Chapter 86: The Impossible
Her face was composed, but the tension in her posture gave her away. She stopped just a breath away from him, eyes never leaving his.
Then she dropped the bomb.
"It was Marquess Scott."
The name hit Lucas like a sudden strike to the chest. For a moment, he said nothing, only stared at her, trying to process what she had just said.
"Marquess... Scott?" he echoed at last, voice low, almost disbelieving. "Darius’s cousin?"
Henrietta gave a single nod. "He was the one. He poisoned Darius on the night of his birthday celebration. Everything was set up to look natural, clean, untraceable. But I found the truth eventually."
Lucas took a step back, the room spinning slightly. Of all people, Marquess Scott. A member of the royal bloodline. That changed everything. If the cousin had done it, then the treachery wasn’t coming from outside the palace walls....it was growing right inside them.
"That bastard..." Lucas muttered, eyes narrowing. His mind flashed back to the restaurant, to that smug smile Scott wore when he had tried to charm Lira. The way he had casually dismissed Lucas’s presence, acting entitled, as if everything he wanted was already his. At the time, Lucas had simply brushed it off.
Henrietta exhaled slowly, folding her arms across her chest as she returned to her place by the window. "This betrayal, Lucas... it runs deeper than any of us imagined. If Marquess Scott truly acted alone, this would already be resolved. But someone is shielding him, guiding him, and I intend to uncover every last piece of it before I go to the king."
Lucas furrowed his brows, stepping closer. "You think if we tell the king now, he’ll act recklessly?"