Chapter 0261 Ella POV The rest of the day was consumed by phone calls and texting, especially with Elizabeth. She had known, of course, that her father planned to announce his retirement, but she hadnât been able to say anything beforehand.
Now, she was eager to talk about it with someone. Her father had been king since before she was born; sheâd never known any other life. I couldnât blame her for having mixed feelings.
âI feel like itâs my fault,â she admitted. âWhen I told him about Damien, I mentioned being worried about the paparazzi and the familyâs reputation. I hope thatâs not why he decided to do this.â
âIâm sure itâs not,â I replied. âThis isnât the type of decision anyone makes lightly. He must have had a lot of reasons for deciding to step down now.â
âIt makes me nervous,â Elizabeth confessed. âMy life is going to change so much. Iâm excited about it, but I also donât know if Iâll be able to adjust.â
âYou will,â I assured her. âYouâll have helpâDamien and I will have your back.â
She giggled softly in response, and I rolled my eyes. Even the mere mention of Damien was enough to lift Elizabethâs mood. I wondered what it was like to feel that kind of loveâsick devotion.
Maybe once, I would have thought I knew. But now...
It was getting late, but Alexander still hadnât come up from the office, so I wasnât in any rush to get off the phone. Elizabeth and I hadnât had a chance to talk in nearly a week, and it was nice to reconnect with her.
âItâs all over the news already,â Elizabeth noted. âPeople are already speculating about the cause, starting rumors.
âIâm sure he was prepared for that, too,â I said. âAfter we spoke to him, he said he needed to address the media.â
âHe did,â Elizabeth said. âDidnât you see the conference?â
press âNo,â I admitted. âMy mindâs been occupied with other things.â
Alexander had given me access to all the information he had on Dr. McIntyre, hoping something might click for me. So far, it hadnâtâexcept for remembering who her parents were.
Her father had been a doctor caught stealing medications and selling them on the black market. It wasnât his first offense; he had a history of indiscretions as a young man. Due to his repeated violations, heâd been given a choice: relinquish his medical license or face banishment. He refused to give up his license, and the latter punishment was enforced.
Her mother had stood by him, and during the investigation, it was revealed that she had been involved in the scheme. She shared her husbandâs fate.
Brianna, already an adult but still quite young, hadnât been implicated in her parentsâ crimes, so no action was taken against her.
In fact, no one seemed to notice when she disappeared.
It was simply assumed that sheâd moved to the capital or somewhere else to escape the scandal. Alexander had explained to me that itâs relatively easy for someone without a high profile to disappear and start over. He believed Brianna had likely contacted someone in the Roguelands to create fake documents, allowing her to return under an assumed name.
The thought frightened me. I knew almost nothing about the Roguelands, only that it was a place to avoid at all +25 BONUS Chapter 0261 costs.
The noâmanâs land between the North and South Kingdoms was said to be filled with those banished by both. Some claimed it was a hidden society, while others insisted it was a lawless wasteland. The truth was probably somewhere in between, though I hoped never to find out.
I couldnât imagine how desperate for revenge Brianna must have been to venture there.
âElla, did you hear me?â Elizabeth asked, pulling me from my thoughts.
I shook my head to clear the haze and focused on the phone âSorry, I didnât. What did you say?â
âI said there are already articles speculating about whoâs going to run. Alexanderâs name is high on the list.â âThatâs good,â I replied, keeping my tone steady. âHe does plan to run. Your fatherâs already given his blessing.â
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