Chapter 226

Ella POV

The atmosphere in the king’s home was tense. Servants and guards moved briskly through the halls, their expressions unreadable but their urgency undeniable.

The entire building was bracing itself for what was about to unfold—the king’s official statement on the arrests, the fallout of the investigation, the shift in the kingdom’s balance of power.

But first, there was a meeting to be had.

Alexander and I were led into the king’s private study, where he stood at the window, his hands clasped behind his back. His posture was rigid, his gaze distant as he stared out at the city below.

He turned when we entered, his face unreadable. “I don’t have much time,” he said, his voice tired. “I need to finalize my speech before the press conference.”

“This won’t take long,” Alexander assured him.

The king nodded and moved to sit behind his desk, gesturing for us to do the same. “I assume you’re here because of the things Amanda’s been saying?” he asked, steepling his fingers together.

“No,” I said plainly. “We’re here because of Diana.”

His brows furrowed slightly, but he didn’t speak right away. Alexander and I exchanged a glance before I pushed forward.

“She’s been meeting with you a lot lately,” I said carefully. “More than seems normal for a woman of her status.”

The king exhaled, rubbing his temple. “Yes, she has. Alexander, I assumed that was on your request.”

Alexander’s jaw tensed. “Why would I ask her to do that?”

The king frowned. “She said you wanted her to handle things—said the details of the crimes were too upsetting for you and Ella.”

I stiffened. “That was a lie.”

The words were sharp, cutting through the room like a blade. The king’s frown deepened as he studied us, realization dawning behind his eyes.

Alexander leaned forward. “We don’t know why she’s doing this yet, but we’re concerned that she may have her own motives.”

“Are you making an accusation against your mother?” the king asked, his eyebrows arched in surprise.

“No,” Alexander answered quickly. “It’s nothing like that. I just worry that she’s overstepping. She can be… overbearing.”

“I’ve noticed that,” the king said bluntly. “If that’s the case, I’ll make sure that I address any further concerns about the investigation to you. I have to tell you, I’m not pleased to learn she’s been wasting my time.”

“We only found out about the meetings a few days ago when Elizabeth mentioned them,” I explained. “I promise, we would have put an end to it sooner if we’d known.”

The king sat back in his chair, his expression unreadable. “And yet, you’re not telling me everything,” he noted, his voice quieter now, more thoughtful.

I hesitated. He wasn’t wrong. We hadn’t told him about Diana’s involvement with Amanda yet—about the tangled web she had been spinning behind the scenes. But we couldn’t risk exposing too much without proof.

Instead, I pivoted. “What about Archer?”

The king’s expression darkened slightly, though not with anger. More like exhaustion. “Amanda has implicated him,” he admitted. “Some of what she’s said suggests that Archer may have had a hand in planning some of these attacks.”

My stomach twisted.

“But,” the king continued, “given her current state of mind, it’s hard to trust anything she says outright. She’s been erratic, paranoid. Sometimes she contradicts herself in the same breath.”

“Are you still investigating him?” I asked.

He nodded. “We are. But now that he’s officially announced his candidacy in the election, it complicates things. Every move we make will be scrutinized.”

I glanced at Alexander, who had gone silent beside me. His face was unreadable, but I could see the tension in his posture.

The king sighed. “I need to finish preparing.” His tone was final, dismissing us. But there was a new weight in his gaze—a disturbance that hadn’t been there before.

As we left his office, I couldn’t shake the feeling that we had just set something in motion.

Alexander pulled me down a side hallway suddenly and I looked at him in confusion.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

Alexander leaned in and kissed me swiftly, leaving me breathless for a moment.

“What?” I repeated.

“Whatever happens after this press conference,” he said firmly. “I want you to know how incredible you are. You’re handling this situation incredibly well.”

I shook my head at him, but his words warmed my heart. I was doing my best to seem confident, but it was surface level.

Inside, I felt like the world was completely off balance and I could lose my composure at the slightest unexpected turn.

I had hardly slept for days and my emotions were strung tightly.

Before I could respond, the sound of voices echoing down the hall reached us. The press conference was about to begin.

Alexander exhaled and took a step back, slipping seamlessly into his composed, unreadable expression. I straightened my shoulders, doing my best to mirror his confidence.

“Ready?” he asked.

No. Not even close.

But I nodded anyway. “Let’s go.”

And together, we walked toward whatever came next.

The press conference was chaos.

We stood at the edge of the crowd, the bright lights of the cameras making everything feel surreal. The king was positioned at the podium, his expression stern as he addressed the nation.

He spoke of justice, of betrayal, of the consequences of treason. He confirmed the arrests, laying out the severity of the crimes. The words “death penalty” lingered in the air, heavier than the silence that followed.

The crowd erupted with questions.

“Your Majesty, was Amanda working alone?”

“We have reason to believe she was aided,” he said.

“What evidence do you have against David?”

“We have substantial cctv footage, financial records, and witnesses,” he explained.

“Is it true that members of the royal court were involved?”

“Not that we know of at this time,” he replied.

“Do you believe Archer is guilty?”

“We’ll have more to come on the investigations soon,” he answered.

The king didn’t answer all of them, but his presence alone seemed to settle some of the frenzy.

I wasn’t as unaffected.

The noise, the flashes, the sheer weight of everything—we had spent so long chasing this, fighting for justice, that I hadn’t really thought about what came after. Now that the moment was here, I could barely breathe.

My chest felt tight. The walls of the courtyard seemed to close in around me. The voices blurred together, a tidal wave of sound crashing over me.

I felt a hand on my arm.

“Come on,” Alexander murmured, his voice a steady anchor.

I let him pull me away from the chaos, through the palace halls until we found an empty corridor. He turned to face me, his hands settling gently on my shoulders.

I exhaled shakily. “I don’t know why I’m freaking out,” I admitted. “This is what we wanted.”

Alexander’s gaze softened. “That doesn’t mean it’s easy.”

I swallowed. “It just feels like… now that it’s over, something else is going to happen. Something worse.”

He brushed a hand down my arm, grounding me. “We’ve survived worse.”

I let out a small, shaky laugh. “That’s not exactly comforting.”

A ghost of a smile touched his lips. “Maybe not. But it’s true.”

I looked up at him, his steady presence chasing away some of the lingering fear. The storm wasn’t over. If anything, it was just beginning.

But I wasn’t alone.

And for now, that had to be enough.