CHAPTER FORTY – HATTIE
Three days.
That’s how long it took me to record a video address of the worst time of my life. The very same one that will be broadcast to millions of people in Askurg. The same one that will follow me throughout the rest of my days and define who I am as a person.
And it was undoubtedly one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done.
It’s no different to me ripping out my soul and laying it bare on the street for everyone to examine.
But for the first time, I wasn’t alone when dealing with it.
There wasn’t a single second of those three days when I was alone.
Well, excluding toilet visits. Even then, I think either Finn or Valentina were waiting outside the door.
In the few times neither one could be with me between the filming sessions, I was with a psychologist. The Royal House had abused its authority to fly in an esteemed doctor from the U.K., and between her and the psychiatrist I’d recently begun seeing, I was able to get through it all.
Only just.
Sometimes, the mental mountains were the hardest ones to overcome.
“What you’ve done,” Dr Carter says, filing away her papers. “Is one of the bravest things anyone could do, Harriet. Do not be disheartened if you find yourself regressing over the coming days.”
I swallow, then nod. We’ve been over this several times.
The ‘unboxing’ of my trauma, as she casually put it at the start of all this, could undo all the work I’ve put in over the years.
Mostly because I haven’t addressed it—I’ve accepted it, but that isn’t the same thing.
For the most part, it’s lived buried away in the depths of my mind, something that only forces its way out when I can no longer control it.
“That said, I’m not concerned.” She hits me with a warm smile that wrinkles the corners of her eyes. “You have a wealth of support here.”
“I’m very lucky,” I agree.
“You have my number if you need me before I call next week. Are you sure you don’t want me to delay my flight tonight? I really am happy to stay an extra night while your statement airs.”
I shake my head. “I can manage. Honestly, I’m so exhausted I think I might sleep through the whole thing.”
“Whatever you need to do to get through this is valid.” She pauses. “You can call me, day or night, you know that.”
This time, I smile. “I know. Thanks, doc.”
She returns the gesture and touches my shoulder. “Good luck, Harriet. I’ll check in with you tomorrow. Otherwise, we’ll talk next week.”
“Have a safe flight home,” I reply.
“Oh, have you seen that plane? I certainly will.”
She leaves me with a wink, and I’m barely alone for a second before Valentina scurries inside and drops herself onto the sofa Dr Carter just vacated. She huffs as she falls, and she meets my questioning gaze.
“My father,” she says, rolling her eyes. “Apparently, my stepmother is positively irate about my part in your broadcast. She claims that dragging up the past will only hurt the Deverauxs.”
“Why?” I ask, reaching for the teapot so I can pour us both a cup of tea. “Is she afraid someone will look into it and she’ll get found out?”
Valentina smirks. “Shall I ask her?”
“Only if you want to cause even more drama.”
“I’m sure she’ll do that anyway.”
“No need to provoke her unless you want to deal with it,” I point out, pushing a cup of tea in her direction. “What did your father say?”
“That he isn’t really happy about me discussing it in public, but he understands it’s to support you. The only reason he hasn’t kicked off is because he thinks the more that I publicly support you, the more likely you’ll be to make me your aide when you marry Finn.”
I pause. “Did you tell him that’s already been decided?”
“No. Honestly, he’ll just tell Vivienne, and she’ll make my life a living hell.
Better to keep that to ourselves.” She sighs and sits back, stretching her legs out in front of her.
“For now, I shall continue to be a wanton socialite who frivolously spends money. That way she has something to whine about.”
“It sounds like she’d find something to whinge about no matter what you do,” I reply. “All that’s left is to find a husband she can complain about.”
“Now you’re talking.” Valentina reaches for her tea. “Maybe that’s my next move. Marry someone better than my brother plans to. That’ll really get her goat.” She pauses. “Perhaps I should go fishing for someone with a title and make her bow to me. Imagine how much that’ll piss her off.”
“Worked for me.”
She hesitates for a second before bursting into laughter. “You’re right, it did. Then perhaps that’s what I’ll do for the next few months before you get married—secure a husband of my own to make Vivienne cry. It sounds like a good idea.”
“I’ve yet to hear more than one good idea out of you,” Alec says, strolling into the room.
I look over at him. “Don’t you know how to knock?”
“The door was open.” He cocks his thumb in that direction and sits on the edge of the sofa. “I have good news.”
“Spit it out, then. I don’t have all day.”
“Yes, you look terribly busy,” he drawls, then leans back a bit when I glare at him. “Fucking hell, calm down. I’m about to be your favourite person.”
“For someone rumoured to be made of stone, you talk a lot,” Valentina mutters.
Alec shoots her a dark look. “Harriet, are you sure you want to hire this one as your aide? I’m available, you know.”
“Why would I pay you to do what you already do for free?” I sip my tea, peering at him over the top of my teacup. “Forgive me, but that seems like a terrible waste of taxpayers’ money.”
“You know, if I wasn’t marginally afraid of you, I’d throw this at you.” He pulls an envelope from inside his jacket and waves it.
“What is that?”
“This,” he says slowly. “Is your half-sister’s birth certificate.”
Ice shoots through my veins. “I thought we couldn’t find out where she was born.”
His lips curl into a tiny smile. “Haven’t you learnt anything yet? There’s nothing I can’t find.”
I blink at the envelope. “How did you find it?”
“I had someone trace Rosalyn’s movements around the time you were both born. She left Askurg and flew to the U.K. when she was approximately seven months’ pregnant, and we managed to trace her medical records to a private hospital in London.”
“You got her medical records?” Valentina spits, her eyes bugging. “How the hell did you do that?”
“Again, there’s nothing I can’t find,” he repeats as if he’s tired of explaining that. “We got her address, and then all we had to do was request a copy of Jasmine’s birth certificate from the local authority.”
“And you actually got it?” I can’t stop staring at the envelope.
“Yes. It wasn’t difficult. I had all the necessary information. And no, before you ask, I didn’t break the law.”
Oh.
I assumed he had.
In my defense, he usually does. Flagrantly so.
“Here. Open it.” He tosses it onto the sofa next to me. “You might find it… helpful.”
No.
Surely not.
I put my cup down and snatch it up. Valentina scoots forwards on the sofa and grips the edge of the cushion, staring at my hands. I rip the sealed flap open and pull out the certificate so I can unfold it.
And see it.
There it is.
The proof we thought we’d need a miracle for.
“Holy shit. He’s actually listed here,” I whisper, staring at my father’s name and signature on the birth certificate.
“I took the liberty of checking the circumstances surrounding a father being named on a birth certificate in the United Kingdom,” Alec replies.
“As they were unmarried at the time, there are two options: William either signed an acknowledgment of parentage or he physically attended the appointment.”
“Well, if you can crack someone’s medical records, I’m sure you know the answer to that,” Valentina says.
“Yes.” He hesitates. “You have six weeks to register a birth in the U.K. There’s a record of William flying into Heathrow around the time Jasmine would have been five weeks old.”
I clench my teeth together. I would have only been a few weeks older than her, and there he was—leaving my mother alone with a newborn to register his secret daughter in another country.
I’m not angry for me. I’m angry for her. Angry that she gave so much for someone who regarded her so little.
It doesn’t matter.
It’s almost over.
With this, I can rip everything away from them.
Whatever it was that led him to fly there and put his name on the birth certificate of his child with his mistress, I can only thank it.
Because that one silly, silly decision of his twenty-eight years ago will be the final nail in their coffin.
If only he knew he’d be handing me the fuel I need to light the fire that will burn the Sinclair family to shreds, I wonder if he’d have travelled there to sign it.
“What do you want me to do with it?” Alec asks after a moment.
I peer up at him. “What?”
“It’s your call.” He leans back and rests his arm on the back of the sofa. “This is the piece you’ve been looking for. Tonight, your statement airs, and there’s every chance they might attack you again. They’ll be cornered once Zachary is arrested tonight.”
I drop my gaze to the birth certificate. I know he’s right, but I didn’t go through what I just did for the attention to be taken off me. As much as I would truly love to implode their lives right now, I want them on edge even more.
Once Zachary is arrested, they’ll be waiting for the other shoe to drop.
And just when they think they’re safe, I’ll ruin everything.
“Not yet,” I say, folding the birth certificate. I tuck it carefully back into the envelope and hand it back to Alec. “Keep it safe. I’m not ready to do this just yet.”
He slides it back inside his jacket with a resolute nod. “As you wish.”
“Are you sure?” Valentina asks, looking from him to me. “You could end it all tonight.”
“I’m sure.” I return my attention to my teacup, staring at the gently steaming liquid inside. “More than anything, it’s important this birth certificate cannot be traced back to the palace. You’ll need to tip off Victoria.”
She presses her lips together into a smile. “Just say the word.”
***
There have been many turning points in my life.
The night I was kidnapped.
The night Ryan killed Sayana and we escaped.
The day I returned to St Peters and knocked on the door of the Sinclair house.
The evening I ran into Finn in the park.
The day I was first brought to the palace.
The night he introduced me to the world as his fiancée.
And now, the night my soul is bared to everyone in Askurg can join that list.
Finn wraps his arms around my shoulders from behind the sofa as I stare at myself on the television. It’s muted, but I don’t need volume or subtitles to know what I’m saying.
Somehow, I remember every word.
“You’re the bravest person I know,” he says softly into my hair. “I’m so proud of you, Hattie.”
I swallow back the lump in my throat. “What if it goes wrong? What if nobody believes me? What if—”
“It changes nothing.” He holds me a little tighter. “You’re still mine. Anyone who watches that and thinks you’re lying is a blind, stupid fool. And we have Ryan’s father’s testimony releasing with it. It’s been a long week, but by the end of the night, it’ll be over.”
I nod.
He’s right.
I know he’s right, but that doesn’t stop the thoughts from cruelly intruding. It doesn’t stop my mind telling me that I’m going to lose everything.
And I don’t want to.
It’s not about the seat of crown princess. It’s not about taking something from Jasmine. It’s not about the power that comes with this palace.
Not anymore.
I don’t want to lose the family I’ve found.
It’s mine. This love is mine. The friendships I’ve grown are mine. The family I’ve slotted into as easily is breathing is mine.
It’s the first thing that has ever truly belonged to me.
Finn’s phone rings, and he releases me to answer it. “Yes… All right, thank you… Yes, I’ll pass it on. Thank you. Thanks.”
I turn around, but he’s already walking around the sofa. A smile tickles the corners of his eyes, and he kisses my forehead.
“Zachary has been taken in for questioning,” he murmurs against my forehead. “Alec thinks he’ll talk. Especially with the information we provided.”
I swallow. “What if he doesn’t talk?”
“Rowan believes we uncovered enough that it doesn’t matter. There’s a money trail between him and Jasmine, and even if he did delete the messages, they can be uncovered.” He sits next to me.
My lips puff out as I exhale heavily. “But Jasmine…” I shake my head. “My father will buy her freedom.”
“He might not be able to. Oscar tipped off the media about him being taken in. William may not be able to buy her out of it this time.”
“What if what she did wasn’t illegal? Rowan said it could be viewed as toeing the line. I just—I don’t know, Finn. Why does it seem so impossible to make her get what she deserves?”
“Breathe.” He cups my cheeks and brings his face close to mine. “Breathe.”
Right.
Spiralling.
That isn’t good for anyone.
He picks up a four-count, and I follow it with my breath. I don’t know how long he guides me for, but when his voice softly fades out, I feel better than I did.
“That’s better.” He kisses my forehead. “If she doesn’t get arrested or face any charges, then it’s not a big deal. Her involvement will be revealed, and she’ll be tried in the public court. Her reputation will be cut to shreds.”
I wrap my arms around myself and rub my hands across my upper arms to soothe the goosebumps there. “You’re right. And really, that’s enough.”
“And you still have the birth certificate.”
I smile. Brightly.
Because he’s right.
I do still have that birth certificate.