Chapter 8
CHAPTER 8
NATE
N ate paced the floor of his father’s office as he listened to the man speak with their legal team. His mind whirled through the possibilities while the two discussed the likelihood of charges being brought against anyone in the family.
They’d been involved in a bitter divorce, and Stephen had just been arrested for assault. While no formal charges had been filed, the mark still looked bad.
A woman who had accused him of assault ended up dead only a few hours later.
“So, you’re telling us Stephen could be facing a murder charge?” Charles asked, his voice wavering.
“He’ll at least be questioned,” the attorney answered. “Tell me you have a solid alibi for her time of death.”
Stephen squirmed under the weight of their stares, his discomfort obvious as he shifted awkwardly in his seat.
The wet clothes he’d shoved behind his door earlier this morning flitted through Nate’s mind. Had he been out in the storm last night?
“I was in my room all night.”
“Did anyone see you there at some point during the night after you got home?”
“No,” Stephen answered. “I came home, I went to bed. It was a rough day. Nate, Maddie, and I were planning on flying out to Eldoria today. So, we turned in early.”
“Eldoria?” the counselor asked, his eyes flicking to Nate.
“It’s a small European country. I’m marrying Princess Elena.”
“Which reminds me,” Charles said, “we need to discuss you making up a prenup for this. I don’t want to be caught unprepared again.”
“At the very least, she can’t come after your money anymore,” the attorney answered.
“Clifford, that’s a terrible thing to say. A woman is dead,” his mother said as she hovered in the doorway.
“Sorry, Victoria, but it does solve a problem. A very big one. I don’t think she would have ended up with much, but she was putting your family through the ringer, demanding a pretty large portion of the pie.”
Victoria clicked her tongue. “Which is why they’ll assume we had something to do with this. Tell me we can safely put this behind us.”
“Nothing’s been filed yet. When there’s something, we’ll attack it from all angles. But for now…I’m afraid you won’t be heading out of the country.”
“What about just Nate?” Victoria asked.
Clifford shook his head. “I wouldn’t, if at all possible. Looks bad. The most obvious suspect here is Stephen, of course, but Nate had a history with her, too. Maybe he went after her to settle a score or defend his brother. Then he skips town to hide out in a foreign country. Probably one with no extradition.”
The man sucked in a breath before he continued. “And on top of that, we want to present a united front.”
Nate set his hands on his hips. “I also don’t want to drag the royal family into this. My surprise visit is going to have to wait.”
“I’m sorry, honey,” Victoria said, sliding her arm around his shoulders. “I know you wanted to spend some time with her before the engagement announcement.”
“Now, I just want to make it to the engagement announcement.”
“Nate has a good point. How long do we need to wait around? We’re all supposed to be in Eldoria for this announcement in a few days,” Charles said.
Clifford sucked in a deep breath. “That may not happen. I’ll do my best to keep tabs on this, but if the police are still investigating…I’m sorry.”
Victoria slid her head forward, her eyes going wide. “What? Are you saying…are you saying Nate could miss his own engagement announcement?”
Clifford cocked his head, shrugging. “I’m saying he may make it. I’m not certain the rest of you will. And I’m not even sure about him. It depends on how quickly they start identifying suspects and questioning them. Where their heads are at in terms of charges. Maybe if we get lucky, there’ll be another suspect that they find on surveillance or something.”
“We’ll keep our fingers crossed,” Charles said as he rose and stuck his hand out.
“Isn’t that terrible? We’re literally hoping that someone else is caught for this crime.” Victoria shook her head as she eased into a chair.
“No,” Nate said with a shake of his head. “Someone murdered her. I didn’t like her, but I didn’t want to see her dead. And the person who did it should be punished for it. Not us.”
He glanced over at his quiet brother, wondering about the clothes he'd seen earlier.
“Nate’s right, Victoria,” Charles said, his hands rubbing her shoulders while he kept his voice firm but gentle. “Someone committed a crime. It’s not wrong to hope the police find that person. Until then, we just have to wait.”
“I should tell Ellie about this. I…” Nate’s voice trailed off. How would he tell his fiancé that he couldn’t attend their engagement announcement?
Victoria’s features pinched. “Oh, please tell her how sorry we all are, and that we’re hoping this resolves quickly.”
“I will. I hope we can make it as planned, but…we may need to make a decision about this sooner rather than later based on what develops in the next twenty-four hours.”
“Oh, honey, I’m so sorry. Maybe, though, by the weekend, at least you and Maddie can go. I’d hate for you to have to postpone. But then again, I’d hate to miss this.” Victoria’s features creased as she rubbed a hand against her forehead.
“It’s okay, Mom. I want all of us to be there. So, I’m hoping for the best. I’ll see what Ellie has to say, too. I’m going to call her now.”
“Good luck. Tell her we said hello, and we really hope things in Eldoria are going better than they are here.”
“She said something about challenging news. I need to ask her about it. I only got to tell her about Chloe before Clifford came.”
“Well, I’m glad you were with us, Nate,” Charles said. “Give Ellie our best.”
Nate nodded before he strode from the room, pulling his cell phone from his pocket. His heart thudded against his ribs as he found Elena’s name, his shaky thumb hovering over the call icon .
He imagined trying to explain all of this to the fiancé he’d only just won over. What would the royal family think of him after this?
Their engagement hadn’t been announced yet. Would King Frederick demand that they call it off?
“Ugh,” he groaned as he slid his eyes closed. “Just get it over with, Nate.”
He pressed the call button, swallowing hard. His heart pounded against his chest as he paced back and forth in the hall.
“Nathan,” Elena answered after a few rings. “Oh, darling, how are you? Has there been any developments?”
“Hey, Ellie. Not many, no. I just…wanted to check in. We were just discussing what may happen from here on out.”
“And?” she asked. “It’s awful. Will her family deal with the arrangements or will it fall to Stephen as her current spouse?”
Nate ran a shaky hand through his hair. They’d been so focused on the murder and the fallout from it, they hadn’t even considered that Stephen was her next-of-kin and would be responsible for making arrangements. “Gosh, I don’t even know. We’ve been so focused on the legal side–”
“Legal side? Is there some sort of legal issue?”
“Well…” His chest tightened as he prepared to tell her the entire sordid story. “Yes. They were going through the divorce to start with and…she…Stephen was arrested for assault yesterday.”
“What?” Shock coursed through Elena’s voice. “Of Chloe?”
“Yes. She was lying, I know it. She was trying to get some leverage to get something out of us because we had her on the affair. I know she was lying.”
“Of course, she was. Stephen would never do something like that. ”
His heartbeat calmed a little at her words. “Thanks for the support. I appreciate that.”
“But now with this…wrinkle…they may suspect Stephen to be the culprit.”
He twisted on his heel and strode in the opposite direction. “No one’s accused him of anything yet, but…I’m sure he’s going to be on the short list of suspects. Between the divorce and the arrest, they’re going to be looking at him.”
“Oh, heavens. How is your mother taking it?”
“She’s not happy. I think she’s pretty heartsick over this.”
“I can imagine. Oh, darling, I’m so sorry. Please send my love to her.”
“Thanks, Ellie, I will. Hey, umm, this could…depending on the timing, affect our trip to Eldoria. I hope it doesn’t, but…I think we need to be prepared for the possibility that my entire family may not make it out there.”
Elena heaved a sigh on the other end of the line. “I understand. We’ll take it day by day, and if we must postpone…”
“Let’s hope we don’t have to,” he answered, his stomach twisted in knots as he faced the prospect.
“Yes, of course. I will keep this under my hat for the moment and hope nothing comes of it.”
He knew what she was driving at. She wouldn’t spill the information to her father, who may very well try to put a stop to their engagement. “I appreciate that. Now, you said you had some…bad news, too?”
“Nothing compared to this.”
“I’d still like to hear it. We’re a team, right? And I just unloaded all my problems on you.”
Elena offered a soft chuckle. “Yes, we are, and you hardly unloaded anything. I’m always here to listen.”
“Same. So, spill it.”
Elena sighed on the other end. “Julian has struck again. ”
“With?” Nate asked, wondering if he had any hand in Chloe’s demise.
“He found some ancient royal decree stating that anyone ascending to the throne must marry royal blood.”
Nate’s heart stopped. Had he heard right? “So…”
“So, our marriage would automatically disqualify me from becoming Queen.”
His stomach clenched. It had been what he suspected. If Elena went through with the wedding, she’d lose her crown. “Oh, Ellie…”
He wondered if she’d tell him there was no need to come out of the engagement because she was not going to marry him.
“Father and I are working on a solution. Even Isabelle is helping.”
“Your cousin who hates you?” Nate furrowed his brow.
“Yes. We have…talked through some of our differences. And we are working together to solve this issue. And just to be clear…I will not be stopped from marrying the man I love by some dusty decree.”
She always had a way of setting him at ease. His lips tugged into a smile. “Well, I wasn’t going to let you off the hook quite that easily, you know?”
“I hope not. And I’m not letting you off the hook either. I fully expect the situation with Stephen to resolve so we can announce our engagement and move forward with the wedding. I’ve already hired a wedding planner.”
“Oh, yeah?” His heart ached as he realized he wanted to be in Eldoria discussing all this with her. “I can’t wait to see what he or she has planned.”
“She. And I’m certain you’re dying to know if I’ve selected eggshell white or off-white.”
“I am. Or maybe you went with cream.”
“Oh, my! The thrills you’re missing out on. ”
He chuckled, enjoying the moment of lighthearted ease in a sea of uncertainty. “I know. Look, I’ll get everything squared away here so we can discuss ivory versus alabaster.”
“Excellent, and I will work on my end to ensure that Julian does not take the throne.”
“Wait, wouldn’t it go to Alexander?”
“He is adamant about not marrying Lady Margaret, so he would also be in question. I will not allow my snake of a cousin to steal this country’s monarchy, though. So, we’ll each work on our respective issues and move forward together. You’ll keep me updated?”
“I will. As soon as I hear anything, I’ll text you.”
“I will do the same. I’ve got to run. Take care, darling. I love you.”
“I love you, too, Ellie.”
They ended the call, his heart wishing they hadn’t. He slid his eyes closed again, his fingers tightening around the phone as their many problems bore down on him like a physical weight.
A hand on his shoulder startled him, and he spun to find Stephen behind him.
“Hey,” Nate said, his brows furrowing. “What’s up?”
“Thanks for your support in there, Nate. I…know we haven’t been close recently, but…”
“Yeah, of course,” Nate said. “Look, we’ve had our issues, but that’s in the past.”
Stephen sucked in a breath. “I really hope this doesn’t mess things up with Ellie. She’s a really great woman.”
“Thanks, Stephen. So far so good. I just talked to her. Hopefully, things won’t get any worse.” Nate raised his phone in the air.
“Umm, I can’t help you there, but…I…Nate, I need a big favor.”
“What’s up?” Nate asked .
Stephen shifted his weight back and forth before he grabbed Nate’s arm and led him to the library. As they stepped into the dimly lit space, the sun barely making a dent in the heavy drapes covering the windows, Stephen scrubbed his face.
“Stephen, what’s going on?”
“I…I wasn’t here the entire night last night. I went out."
Nate’s blood ran cold as he recalled the wet clothes he’d spotted on Stephen’s bedroom floor earlier this morning. “What? Where did you go?”
“Just out. I…everything was bothering me, I just went for a walk.”
“In the middle of the storm?”
Stephen bit his lower lip, letting his gaze fall to the floor. “I know it sounds super suspicious, but…I just…went out to think.”
“Where did you go?”
Stephen sucked in a breath, flicking his gaze to one of the windows.
“Stephen?” Nate prodded. “Where did you go?”
His brother swallowed hard, his gaze raising to the ceiling. “I went to Chloe’s.”
“What?” Nate’s features twisted in shock. “Stephen! I’m pretty certain you were supposed to stay away from her after what happened yesterday.”
“Yeah, I know that. I didn’t go inside. I just…I drove by her place.”
Nate set his hands on his hips, shaking his head. “I can’t believe this. Stephen, if anyone saw you…or if you’re on a traffic cam…”
“Yeah, I get it. It’s bad. I get it. But…there’s something else.”
“Please do not tell me you went to her door or called her and told her you were there. ”
Stephen’s features pinched as he shook his head. “No.”
“Well, then what is it?”
Stephen licked his lips, his eyes locking onto Nate’s. “Mom was there.”
Nate’s heart stopped as the three words slashed at him like a knife. What was his mother doing at Chloe’s in the middle of the night shortly before the woman was murdered?