“Push it?” I raised an eyebrow. “Weren’t you all just telling me to kneel and apologize earlier? Funny how quickly your tone changes.”
Victor’s mouth opened, then shut again. He had no response.
Jessica’s lips quivered, and she turned her tear–filled doe eyes toward Edward.
Edward spoke, his voice low and resentful. “If Savannah didn’t have such a venomous heart and a history of causing trouble, I wouldn’t have doubted her. If she’s been wronged, it’s her own fault,”
The room went silent again as my father’s expression darkened. Edward hesitated before adding, “If I can’t even protect Jessica as the heir to the Duke’s title, then what’s the point of being the heir at all?”
“Good!” A deep, powerful voice rang out from the doorway.
The entire room turned as a sharp, high–pitched voice followed: “His Majesty, the King!”
The room froze in stunned silence. For a moment, no one dared to breathe, the tension so thick it could choke. Then came the sound of shuffling fabric as everyone scrambled to their knees, trembling like leaves in a storm.
“Long live His Majesty! Long live the King!”
“Rise,” came the King’s commanding voice, his tone calm but heavy with authority.
I looked up, and my breath caught when I saw my mother standing behind him, dressed in a simple yet elegant gown. Though yours had passed since I’d last seen her, her beauty and grace remained unchanged.
Tears welled up in my eyes as I ran toward her.
“Mother!”
Her composure cracked the moment she saw me, and tears streamed down her face. She opened her arms, pulling me into a tight embrace,
she
“My sweet Savannah,” s
sald, her voice trembling with emotion. “You’ve grown so thin. Have they been mistreating you?”
I didn’t hesitate to nod, burying my face in her shoulder.
10:59 AM
<
Her expression hardened in an instant as she turned to the others, her eyes sharp and unforgiving. “How dare you? How dare you lay a hand on my daughter?”
Even my uncle, the King, wore a guilty expression as he looked at me. This is my fault,” he confessed. “Tve been negligent. To think such a farce the switching of identities–was happening right under my nose… This is treason!”
The weight of his words made my so–called brothers and Jessica crumble to the floor again, their knees buckling under the weight of guilt and
fear.
My four brothers were drenched in sweat, their faces pale as they realized the gravity of the situation. Treason. That word alone carried a death sentence.
They had never expected this charade of theirs to reach the King’s ears, let alone provoke his wrath.
Of course, I had planned for this. Two days ago, I had sent a letter to my mother, urging her to return as soon as possible. I hadn’t expected her
to bring my uncle along, but now that she had, things were going to end far worse for them than I’d originally anticipated.
“Didn’t you just say, “if I can’t protect Jessica, I’d rather not be the heir?” the King said coldly, fixing his piercing gaze on Edward.
Edward, trembling like a child caught stealing, pressed his forehead to the ground and stammered, “Y–Your Majesty, 1-1 misspoke! It was the heat of the moment! I didn’t mean it! I swear, I don’t want to give up my position as heir!”
The King’s eyes narrowed as he stepped forward and delivered a brutal kick to my brother’s side, sending him sprawling across the floor.
“Very well, then,” the King said, his voice like ice. “Thereby decree that you are stripped of your right to inherit the dukedom!”
Wyatt, who had been standing frozen in shock, suddenly panicked. His legs nearly gave out as he stumbled toward me, his voice trembling.
“S–Savannah! Do you
remember when we were children? We used to play together all the time! You adored me back then, don’t you remember? I didn’t know they sent you away–I’ve been lied to all these years by your brothers and… and her! I swear, you’re the one I’ve always
laved!”
