Both Human and Material Evidence Exist
Cassidy Sterling gave her father a thumbs-up. *Just like him,* she thought. Protecting your own was one trait she'd definitely inherited.
She stepped over to the kneeling mother and daughter, leaned down, and looked them over with a disarmingly kind smile. "You know, I'm a very generous person," she said sweetly. "Since you're both fighting to take the punishment for the other, I'll just grant both your wishes."
Cassidy straightened up and barked an order to the guards behind her.
"Jed! Take this woman and her daughter to the Onyx Guard's prison. Hand them over to Garrison for a... *detailed* interrogation." Her voice dropped, taking on a sharp, cruel edge. "I want to find out what's tougher, their bones, or the Onyx Guard's tools."
Reid Donovan watched, stunned, as his mistress, Lady Bradford, and their two children were dragged away by the manor guards.
He wanted to scream, to stop them, but he was terrified the princess would just have him arrested, too.
He was paralyzed, able only to whip his head around and shoot his father a desperate, pleading look.
The old man stood rooted to the spot, looking like all the strength had been drained right out of him.
He seemed to have aged a dozen years in a single moment, his once-straight back now slumped in defeat.
He watched Lady Bradford and the kids being led away, then glanced at his eldest son, whose face was as white as a sheet. A bitter cold settled in his heart.
He'd seen the panic on Lady Bradford's face just moments ago. Thinking back on her behavior over the years, he realized she'd never carried herself like a common mistress. It was obvious now that she had targeted his son from the very beginning.
This was all his fault. If he'd just been firmer back when he first found out about the affair, if he'd sent that woman far away, his family never would have brought this disaster on themselves.
Donovan's father stepped forward and bowed his head slightly to the prince and princess.
"Your Highnesses, please understand. I failed to raise my son properly. He's a degenerate, blinded by a woman, and foolish enough to try and make his mistress a legitimate wife. I've brought shame upon the Donovan name."
Cassidy nodded enthusiastically. "Well, they do say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. It's perfectly normal. No need to feel ashamed."
The moment the words left her mouth, the entire hall fell silent. Everyone slowly turned to stare at her, as if they couldn't have possibly heard her correctly.
How could anyone be so savage?
Seeing all eyes on her, Cassidy assumed they were waiting for her to continue.
She puffed out her chest and declared, "I investigate cases based on facts and evidence, period. Guilt and innocence are determined by irrefutable proof. I won't frame an innocent person, but I will *never* let the guilty get away."
With that, she clasped her hands behind her back and leveled a look at the old man.
"In order for your son to marry his mistress, he framed his wife's family for treason, plotting to have her entire family executed. An act of such madness, according to the Imperial Code, is punishable by the Execution of the Nine Clans!"
The Duke of Crestfall and Prince Ashworth, who both had some familiarity with the Imperial Code, shot each other a baffled look. *Was that really in there?*
The rest of the Donovan family trembled as if they'd been doused in scalding water, their faces turning a ghastly white.
The old man stumbled forward, his voice urgent and hoarse. "The Donovans have served the empire for generations! We've been blessed by imperial grace for centuries. We would never commit such a heartless act as framing the Marquis of Stonehaven for treason."
His voice suddenly rose, thick with indignation. "You're slandering my family without a shred of proof, pinning a crime worthy of wiping out our entire clan on us! As the Capital Inspector, appointed by His Majesty himself, are you really going to investigate a case based on nothing but guesswork?"
Cassidy gave him a strange look. "Didn't I already find the evidence? Your son framed his wife's entire family just so he could marry his mistress."
She gestured to Reid Donovan's wedding clothes and the red silk draped all over the hall.
"The man and the motive are standing right in front of you. What more is there to argue about?"
The Donovans just stared, incredulous. What kind of proof was that?
Reid felt a knot tighten in his chest and hurried to explain.
"Your Highness, please, you're misunderstanding. Me marrying Lady Bradford has absolutely nothing to do with the Marquis of Stonehaven."
He raised a hand to wipe the cold sweat from his brow, his voice a mixture of anger and anxiety.
"My wife, Mrs. Redgrave, has been married into this family for over a decade. She gave me one daughter, and she hasn't been able to conceive since. I am the only legitimate male heir of my generation. I have a duty to continue our family line."
He gestured wildly in the direction the guards had gone.
"Lady Bradford gave me a son. How could I let the three of them live without status? Making her my second wife was just to protect the family's reputation and give them a proper place."
He shook his head, pleading. "This is a private family matter. How can you possibly connect it to a major treason case?"
When Cassidy heard him mention the son, she immediately pictured the little boy who'd been screaming about wanting to kill her just moments earlier. The disgust on her face was impossible to miss.
She turned to Paige Donovan, who was standing quietly nearby. "Your dad doesn't like you," she said, her voice surprisingly gentle.
Paige's heart clenched. Her fingers tightened on the hem of her dress.
"I know," she said, her voice quiet but steady.
"He's told my mother and me more than once that her body is useless because she couldn't give him a son. He hates that I'm not a boy, that I can't carry on the Donovan name."
She suddenly lifted her head, her eyes a frightening, furious red.
"For years, I just took it. I told myself it was just my bad luck, being born a girl. But I never imagined... I never knew he took a mistress just a year after he married my mother. He kept saying it was all for the family line, but it was just a high-and-mighty excuse for his own filthy desires!"
Hearing her daughter's words was like a knife to Mrs. Redgrave's heart. With trembling hands, she pulled Paige into her arms. "Oh, my poor child, why didn't you ever tell me? You've been suffering so much in this house!"
She turned her head, glaring at Reid with pure venom.
"For years, I thought you were genuinely worried about not having an heir. I even offered to let you take a mistress! But what did you say to me?"
Her voice cracked with a mournful, bitter laugh, the hatred in her eyes practically overflowing.
"You said you promised my father you'd never take a mistress, and you had to keep your word! So, you wanted the reputation of being a man of your word, but you couldn't keep your hands off other women. You used 'duty' as an excuse to keep a secret family."
She shook her head, her voice dropping to a low, trembling whisper. "You didn't just deceive me. You mistreated our daughter. You are cold, you are heartless, and you are not worthy of being a husband or a father."
Reid's face went from pale to flushed as his wife and daughter tore into him.
"I was thinking of you!" he finally burst out, exasperated.
"I considered our history together! I was worried you'd feel guilty for not giving me a son, so I kept Lady Bradford on the side for years! In all that time, did the Donovan family ever once mistreat you? Did we ever talk about divorcing you for failing to produce an heir? No!
We let you keep your place as my wife. And now, all we're doing is making Lady Bradford a second wife to give her and our son a proper name, and you attack me like this!"