Blood Beneath the Crown
Alexander stared at Grace for several long seconds after the security officer left the study.
Neither of them spoke.
The silence was broken only by the soft breathing of the sleeping baby.
Finally, Alexander slipped the pendant back into Grace's hand.
"Keep it with you."
Grace looked surprised.
"I thought it belonged to your family."
"It does."
"Then why give it back?"
"Because whoever wants it is really after your son."
A chill ran through Grace's body.
Before she could ask another question, Alexander's phone vibrated.
It was the head of estate security.
"Sir, Lady Victoria has just left the mansion."
Alexander frowned.
"Where is she going?"
"We lost her vehicle outside the north gate."
Alexander ended the call.
"That's not like her."
Grace looked worried.
"Do you think she's involved?"
"I don't know."
"But she knows something."
Alexander walked to the window overlooking the estate.
Rain clouds were gathering over the distant hills.
Without turning around, he asked quietly,
"Grace... did Thomas ever show you any photographs?"
Grace nodded.
"Only one."
"Do you still have it?"
She reached into her handbag and removed an old envelope.
Inside was a slightly faded picture.
Thomas stood beside an older gentleman outside a sailing club.
Alexander took one look and froze.
His fingers tightened around the photograph.
Grace immediately noticed.
"You know him."
Alexander slowly nodded.
"I know both of them."
He pointed at Thomas.
"This isn't Thomas."
Grace frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"His real name was Christopher Hayes."
Grace's face went completely pale.
"Hayes?"
Alexander swallowed.
"He was my younger brother."
The room fell silent again.
Grace could hardly breathe.
"No..."
"He told me his parents were dead."
Alexander closed his eyes.
"They are."
"He never lied about that."
Grace stared at the photograph again.
"So..."
"My baby's father..."
Alexander finished the sentence.
"...was a prince."
Tears filled Grace's eyes.
"He never wanted me to know."
Alexander nodded slowly.
"Christopher disappeared nearly two years ago."
"You never found him?"
"We searched everywhere."
"The police believed he had chosen to leave."
Grace whispered,
"He didn't leave me."
"He loved our son."
Alexander looked at her carefully.
"How do you know?"
Grace smiled through her tears.
"He built the baby's crib before he disappeared."
"He painted the nursery."
"He spent hours reading parenting books."
"People planning to abandon their families don't do those things."
Alexander couldn't argue.
Everything Grace described sounded exactly like Christopher.
Kind.
Patient.
Quiet.
Nothing like the reckless headlines that newspapers loved printing about royal families.
A sudden knock interrupted them.
The same security officer rushed inside.
"Sir..."
"What happened?"
"A vehicle just forced its way through the south entrance."
Alexander immediately became alert.
"Who is it?"
"No license plate."
"Three armed men."
Grace instinctively held the baby tighter.
Alexander turned toward her.
"We're leaving."
"What?"
"They aren't here for me."
"They're here for him."
He pointed toward the child.
The security alarms echoed through the mansion.
Doors automatically locked.
Footsteps thundered through the hallways.
Alexander removed the ceremonial sword from the wall.
Grace looked terrified.
"I thought this estate was secure."
"It is."
"Which means someone inside opened the gate."
Only one person had left minutes earlier.
Lady Victoria.
Alexander didn't say her name.
He didn't need to.
Outside the study, shouting echoed through the corridor.
A security guard stumbled backward before collapsing.
One of the attackers had reached the second floor.
Alexander handed Grace a small electronic key.
"At the end of this hallway there's a private elevator."
"Take it."
"Go to the underground archives."
"No one knows about them except my family."
Grace shook her head.
"I'm not leaving you."
"You have to."
"What about you?"
Alexander smiled faintly.
"If Christopher trusted you with his son..."
"I can trust you with my family."
Before Grace could answer, another gunshot echoed through the mansion.
Alexander opened the study door.
"I'll hold them here."
Grace hesitated only a second.
Then she kissed the baby's forehead and ran.
Alexander watched her disappear around the corner.
Only then did he step into the hallway.
The first attacker appeared almost immediately.
Alexander struck before the man could raise his weapon.
The pistol slid across the polished floor.
Another man rushed forward.
Security officers joined the fight.
The quiet mansion had become chaos.
Meanwhile, Grace reached the hidden elevator.
Her hands trembled as she pressed the electronic key against the panel.
Nothing happened.
She tried again.
Still nothing.
Then she heard footsteps behind her.
Slow.
Calm.
Not running.
She turned.
Lady Victoria stood alone at the end of the hallway.
She no longer looked frightened.
She looked relieved.
"You should have left while you still could," Victoria said softly.
Grace backed away.
"You betrayed them."
Victoria sighed.
"You really think this is about hatred?"
"Then what is it about?"
Victoria smiled sadly.
"Survival."
She stepped closer.
"For twenty years I've protected this family."
"I buried secrets."
"I destroyed evidence."
"I sacrificed everything."
"And now one baby threatens all of it."
Grace held her son tighter.
"He hasn't done anything."
Victoria looked at the sleeping child.
"No."
"But his blood has."
Grace's heart pounded.
"What does that mean?"
Victoria's eyes filled with something that looked almost like regret.
"You still don't understand."
"Christopher wasn't supposed to have children."
Grace frowned.
"Why?"
Victoria answered quietly.
"Because Christopher was never supposed to inherit."
Grace stared at her.
Victoria continued.
"When Alexander's mother died..."
"...the order of succession changed."
Grace slowly realized what she was hearing.
"If my son is Christopher's child..."
Victoria nodded.
"...then one day he could claim everything."
A loud explosion shook the hallway.
The lights flickered.
Alexander's voice echoed from downstairs.
"Grace! Run!"
Victoria closed her eyes for a brief moment.
"I'm sorry."
She pulled a small pistol from her evening purse.
Grace shielded the baby with her body.
Just as Victoria raised the weapon—
A gunshot rang out.
Victoria gasped.
The pistol slipped from her hand.
She collapsed onto the marble floor.
Standing behind her was Alexander.
Smoke drifted from the security officer's handgun beside him.
Victoria looked up at Alexander with tears in her eyes.
"You were always... your mother's son..."
Alexander knelt beside her.
"Who sent them?"
Victoria coughed.
Blood stained the edge of her lips.
"You'll never stop him..."
"Who?"
She struggled to breathe.
Then whispered one final name.
"William..."
Alexander's face changed instantly.
That was impossible.
William Hayes—
His own father.
Victoria's eyes closed forever.
Alexander remained frozen beside her.
Grace slowly approached.
"What did she say?"
Alexander looked at the pendant in Grace's hand.
Then toward the family portrait hanging at the end of the hallway.
Finally, he spoke.
"If Victoria told the truth..."
"...then my father has been hiding the real story of my mother's death for twenty years."
May you like
And somewhere inside the estate...
An old man had just learned that Christopher's son was still alive.
