Chapter l228

Chapter 0228

That night, Julian came to escort me down to the cellars so that we could explore the tunnel again. He

waited to speak until we were clear of the other candidate’s rooms, but once we had descended the

staircase, he case me a sideways look.

“I heard about what happened,” he said.

My hand tightened on his arm, bunching up the sleeve of his black shirt.

“She was in my room, Julian. She could have been right next to me. Or Elva. If Elva hadn’t wanted to see

that fabric in the morning, we might have never known Jane was there at all. What could she even want to

do with that fabric? It was just a small piece?”

“Some kind of mind game, most likely. Or an attempt to sabotage you.”

I supposed either of those were possible, but I just didn’t know. I hated not knowing.

“But if she’s trying to sabotage me, why would she need to go into the other girls‘ rooms?” I asked.

Julian abruptly stopped walking. I did too, since our arms were looped together.

He looked at me, a touch of something like worry in his eyes. “What did you just say?”

I startled a moment, surprised by the shift in him. Then I explained, “Tiffany told me. Some of the other

girls have seen Jane wandering around the castle. She’s even gone into some of the girls‘ rooms. They all

think it’s me.”

“Then she is sabotaging you,” Julian said. “Pretending to be you, sneaking around and acting suspicious. She’s trying to pit all the other candidates against you.”

“That can’t be the reason,” I said. Or at least, not the only reason. “If I get removed from the competition,

then she won’t be able to sneak around anymore.”

Julian’s brow lowered, and he frowned. The expression was unusual on Julian’s face. He typically concealed his anger behind a mask of fake cheer or a knife–edged smirk. Like this, he looked outright

murderous.

“They want that,” he said, voice low and dangerous. “When you and Elva are outside the protection of

the palace and the cameras, you’ll be much easier targets.”

My stomach twisted into an uncomfortable knot. I didn’t want to believe that could be the plan, but it

made sense. Without the safety of the palace, I would be more vulnerable. And if Elva’s sickness returned

Who knew what I would do to save my daughter.

Julian looked at me, and the intense focus in his eyes gave me pause. He looked so much like Nicholas

in this moment.

“Come on.” He tugged me forward. “We should tell my brother right away.”

Julian led me the rest of the way into the cellar, where Nicholas and a guard were already waiting. Nicholas was glaring at the ground when we walked in. He looked no less miserable when he saw us

arrive.

“Tell him,” Julian said. He guided me into the room and then released my arm.

“Tell me what?” Nicholas glanced between us both before settling his gaze on me. He still seemed

unhappy, but his hard glare softened, looking at me.

I told him what I had told Julian, about Jane pretending to be me

Nicholas elicited a colorful string of curses, some words of which I’d only heard before in kitchen

backrooms during the dinner rush.

He turned to Julian. “They are trying to isolate her so she is an easier target.

Julian nodded.

The knot in my stomach twisted up further. But my determination also amplified.

“Then we have to stop them tonight,” I said.

“Piper –

“No, Nicholas,” I said, cutting him off. “I won’t change

mind. If we wait so much as even another

night, who knows what they might do with that time? We have to act now, before it’s too late.”

Julian stepped closer to me and touched my arm. “We’re only going to snoop tonight. We’ll look for the

Information we need to stop them, but nothing else.”

I wanted to burn that whole house to the ground, but I understood the restraint. The underground

organization was bigger than Terry and Jane. Too much action might bring the wrath of the entire

organization in retaliation.