Chapter 6 - THE MAN BEHIND THE GOLDEN CURTAIN
Prince Regent Alaric Arden lived in a palace within the palace. His apartments occupied the western wing, overlooking private gardens closed to the public. He was seventy-six, silver-haired, elegant, and celebrated across Valeria as the last statesman of the old royal generation. He had advised three prime ministers, negotiated two peace treaties, and delivered speeches about duty every Founding Day. Emma had seen his portrait in schoolbooks. She had never imagined his name would appear in her mother’s hidden testimony.
Adrian wanted him arrested immediately. Chancellor Morcant objected. “A twenty-seven-year-old recording is not enough to detain a prince of the blood.” Adrian slammed Clara’s transcript onto the council table. “A mechanic is dead. Emma’s grandmother was abducted. The Golden Measure was sabotaged.” “And we have no direct evidence connecting Alaric to those acts.” Emma sat across from them, listening. Morcant looked exhausted rather than defiant now. Whatever his father had done, the current chancellor seemed increasingly aware that old loyalties had become liabilities.
“We need proof that survives Parliament, the courts, and public scrutiny,” he said. Adrian hated that he was right. So Emma proposed something reckless. “Let him believe the machine still works.” Every face turned toward her. Leon frowned. “It can be repaired.” “That is not what I mean.” Emma leaned over the table. “Alaric has spent years watching this selection. If my mother was right, then people like him never cared whether the machine was medically sound. They cared about controlling the process. Someone tried to destroy it after I passed. Someone kidnapped my grandmother to frighten me away. That means my result matters to them.”
Dr. Quill understood first. “You want to announce a second confirmation test.” “Yes.” Adrian shook his head. “No.” Emma looked at him. “No?” “You would become bait.” “I already am bait.” “That does not mean I must place you on a hook.” She leaned back. “Interesting. Yesterday you defended four years of secret testing as necessary to protect future children. Today you discover the woman involved has an opinion and suddenly risk becomes unacceptable.”
Adrian’s eyes flashed. “That is not fair.” “No. It is not.” The room went silent. Emma softened. “I am not asking permission. I am telling you I will help if the plan is controlled.” Adrian stared at her for several seconds. Then he rubbed a hand over his face. “I am beginning to understand the impossible-before-breakfast warning.” “Good.” They built the trap over the next two days. The palace announced that the Golden Measure had been repaired and that Emma Vale would undergo a private confirmation screening before the medical council. The statement also claimed that Clara Vale’s missing research had been recovered and would be reviewed after the test.
The information was intentionally leaked through channels known to reach Alaric’s staff. Meanwhile, Leon rebuilt the visible machine but removed its functional measuring components. Guards hid behind service walls. The workshop entrances were monitored. Dr. Quill prepared false medical folders filled with harmless papers. Emma wore a concealed alarm pin inside her sleeve. The confirmation test was scheduled at midnight in the old anatomy theater beneath the palace infirmary. At eleven forty-seven, someone cut power to the western corridor.
At eleven fifty, a guard disappeared from his post. At eleven fifty-three, the service door opened. Emma stood beside the inactive machine under emergency lamps. Adrian waited behind a wall panel with six guards. Footsteps approached. A man entered wearing a physician’s coat. It was not Alaric. It was Chancellor Morcant. Emma’s stomach dropped. Morcant shut the door behind him. “Where is the research?” Emma stared at him. “You?” His face looked tortured.
“Where is it?” “You told Adrian we needed proof.” “I was trying to buy time.” “For Alaric?” “For my family.” He stepped closer. “My father served Alaric for thirty years. He altered records. He forged Clara’s dismissal. He arranged payments to people who kept silent.” Emma’s hand moved toward the alarm pin. Morcant noticed. “I am not here to hurt you.” “That sentence has a poor history.” “I came to destroy the files.”
“Why?” “Because if everything becomes public, my father’s name, my family, my children—” Emma’s anger flared. “My mother lost her career. Dr. Quill died. A mechanic died this week. My grandmother was dragged into a carriage. And you are worried about your family name?” Morcant looked down. “Yes.” The honesty disarmed her for half a second. Then another voice came from the darkness. “As he should be.” Prince Regent Alaric stepped through the service door.
Two armed men followed. Morcant turned, horrified. “You said no one else would come.” Alaric smiled. “You have always confused usefulness with trust.” Behind the wall, Adrian waited. They needed a confession. Emma forced herself not to look toward the hidden panel. Alaric approached the machine. “You have caused an absurd amount of trouble, Miss Vale.” “So did my mother.” “Your mother was sentimental.” “She was right.” “She was young.”
“And you were afraid of her.” The old prince’s smile faded. Emma continued. “You could not control the research if she spoke. So you removed her.” “I removed an obstacle.” Behind the wall, Adrian heard every word. Emma’s heartbeat hammered. “And Dr. Matthias Quill?” Morcant whispered, “Do not.” Alaric glanced at him. “An unfortunate carriage.” Emma felt cold. “You killed him.” “I did not touch his carriage.” “You ordered someone else to.”
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Alaric’s eyes revealed nothing. “He was warned.” The words were enough. Emma pressed. “And the mechanic this week?” Alaric’s expression sharpened. “That fool saw a man alter the machine and tried to extort the wrong people.” Morcant took a step back. “Oh God.” Emma felt bile rise. “The kidnapping?” “Insurance.” “My grandmother is eighty-one.” “And surprisingly difficult.” Despite everything, Emma almost laughed. Alaric moved closer. “You passed a machine that should have been irrelevant by now. Adrian was supposed to continue rejecting women until public pressure forced Parliament to revise the succession.”
Emma understood. “If Adrian never married—” “My grandson would eventually stand close enough to the throne for politics to do the rest.” The old prince looked at the machine. “But then you appeared.” He reached inside his coat. Adrian came through the wall before the weapon cleared the fabric. Guards flooded the room. Alaric’s men were disarmed. Morcant dropped to his knees. Adrian seized his great-uncle by the wrist. For a second, the two royal men stood face to face. Alaric smiled faintly. “You think love will save a monarchy?” Adrian’s grip tightened. “No.” He looked toward Emma. “Truth might.”
