CHAPTER 24
Archie
The trap was set. Now we just had to wait for Viktor to walk into it.
My study had been transformed into a war room of sorts.
Roberto stood near the window, arms crossed, watching the drive.
Captain Steiner had positioned herself by the door with the particular stillness of someone ready to move very quickly if necessary.
Betty sat in the chair beside my desk, looking calmer than I'd expected.
"He just passed the front gate," Roberto said without turning around. "Three minutes."
"And we're sure he took the bait?" I asked.
Captain Steiner nodded. "We intercepted a call last night to an unregistered number in Cyprus. He told them the 'democracy transition' could proceed as planned. That Princess Bettina was finished and Prince Archibald had agreed to discuss a marriage alliance with the Belarusian family."
Betty's expression flickered at that, but she said nothing. We'd fed Viktor that information yesterday, let him think she was defeated and fleeing back to Oregon, that I'd already moved on to considering Anastasia. He'd swallowed it whole.
"He's going to wonder why I'm still here," Betty said.
"Let him wonder." I reached over and squeezed her hand. "By the time he figures it out, it won't matter."
Roberto straightened. "He's at the door."
We arranged ourselves quickly. Betty and Captain Steiner moved into the anteroom, leaving the door cracked. They would time their entrances for maximum impact. When Viktor walked in, however, it would look like I was alone, waiting to finalize my surrender.
The knock came precisely on time. Viktor had always been punctual.
"Come in."
He entered with the satisfied expression of a man who believed he'd already won. His suit was immaculate, his silver hair perfectly styled, his bearing radiating the confidence of fifteen years as the Grand Duchess's most trusted advisor.
"Your Highness." He offered a slight bow. "Thank you for seeing me on such short notice. I know this must be a difficult time."
"Please, sit." I gestured to the chair across from my desk.
Viktor settled into it, crossing one leg over the other with the ease of someone who had occupied that chair many times before.
"I wanted to discuss the transition arrangements before Princess Bettina departs.
There are certain protocols we should establish regarding the Anastasia discussions, and I thought it best to coordinate directly rather than through intermediaries. "
"Of course. Though I'm curious why you're so eager to help with those arrangements."
"I serve both royal families, Your Highness. It's my duty to ensure a smooth transition, regardless of personal feelings about the outcome."
"Personal feelings." I let the words hang in the air. "Tell me, Viktor, what are your personal feelings about the outcome?"
"I think the original alliance was perhaps rushed. Princess Bettina is a charming young woman, but she was never adequately prepared for royal life. Princess Anastasia, on the other hand, has been trained from birth for exactly this role."
"And her family's connections to Moscow don't concern you?"
"Every alliance involves compromise, Your Highness. The question is whether the benefits outweigh the risks."
"Speaking of benefits." I slid the first document across the desk. "Can you explain these payments from a Cyprus holding company? Fifty thousand euros, deposited two days before my wife's luggage was destroyed. Another thirty thousand the week before her speech was sabotaged."
Viktor glanced at the document, and for just a moment, his composure cracked. He recovered quickly. "Consulting fees. I advise on multiple projects for various clients. There's nothing improper about legitimate compensation for legitimate work."
"The timing is remarkable, though." Betty opened the door from the anteroom wider, and walked into the room.
Viktor's head snapped around.
"Almost like someone was being paid for services rendered."
Viktor stood abruptly, the mask of diplomatic concern slipping. "Princess Bettina. I was told you were en route to the airport."
"You were told what we wanted you to believe."
He looked from Betty to me, Roberto and Captain Steiner walked into the room from the antechamber. The realization that he was surrounded passed across his face like a shadow.
"This is absurd." He straightened his jacket, trying to regain control. "Whatever you think you've discovered, I can assure you there's a perfectly reasonable explanation. Someone is clearly trying to frame me, probably the same person who's been sabotaging the Princess."
Betty set a folder on the desk and opened it.
"The timeline of every sabotage incident, cross-referenced with your access to the relevant locations and the payments from Cyprus.
The luggage. The speech. The Chilly Baker story, which was sold to the tabloids by a contact who's been linked to your office.
The scheduling conflicts that kept me from my lessons. All of it traces back to you."
"Circumstantial." Viktor's voice had gone harder. "You have no proof of anything."
Captain Steiner stepped forward and set a small device on the desk. "Last night, you made a call to an unregistered number in Nicosia."
She pressed play.
Viktor's voice filled the room, tinny but unmistakable: "The situation is resolved. The princess is returning to America, and the prince has agreed to consider the Belarusian option. The democracy transition can proceed as planned. Our friends will be pleased."
The recording ended. Viktor stood frozen, his face draining of color.
"Fabricated," he said, but his voice lacked conviction. "Anyone could have manufactured that recording. Voice synthesis technology is remarkably sophisticated these days."
"Is it?" I leaned back in my chair. "Then you won't mind if we play it for the Grand Duchess and let her decide whether it sounds like you."
Viktor's composure cracked further. "The Grand Duchess trusts me. She's trusted me for fifteen years. She won't believe these lies."
"About that." I turned my laptop to face him and pressed a key.
The Grand Duchess appeared on screen, propped up in her bed at the Valdorian palace. Her eyes were sharp, fixed on Viktor with an expression that made even me uncomfortable.
"Viktor." Her voice was thin but steady. "I trusted you with the security of my family, my country, my granddaughter. And all of it was a lie."
"Your Grace." Viktor's voice had gone hoarse. "Whatever they've told you, it's not true. I have served you faithfully since the day you appointed me. I would never betray Valdoria."
"When Bettina came to me and told me you were a suspect, I didn't want to believe it.
I hoped she was wrong. So I dug into your communications.
Your activities. Count Alessandro's as well, though he proved to be merely a fool, not a traitor.
" She paused, and the silence was devastating.
"I have proof of your treachery. I know about the payments.
I know about the sabotage. I know everything, Viktor. Everything."
Viktor's legs seemed to give way slightly. He caught himself on the edge of the desk.
"Your Grace, I can explain. The situation is more complex than you understand. Russia's influence in the region is inevitable. I was trying to position Valdoria to benefit from that reality rather than be crushed by it."
"By destroying my granddaughter? By ending my family's eight-hundred-year legacy?"
"The monarchy was already dying." Viktor's voice turned bitter, the diplomatic mask finally shattering.
"You're dying. The princess is unsuitable.
The alliance was a desperate gamble that was never going to work.
I was trying to manage the transition in a way that would protect Valdorian interests. "
"Russian interests, you mean."
"They're the same thing now. Whether you accept it or not."
I stood, drawing Viktor's attention back to me. "Here's what I don't understand. At first, we thought you wanted to replace Betty with Anastasia. A different princess, a Russian-aligned marriage. That would have made sense, in a ruthless sort of way."
Betty moved to stand beside me. "But that was never the full plan, was it? You didn't need a Russian heir for Valdoria."
Viktor went very still.
"You just needed to eliminate me," Betty continued. "Discredit me publicly with Chilly Baker and the sabotage. Destroy my marriage by exposing the fraud. Drive me back to America in disgrace. Make sure I never return to claim Valdoria."
I picked up the thread. "And when the Grand Duchess dies, Valdoria has no heir.
The monarchy ends. A small, newly democratic nation emerges.
No American protection, no strong alliances.
Vulnerable to economic pressure on your banking sector and wine exports.
Vulnerable to election interference. Vulnerable to gradual political capture.
" I watched his face as each word landed.
"Russia doesn't need to conquer Valdoria.
They just need to wait for you to hand it to them. "
Viktor said nothing. His silence was confirmation enough.
"You weren't serving Valdoria," Betty said. "You were dismantling it. Piece by piece. And my grandmother was supposed to die never knowing that her most trusted advisor was the one holding the knife."
Viktor looked at the laptop screen, at the Grand Duchess who had given him power and position and trust. Whatever he saw in her face made him flinch.
"Your Grace." His voice had lost all its smoothness. "I can give you names. The full network. Everyone in Moscow who's been coordinating this operation. In exchange for consideration, I can help you understand the scope of what you're facing."
"There will be no immunity," the Grand Duchess said. "No bargaining. I've already sent my evidence to Valdorian prosecutors. You'll be transported back to Valdoria today to face charges of treason, conspiracy, and crimes against the Crown."
Viktor turned to me, desperation breaking through. "You need what I know. The Russians won't stop just because you've arrested me. There are others. Plans already in motion. Without my cooperation, you'll be fighting blind."
"We'll manage." I nodded to Roberto.
Roberto stepped forward. "Valdorian security is waiting outside. You'll be taken into custody and transported by diplomatic convoy."
Viktor drew himself up, making one last attempt at dignity. "This changes nothing, you know. The alliance is still fragile. Congress hasn't approved the base agreement. One removed advisor won't stop what's coming."
"Maybe not," Betty said. "But it changes one thing. You won't be here to see what we build."
Captain Steiner moved to Viktor's side, her hand on his elbow. "Lord Viktor. This way."
He shook her off but walked toward the door. At the threshold, he paused and looked back at the laptop screen.
"I did what I thought was best for Valdoria," he said. "History will judge whether I was right."
"History will forget you," the Grand Duchess replied. "As you deserve."
Captain Steiner escorted him out. The door closed behind them.
For a long moment, none of us moved. The weight of what had just happened settled over the room like dust after an explosion.
"Your Grace," I said to the screen. "Are you all right?"
"It's a relief to finally have this over, even if the confirmation is painful." The Grand Duchess's voice was heavy with regret. "I almost let my trust in him outweigh the evidence.” She shook her head. “I’ll see you both soon. I have to rest now.”
“Good bye, Grandmother.”
She gave Betty a weak smile and hung up.
"It's done," Betty said simply.
"It's done," I agreed.
Betty leaned against my desk, looking drained but lighter somehow. "So. What now?"
"Now we go to Oregon." I took her hand. "We get married for real this time. And then we figure out how to save the world from Russian influence, one coffee shop at a time."
"That's a terrible plan."
"Do you have a better one?"
She considered this. "Not really. But I do have one condition."
"Name it."
"Before we leave, I need coffee. Real coffee. Not whatever Roberto's been brewing in the security office."
"Coffee first," I agreed. "Then Oregon. Then saving the world."
"Now that's a plan I can work with."
We walked out of the study together, leaving the war room behind. Somewhere, Viktor was being loaded into a transport vehicle, his fifteen-year deception finally unraveled. Somewhere, my mother was probably already drafting statements and managing the diplomatic fallout.
But for now, in this moment, there was only Betty's hand in mine and the promise of coffee and a wedding and a bright future.