
Outside, Marcus Reed’s team saw the signal.
They breached the courtyard.
Gunfire shattered the silence of the abbey.
Lily crawled beneath a table.
Eleanor woke in confusion.
Edmund grabbed her arm and pulled her toward a hidden passage.
Lily followed.
Adrian fought through two guards.
He reached the passage seconds before it closed.
The tunnel led beneath the abbey.
At the far end, Edmund dragged Eleanor toward an armored car.
Lily clung to her mother’s dress.
“Let her go!” Adrian shouted.
Edmund turned.
He held a pistol against Eleanor’s side.
“You were always too emotional, Adrian.”
“And you were always too afraid to earn anything honestly.”
Edmund forced Eleanor into the vehicle.
Lily suddenly bit his hand.
He cried out.
The gun fell.
Eleanor pushed Lily toward Adrian.
Edmund recovered the weapon.
Alexander appeared behind him.
“Enough.”
Edmund turned toward his brother.
For the first time, fear entered his eyes.
Alexander held no weapon.
He simply stood between Edmund and the car.
“You cannot command the guards anymore,” Alexander said.
“I am still their king.”
Several Royal Guards lowered their rifles.
Edmund looked around.
“These men serve the council.”
A senior captain stepped forward.
“We swore our oath to the lawful sovereign.”
Alexander looked toward the soldiers.
“Arrest Prince Edmund.”
Edmund backed away.
A distant explosion shook the abbey.
Smoke rose beyond the eastern wall.
Sebastian Crowe’s forces had arrived.
Edmund smiled.
“You see, brother?”
“You still do not understand.”
“He is not here to rescue me.”
Edmund raised his hands.
“He is here to kill all of us.”
A missile struck the library tower.
Stone rained across the courtyard.
Adrian shielded Lily.
Through the smoke, black vehicles surrounded the abbey.
Sebastian’s voice sounded over loudspeakers.
“Deliver Alexander, Eleanor, and Lily.”
“You may keep the rest.”
Alexander looked at his children.
For sixteen years, his family had been divided by lies.
Now their enemies had trapped them together.
The abbey gates exploded inward.
Sebastian’s soldiers advanced.
Then Lily pulled the third hairpin from inside her shoe.
Adrian stared at it.
“I thought Sebastian’s woman took it.”
“She took the wrong one,” Lily said.
Eleanor had taught her daughter more than anyone realized.
Lily twisted the silver rose.
A red light blinked inside the hairpin.
Victoria recognized the device.
“That is not a cipher.”
“What is it?” Adrian asked.
“A transmitter.”
High above the abbey, dozens of lights appeared in the night sky.
Military helicopters crossed the mountains.
King Alexander looked at the winged lion carved into the metal.
Eleanor had not merely hidden evidence inside the third hairpin.
She had hidden an emergency signal connected to the one military officer Sebastian could never control.
Alexander whispered the officer’s name as the helicopters descended.
“General Catherine Crowe.”
Victoria stared at him.
“My mother is dead.”
Alexander shook his head.
“No.”
The first helicopter landed.
A woman with silver hair stepped into the courtyard.
May you like
She removed her military helmet and looked directly at Victoria.
“I have waited twenty years to hear you say my name”:
