Chapter 73: Enemy’s Game,

Whoever was orchestrating this was putting Basil in an incredibly dangerous position as well. If Darius died, suspicion would inevitably fall on him. Whoever was behind this was definitely backing Basil into a corner, using Darius’s death to destroy him too. A cold, lethal resolve took root in his chest as he made a decision. He was done playing defense, and he certainly wasn’t going to cower in fear and let them dictate his fate. If they dared to use Darius’s death to frame him, he was going to make sure they regretted every breath they took.

Pulling himself out of the dark spiral of his thoughts, Basil turned his cold, calculating gaze back to Leo. "I need to ask you for a favor."

Leo straightened immediately, his expression turning sharp and serious. "Of course, Your Highness. If it concerns Prince Darius’s safety, consider it done."

Basil raised a brow at his dedication.

He still found it hard to believe that there were private forces operating under Darius, going as far as gathering intelligence and uncovering assassination attempts without anyone knowing they existed. How could someone who had supposedly spent his life in an orphanage and worked as a waiter have access to something like that? And why had none of this come to light before now? More importantly, what did Darius need all those people for? But that wasn’t important for now. His top priority was protecting Darius. The questions could wait. They would be answered when Darius awakened.

Leo watched him silently, waiting for him to continue. Basil drew a slow breath before speaking. "After what happened tonight, and the way you and your partner handled the whole thing, it’s obvious this isn’t your first time dealing with this kind of violence." His voice was hard and uncompromising. "A new batch of royal guards to reinforce this floor will be arriving in the morning. But after tonight, I can’t bring myself to trust any of them around Darius. You claim my brother has an entire network of people working under him, which I still find difficult to fully grasp, but I don’t have the luxury of doubt right now."

Leo’s expression remained serious as he listened.

Basil’s gaze shifted briefly toward Darius before returning to Leo. "I need to leave for the palace first thing in the morning to deal with the emergency there. I want you and your men to stay right here, posted alongside the royal guards, to ensure no one gets near Darius while I’m gone. I don’t want to leave him here without adequate protection. Can you do that?"

"Consider it done," Leo said without hesitation. There wasn’t even the slightest trace of uncertainty in his voice. The answer came so quickly and so confidently that it almost caught Basil off guard. "We were already under orders not to leave this room unguarded. If you need us to act as an extra layer of security alongside the royal guards while you are at the palace, we will handle it."

​Basil studied him for a long moment, searching his face for any sign of deception as he weighed the offer against the sheer absurdity of trusting two men he barely knew.

Rubbing his hand over his face, he slowly nodded. "Good," he said, though his gaze hardened. "But first, I need to meet whoever is in charge of this so-called private force of yours. I need to look the person in the eye before I even think about leaving Darius in your care."

The room went quiet. Basil leaned back slightly in his chair, his hands locking together. "If I’m supposed to leave my brother in your care, then I need to know exactly who I’m entrusting him to. I want to meet the person giving the orders."

Leo and Marcus exchanged a brief, guarded glance.

"I don’t know if he’s willing to come over here, Your Highness," Leo said carefully, thinking about Tractor and wondering whether the man would even want to be involved in something like this. "And I don’t think he can leave the base, especially under circumstances like these."

"Then you can forget about holding this room," Basil replied, his voice flat, resolute, and completely devoid of compromise. "I won’t hand my brother’s life over to people I know nothing about. Set up the meeting, or get out."

*****

The sleek black sedan pulled smoothly into the palace courtyard, its tires crunching quietly against the gravel before coming to a stop beneath the grand entrance portico. A palace guard stationed nearby stepped forward, quickly opened the rear door, and bowed his head.

"Your Highness."

Basil barely acknowledged him as he stepped out of the vehicle and immediately headed toward the palace entrance, his expression grim and exhausted. He hadn’t slept after what had happened at the hospital, and coupled with the many weeks of restless, sleepless nights, the exhaustion weighed heavily on him.

The palace felt strangely tense that morning. Everyone must have already known that something terrible had happened, both in the palace and at the hospital.

The moment he entered the main foyer, he spotted the Queen waiting for him, her face pale and lines of exhaustion etched deeply around her eyes. The instant she saw Basil, she rushed forward and wrapped her arms around him in a tight, desperate embrace.

"Basil," she breathed, pulling back to hold him at arm’s length as her eyes searched his face. "Did you even sleep at all? Look at you, you’re exhausted. How is Darius? How is my boy? I wanted to come to the hospital first thing this morning, but everything here has become complete chaos. The entire palace is in turmoil. I couldn’t leave."

"I’m fine, Mother," Basil said softly, placing a steadying hand over hers. "And Darius is stable. Thankfully, nothing harmful entered his system. You don’t need to worry about him right now."

He paused, his expression hardening. "Tell me what happened here. How did Linda die?"

The Queen let out a ragged sigh, her hand slipping from his arm. "She was poisoned in her cell. The palace physician confirmed it early this morning. We’ve already had her body moved to the mortuary, she couldn’t remain down in the cells. I know... despite everything she did, despite the betrayal, she was still like family to you. If you wish to see her, we can arrange for you to visit the mortuary later."

​Basil gave a single, somber nod. "I’ll see her later. But has the person responsible been caught?"

The Queen’s expression darkened. "No. According to the guards’ description, the maid who served Linda her meal last night wasn’t a member of the palace staff. At first, nobody noticed because she was wearing a palace uniform. But after we started investigating, we discovered that the real maid she was supposed to replace never reported for duty. We found her this morning. The actual maid was found dead in her home." She pressed a trembling hand against her forehead, her eyes filling with growing panic. "Whoever killed her must have used her identity to gain access to Linda."

For a moment, she simply stood there, looking exhausted and defeated.

"I don’t know what’s happening anymore, Basil," she admitted quietly. "First Darius is nearly killed in that crash. Then someone tries to murder him in the hospital. Now Linda is poisoned in a secured palace cell, and an innocent maid is found dead in her own home."

She shook her head.

"Why is all of this happening?"

Basil immediately placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Calm down, Mother," his voice steady despite the cold rage building inside him. "We’re going to find out who’s behind this."

The Queen closed her eyes briefly and nodded, forcing herself to regain a thread of composure.

Her tone dropped into a troubled whisper. "There’s something else. Before Linda died, she left something on the floor of her cell. A message of some sort, traced in her own blood. Nobody can make sense of it. I thought... perhaps it was meant for you."

Basil’s frown deepened as his pulse quickened. What could Linda have possibly left behind in her final moments? "Take me to the cell," he said.

The Queen turned and led him toward the corridor that led to the palace’s underground cells. As they continued deeper into the palace, Basil glanced at her. "Where is Father?"

"He’s locked in an emergency council meeting," the Queen replied, her voice grim as they began their descent down the spiraling staircase. "The council members arrived at dawn after news leaked about the attempt on Darius’s life. Your father is furious. The entire administration is on fire right now, trying to figure out how an assassin breached the ICU."

Soon, they arrived at the entrance to the underground cells, where two guards stood outside the reinforced iron gate.

Recognizing the Queen and the Prince, the guards promptly bowed in greeting before unlocking the security gate. The heavy metal barrier slid open with a loud metallic groan.