Chapter 355 The Weight of the Crown
ADRIANA
I didn't think we'd catch her. For weeks, I had operated under the grim assumption that she was nothing more than a pile of ash and bone, that our only path to freeing Tim was to find some other, more convoluted way to unravel the truth. But here she was, in the flesh, her wrists bound with the cold, hard certainty of steel. Alisha. Alive. In custody.
We took Tobias too. His guilt was a web woven from omission and deception. He had a hand in everything. He knew she was alive, he had helped her plan her fake death, he had known she killed Lucy, yet he had said nothing.
In fact, he had actively helped her to almost get away with it. So what's to say he didn't even help with the murder itself? The question was a poison dart in my mind. We didn't arrest him at the scene, though. We didn't want a commotion. People knew him as the Commissioner, and a public spectacle was the last thing we needed.
As we walked over to the car, Alisha shoved into the back of one vehicle and Tobias into another, I could see the raw relief wash over Hazel's face. The tension in her shoulders finally eased, and for the first time in what felt like an eternity, she looked almost peaceful.
"You don't know how happy I am that we're finally done with this," she said, her voice breathy with disbelief. "I mean, we caught her. We actually caught her."
I think I'm the happiest. The weight of this case had been a physical burden, a constant, oppressive presence that had seeped into every corner of my life. Because of this case, because of my obsession with it, a lot had happened in my family with my husband and kids.
I was going to spend a lot of time making it up to my children for being so absent, for letting the darkness of this investigation overshadow the light they deserved. As for Elijah, I didn't even know where to start. It wasn't my fault that he now found solace in the arms of the woman who had a son for him, but the distance between us had grown into a chasm.
We drove back to the kingdom, the city lights bleeding into streaks of gold and red against the darkening sky. I just stared out the window, my mind wandering far from the victory in the backseat.
Was Elijah suddenly thinking of giving Lucien the throne? Had they finally gotten to him? All those people who didn't want to see Leo on the throne, the whispers in the court, the sycophants and power-hungry nobles—had they gotten in his head and poisoned him against his own firstborn son? I won't allow it. The thought was a primal roar in my soul.
"You look pretty glum," Hazel's voice cut through my thoughts. "Not like someone who just did something incredible. Are you sad because it's over?"
I didn't even turn to look at her. "No, I'm not. I'm thinking about the throne. At the end of the day, what I feared most might be happening."
She didn't understand what I meant, and she asked me to explain, her brow furrowed in confusion.
"For the first time in my life, I fear that my son, who I have struggled so much for, is not going to sit on the throne." The words felt like shards of glass in my throat. This was the first time I didn't have so much faith, not in myself, but in him.
"What are you talking about? Who wants to take the throne from Leo?"
"Can't you see what Roman is doing?" I snapped, my frustration boiling over. "He now has a new son! One who he's beginning to fancy. If Elijah decides to give the throne to Lucien, what can I do, Hazel? My children and I will be put to the side. Someone else will take my throne!"
If we weren't in a car, I was certain she would have stood up and walked away from me.
"Nonsense!" she exclaimed, her voice sharp enough to cut steel. "Who would dare to take your place? Do you have any idea what you're saying? If anyone takes your place, that is treason!"
I can't say the same for Leo yet, because we haven't done his coronation. I don't know why things just keep popping up and taking the time, because there doesn't ever seem to be the right time to do it, and I don't want it to be some haphazardly rushed ceremony. It has to be perfect. It has to be right.
"What if her son becomes King? You don't expect me to be Queen Mother to Simone's child, do you? What if Elijah crowns him Crown Prince?"
She looked at the guard driving for a while, her jaw tight, then paused. "Stop the car and get down," she ordered him, her voice dangerously low.
We were at the back, so it wouldn't matter if we stopped or not, but the guard did just as he was told, pulling over to the shoulder of the road. Hazel waited until he was a distance away from the car, standing with his back to us, before turning back to me, her eyes burning with a fierce, terrifying light.
"Then I swear on the Goddess, that he won't live long enough to place the crown on the boy's head."
The air in the car grew thick and heavy, charged with the gravity of her words. She realized the weight of what she had said, and so did I. If anyone else had heard what she had just said, her death would have been sealed before she even got back to the palace.
"He's your best friend," I whispered, my heart pounding. "Elijah is more to you than I am. I can't ask you to do that. You can't kill him."
She grabbed my hand, her grip surprisingly strong. "I will mourn the King. I will mourn my friend, all while Leo wears the crown. I have watched that boy grow for years to be just like his father. I won't let anyone take it away from him."
This loyalty that Hazel had… it couldn't be faked. It was a force of nature, as terrifying as it was comforting.
"I don't want you to kill Elijah, Hazel. Do you know what that means? You and your entire family will be wiped out. You'd be flayed alive. Have you seen what they do to traitors?"
"I won't be a traitor if I'm protecting the crown," she stated, her voice unwavering. "I can't let power get into the hands of that woman. Simone would turn the kingdom into a circus. I will only be doing my rightful thing as a Beta."
I didn't want Elijah to die… I knew Hazel would do what she had said, just as she had said it. But I didn't want him to die. The thought of it was a physical pain.
"Let me speak to him about it," I pleaded, my voice softening. "There's so much going on, and I don't even know where he stands anymore. I'll have to speak to him to confirm. I don't like the feeling I've been getting these days."
Nonetheless, I would make sure to speak to him as soon as Tim was out of jail. That was my top priority.
"We are trying Alisha tonight," I said, my voice regaining its authority. "I don't care how long it takes. Tell Elijah and get the elders too. Tim isn't going to spend another night in that cell."
I would make sure that Alisha went away for a long time. And I would make sure she got the help that she needed. She needed therapy, help she should have gotten all those years ago. I'll also have to reach out to Anita and make sure that she gets therapy. I won't want to deal with all of this again in the future.