Chapter 5
ALEX
The briefing room, with its concrete walls, low ceiling and long metal table, looks like it belongs in a spy thriller. There are no windows or decorations, unless you count the row of mounted screens on one wall, most of them black, with one displaying a map of Mount Evor in topographic detail.
Eva sits across from me, her posture flawless, as rigid as the chair beneath her. She hasn’t taken off her trench coat. Her fingers twist the wedding band still on her hand.
Christ.
If I were married to an asshole like Geoffroy, I would’ve thrown that band into the trash the moment I’d heard he was dead. No, I would have tossed it long before that. There’s no way I would’ve stayed married to him for more than a month.
Adam Von Dietz steps in and closes the door behind him. No smile. No folder. Just his sharp suit and tired eyes.
He takes his place at the head of the table. “We appreciate you both coming.”
“I’m assuming you can tell us more about Geoffroy’s and Julian’s deaths?” I say.
He nods. “It was agreed by the Crown, the prime minister, and me that you be read in.”
“Does that mean Eva and I aren’t on your suspect list?” I ask to clarify.
“You never really were,” Von Dietz replies.
“Why not?” I knit my brows, perplexed. “We both expected to inherit. I did. That’s motive.”
“Thank you for reminding me, my lord,” Von Dietz says with an amused glint in his eyes. “Let me assure you, the police didn’t clear you and the duchess without thorough investigation.” He cocks his head. “Does that help?”
I grunt in response.
“It does,” Eva jumps in with feigned cheer. “I appreciate that MESS considers the Castellanes honest and trustworthy.”
Von Dietz inclines his head in quiet acknowledgment of her effort to smooth over my bluntness.
I start to speak but he raises his hand and addresses me, anticipating my next question, “Both of you were subjected to deep background checks before being cleared for this briefing. Given the context, one cannot be too careful.”
“What context?” Eva asks at the same time as I do.
“Current threats to the stability of Mount Evor, a shooter still at large, and the presence of at least one active enemy spy in our midst,” Von Dietz answers.
Eva and I exchange a look.
Von Dietz continues, “You are both cleared to be read into the attempt on Princess Felicia’s life.”
“So, Geoffroy and Julian were definitely not the targets?” Eva asks.
“We’re still waiting for the medical examiner’s autopsy report on the duke’s driver,” Von Dietz replies.
“His body was severely damaged in the crash, so it’s taking time.
But based on trajectory analysis and forensic reconstruction, our analysts are nearly certain that the intended target was Princess Felicia. ”
“So, my half brother and nephew were collateral damage?” I ask.
“Yes,” Von Dietz says. “That’s our working theory.”
I lean forward. “Then who hired the shooter? Have you caught him?”
“The sniper is still at large, but our elite teams are closing in.” Von Dietz looks at Eva and then back at me. “The hit was almost certainly ordered by Kurt Ozzi.”
I raise my eyebrows. “The Swiss philanthropist? Friend of the royal family?”
“The same.” Von Dietz smirks. “Ex-friend.”
Eva’s beautiful eyes narrow.
Von Dietz hesitates, but only for a second. “What I’m about to tell you mustn’t leave this room. Is that understood?”
We both nod and wait.
He steeples his fingers. “Kurt Ozzi isn’t just an oligarch with a god complex. He’s backed by a consortium of multibillionaires. One of their goals is to end Mount Evor as a sovereign state.”
“Why?” Eva asks, shifting in her seat.
“A mix of political gambits and personal grudges too complex to explain now,” Von Dietz answers. “My staff will provide each of you with a dossier but, in a nutshell, Mount Evor stands in the way of their bid for world domination.”
I cross my arms. “No less?”
“We can discuss this again after you’ve read the full dossier, my lord,” he says.
“Whatever their reasons,” Eva jumps in, “I don’t see on what legal basis an unofficial club of oligarchs can erase a country, even one hidden from the general public?”
Von Dietz gives her a tight nod. “Fair point, Your Grace. Kurt’s claim rests on a single document, signed in the year 1000 between King Robert II of France and Dowager Princess Philomena Theresa of Mount Evor.”
“You mean the addendum to the Treaty of Pombrio, kept inside the Impenetrable Vault at the Chateau des Neiges?” I ask.
He confirms with a slight incline of his head. “That’s the one. Its existence is a matter of record, referenced in multiple Evorian, French, and Italian historical sources. But no one knows its exact contents.”
“Riiight.” Eva lifts her chin, as if recalling something.
The improbable tale many dismiss as an urban legend comes to mind.
“Nine interconnected locks,” I say. “Impossible to open one without the others.”
Eva jumps in, “The vault is small, so if we blow up the door, we risk destroying the precious document. The alternative solution is to find all nine Montevor keys.”
“Correct,” Von Dietz says. “We’ve recovered seven, as it happens. All thanks to visions from the oracle.”
That gets my attention. “Princess Felicia?”
He nods.
“She never said a word about this,” Eva remarks.
“Her visions are confidential,” Von Dietz explains. “What’s relevant to our case is that two keys are still missing. That’s why Kurt Ozzi tried to assassinate her. He’s desperate.”
I rub my temples. “If no one knows what’s in the addendum, how can he use it as a legal loophole to end a millennium-old sovereign state?”
“The international community would never allow it!” Eva exclaims.
“The international community?” Von Dietz offers a weary smile. “Have you been following world news lately, Your Grace?”
She swallows and shifts uncomfortably.
An inexplicable urge to defuse her unease prompts me to interject, “Regardless of recent world events, I find it hard to believe the UN would give Kurt a blessing for such blatant aggression.”
“Two years ago, Kurt presented a document to the UN that he claims to have retrieved from the Vatican archives,” Von Dietz begins. “It contains a sunset clause stating that Mount Evor’s sovereignty ends exactly one thousand years after the signing of the addendum.”
“And someone believed him?” Eva asks, eyes wide.
“Unfortunately,” Von Dietz replies. “A corrupted commission of Swiss, French, and Italian forensic archaeologists authenticated his forgery.”
I do some mental math. “But our supposed expiration date has come and gone, and we’re still here.”
“We protested, obviously,” Von Dietz says. “The royals, our top diplomats, our allies among other European monarchies. The UN gave us until January 1 of next year to open the Impenetrable Vault and produce the original addendum.”
“And if it matches Kurt’s,” I ask, “or there’s nothing inside?”
Von Dietz pauses. “Then the principality ends.”
Silence.
The door swings open. A man in black steps in and whispers something into Von Dietz’s ear. He blinks and rises.
“Stay here,” he says and disappears down the corridor.
I glance across the table. “What do you make of this?”
Eva’s eyes stay on the door. “It’s terrifying. Like being locked in a room with a ticking bomb.”
“That’s an apt metaphor,” I admit. “Perhaps a touch overdramatic but fitting.”
She looks surprised at my compliment.
The door bursts open, and Von Dietz rushes back in, eyes bright and jaw set.
“We have a visual,” he declares. “The sniper was caught on CCTV trying to steal a car here in Pombrio. All police, special forces, royal guard, and MESS units have been mobilized.”
I straighten, ready to offer help, though I’m unsure how to assist.
“The roads are blocked,” Von Dietz adds. “Full lockdown. No movement in or out of the city until further notice.”
Eva peers at him. “What now?”
“Briefing’s over, Your Grace,” he replies. “My PA is booking rooms at the Royal Pombrio for you and Monsieur Castellane as we speak.”
She frowns. “I can’t return to Rohinn? But my daughter—”
“I’m sure she’s not alone at Fort Vauclairt, and you can call to reassure her in a moment,” he interrupts. “If we’re lucky, you’ll be able to leave tonight. But if the sniper’s not caught by nightfall, you’ll have to stay in Pombrio until the lockdown is lifted.”
He hands us each a thick folder. “The dossiers as promised.”
Eva and I thank him.
“Happy reading,” he says, escorting us to the exit. “I’m afraid you’re in this now whether you like it or not.”