Chapter 189

Third Person POV

Arrested.

The King’s men had pounded down Amanda's door early this morning, arresting David for treason of all things. She felt sick just thinking about it.

How could David, the true king, commit treason? He belonged on that throne, not the so-called king they had now—just a doddering old fool.

Amanda wasn’t going to accept this. She wouldn’t let them take David from her. She had fought so hard for their relationship, endured so much humiliation, and she wasn’t about to let it end like this.

She paced the beautifully decorated foyer of Archer’s house. He had agreed to let her meet with the mysterious benefactor who had been trying to help David the past few days. Archer had distanced himself from all of this to protect himself from the same fate David was facing.

Amanda understood that, but she needed him as an intermediary to meet with this woman.

Whoever she was, Amanda knew she was her last hope. She needed an ally—someone to finally bring Ella down for good and exonerate David. At this point, she didn’t care who this woman was. She would take any help she could get.

The front door opened, and a tall, slim woman stepped inside, wearing a wide-brimmed hat pulled low over her eyes to conceal her face. Amanda didn’t care about the woman’s identity.

Without bothering with formalities, she fixed the woman with an intense glare. “The information you provided to David was good,” she said sharply. “I don’t care how you got it. I only want to know if you have other resources that can help me.”

“My arrangement was with David Lake,” the woman replied, her voice low, barely perceptible.

“And he’s been arrested,” Amanda bit out angrily. “So, you deal with me, or there’s no deal.”

The woman tilted her head slightly but didn’t respond.

“I’ll pay whatever price you want,” Amanda continued, “do whatever favors you desire, but you’re going to prove yourself to me, and we’re going to take Ella down.”

The woman smirked. “You shouldn’t make deals when you’re desperate,” she advised.

“Do we have a deal or not?” Amanda demanded.

The woman laughed, a short, sharp laugh. “Ella Black will be the laughingstock of the kingdom. You just leave it to me. I’ll be in touch soon.”

Without another word, the mysterious woman turned and walked out the door, leaving Amanda seething. She rushed to the front window and peered out, watching the woman’s dark car pull out of the driveway.

Amanda’s heartbeat quickened as she saw another car quickly pull in after the woman, followed by two more. It was a familiar scene—the same one that had played out in her own home earlier that morning.

Amanda turned and rushed into the house, screaming for Archer, but deep down, she knew it was too late. They had come for him too.

Ella POV

I watched the press conference with my father and Alexander on TV. Everything went well until the end, when the reporters started asking about me. I saw that flash of anger on Alexander’s face, and it made the butterflies in my chest explode into action.

To see him defend me like that on live television—Alexander was always so in control, but he seemed genuinely offended on my behalf. After the intense conversation we’d had earlier, it was reassuring to see that he truly cared.

When my phone rang and I saw Elizabeth’s name pop up, I wasn’t surprised. This was exactly the kind of thing that would get her attention. I put it on speakerphone and set my phone on the counter, sipping tea and nibbling on a pastry I didn’t really want.

Going without food would only cause my body more stress and make it harder to recover emotionally, so I was trying to be responsible. It was hard though.

It seemed like every time Alexander was away from me for the past few days, I found myself in a fog of sadness. It was silly, but I couldn’t seem to help it.

I poked at the strawberry topping and said, “Hello, Elizabeth.”

“Hello, Mrs. Black,” she teased.

“So, you saw that,” I replied, equally amused.

“There was a lot of power behind the word ‘wife,’ wasn’t there?” Elizabeth said. “I think they actually made him mad. I’ve never seen Alexander mad before.”

“Don’t exaggerate,” I said. “They annoyed him, and he let them know to back off. That’s all.”

“Well, I hope Damien would defend me with the same vigor if he were annoyed,” Elizabeth replied.

“I’m confident he would,” I said.

There was a long silence from Elizabeth that made me wonder if the call had disconnected. A glance at the screen confirmed it hadn’t. “Are you still there?” I asked.

“Yeah,” she said. “Look, I wish I was just calling to tease you about the press conference, but there’s serious news I need to discuss with you.”

My heart sank. “Well, that’s not good,” I muttered. “Has something happened?”

“You spoke to my father yesterday,” she said. “So, I’m sure this won’t be a complete surprise, but I wanted to let you know that both David and Archer Gray were arrested this morning.”

My heart stopped beating.

I stared at Elizabeth’s name on the screen, but I wasn’t really seeing it. I wasn’t seeing anything. What she was telling me didn’t feel real. I knew it was coming, but I didn’t expect it to be so immediate.

Which was ridiculous. I’d heard the king give the order myself, but still…

“You’re sure?” I asked.

“Positive,” she replied. “They’re being held in my father’s private custody. He doesn’t want a public outcry on their behalf, so he’s trying to keep things secret. I wanted to make sure you knew, since it won’t be in the news. I wanted you to know, so you could rest a little easier.”

A nervous laugh escaped my lips, and I shook my head. “No, I can’t,” I said. “But I’m relieved to know that things are happening—progress is happening.”

“Ella, you sound strange,” she said, concern evident in her tone. “I know this must be a lot to accept.”

“It is,” I agreed. “And I’m sorry if I’m concerning you. Please don’t worry about me. I’m going to be just fine. I’m just not sure what this means.”

“How so?”

“I mean, they have other allies. I feel like it’s going to be obvious that this has something to do with me. I don’t know what to expect. I mean, Amanda wasn’t arrested, was she?”

“No,” Elizabeth said, her voice tense. “There wasn’t enough evidence against her.”

“That makes sense,” I said softly. “Thank you so much for letting me know, Elizabeth. I’ll talk to you soon. I just need a few minutes to process all of this.”

“Take all the time you need,” she said sincerely.

“Thank you,” I said before ending the call.

This was it, then. It was all really happening, and yet I felt like I was in more danger than ever.

There was so much more going on here. I’d have to rely on Alexander’s resources until there was enough evidence against Amanda to act—if only I knew what those resources were, or where they came from.

A renewed sense of frustration overcame me. Alexander had promised me that he would tell me what was going on, that he would open up and reveal the truth, but he still hadn’t done it. I spilled my guts to him, yet he kept his secrets. It didn’t seem fair.

Just as the heat of my anger was reaching a boiling point, I heard the front door lock click open, and Alexander stepped in.

I jumped to my feet and stormed towards him, my anger getting the better of me.

“We need to talk, now!” I declared.