Chapter 722

Maxwell went to the royal palace to find his sister and learn what was going on, but as soon as he reached the palace gates, the guards stopped him.
“Lord Maxwell, Her Majesty is currently away and has not yet returned. Please come back another day.”
“She hasn’t come back? ”
Maxwell frowned. The last time he saw Heather had been at the lakeside villa, when he’d arranged for a young man to keep her company. Could she really have stayed there all this time?
He tried calling her phone, but there was no answer. After waiting for a few moments, he turned on his heel, climbed into his car, and ordered his driver to head for the villa.
When he arrived, he found the servants and guards standing outside. “Is the queen inside?” he asked.
“Lord Maxwell, the queen left long ago,” one of them said.
“Left? Where did she go?”
Maxwell didn’t know that everyone here had already fallen under the king’s and Prince Magnus’s control. Their responses were rehearsed.
“ The queen left with the gentleman who was here before,” the servant explained. “She said she wanted to take a little trip.”
Maxwell’s expression darkened. Could Heather really have run off with that man?
He ordered his men to contact the man immediately, but the call wouldn’t go through.
“That bastard is going to ruin everything,” Maxwell snapped. “Find them both–her and the man. I want them located immediately!”
He left the villa seething with anger. Maybe arranging that man for Heather had been a mistake. If not for that, she wouldn’t have gotten involved, and now he couldn’t find either of them.
As soon as Maxwell’s convoy disappeared down the road, Magnus stepped out of the villa. The servants and guards at the gate bowed hastily.
“Your Highness, we answered everything just as you instructed,” one of them said nervously.
“Good,” Magnus replied coolly. “You’ve done well. Consider this your chance to atone. Perform your duties properly, and I’ll see that your punishment is reduced.”
“Thank you, Your Highness! Thank you!” they chorused, bowing again.
Since the purge of palace personnel, the atmosphere in the royal court had become much lighter. Leif VI no longer had to live every day fearing hidden spies or eavesdroppers.
He had interrogated Heather twice himself but still hadn’t extracted any information about Kelly’s whereabouts. The royal search teams had combed every part of A Country, yet no trace of her had been found. The longer it took, the more anxious the king became. Sleep and appetite abandoned him.
The outside world remained unaware that the queen was secretly imprisoned. Caitlin knew it wouldn’t be easy to see her. She turned to Magnus for help, and only through his intervention did she finally manage to
face Heather.
Caitlin followed Magnus down a dim passage to the underground holding cells. The moment Heather saw Magnus, she rushed to the bars and gripped them tightly.
“Magnus, you came… You finally came to see your mother… Magnus…”
“Be quiet. I don’t have a mother like you,” he snapped. “I’m only here because someone wants to see you.”
“Who? Who is it? Is it Maxwell? ” Latest content published on
Heather’s eyes lit with desperate hope. She had been missing for days–surely her brother would come looking for her.
“It’s me.”
Caitlin stepped out from behind Magnus.
Heather blinked, studying her face in confusion. “You… you’re that maid… Agnes, wasn’t it?”
Her brows knitted, trying to recall where she’d seen her before.
Caitlin glanced at Magnus. He nodded once. “Talk to her. I’ll be outside.”
When Magnus left, Heather whispered nervously, “Did Maxwell send you? Does he know I’m here? When is he coming to get me out?”
“I’m afraid that won’t be happening, Heather.”
Caitlin looked her over slowly. Heather sat behind the iron bars, filthy and exhausted, her hair tangled, her face sallow and streaked with dirt. The woman who once embodied royal elegance now looked like a broken, aging prisoner.
“You… who are you really?” Heather demanded, clutching the bars as if she could tear the truth from Caitlin’s
eyes.
“Who am I? With all your supposed cleverness, I’d think you’d have guessed by now.”
Caitlin’s lips curved into a cold smile that grew wider by the second. Heather instinctively took a step back, unsettled by that unnerving calm.
A dreadful thought flickered through her mind–a name she had long feared to hear. “You… you can’t be…
Cait…”
“Finally figured it out? That’s right. I’m Caitlin.”
Heather froze, speechless.
“You spent years scheming against me,” Caitlin said quietly. “But you never imagined I was right beside did you?”
Heather’s throat tightened, no words coming out.
“I came today to talk about my mother.”
you,
“I don’t know anything.” Heather interrupted sharply. “If you’re here to ask about her whereabouts, I can’t help you.”
Caitlin’s eyes narrowed. “You’re awfully quick to deny it. I didn’t even ask that yet. I just want to talk about the past.”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” Heather muttered, turning away from the bars.
“Oh, I think there is. Let’s go back twenty years,” Caitlin said calmly. “Back when my mother was studying abroad in F Country. She met a man there named Leonidas. They fell in love and swore to be together forever. But she returned home alone and married another man. She was never happy after that. Depression followed her until it finally took her life—or so I thought.”
Caitlin’s tone hardened. “Six years ago she fell ill. Four years ago, I came home and was told she was dead. I believed it–until I discovered her ashes had been switched. That was when I began to suspect she was still alive.
“I traced lead after lead until I found a man called Black Hawk. From him, I learned my mother was being held on Ebonreach Isle, under the control of someone called Doña Dolores.
“When I reached the island, I found only an imposter. But that woman told me the one truly holding my mother was Maxwell. At the time, I didn’t yet know who Doña Dolores really was. I know now. It was you, Heather.”
Heather laughed suddenly, a cold, broken sound. “Ha… ha…”
“What’s so funny?” Caitlin asked, anger sparking in her voice.
“Cecilia is dead,” Caitlin continued, “and you’ll join her soon enough. But before that, let me enlighten you. The ‘Shard of Life‘ you’ve spent years chasing doesn’t exist—not as a miracle drug. It’s a name. Seradulf, the last king of Atlantis. That’s what the texts really meant. Surprised?”
Heather turned her head sharply, disbelief flickering across her face. “That’s impossible. Who would believe
such nonsense?”
“Believe it or not, the truth doesn’t change. And there’s one more truth you should know.” Caitlin leaned closer, her voice like ice. “I’ve figured out who Leonidas really was.”
Heather went rigid, staring at her in shock.
“It was Leif VI,” Caitlin said softly. “The King of A Country. You knew my mother bore his children. Twins. You knew, and you helped Maxwell hide the truth. You never wanted the king to find us. You wanted to erase
us. ”
She straightened, her expression cold and certain. “But evil deeds always bring retribution. The king has already divorced you. You’ve lost your crown, your power, everything. All you have left is a worthless life- and even that’s hanging by a thread.”
Heather’s face crumbled. She bowed her head, her body trembling. She had clung to her title for over twenty years, and now it was gone. Everything she’d schemed for had turned to ash.
She had lost to her own greed. She had played with fire, and now she was the one being burned.
Caitlin leaned closer to the bars, her voice calm and cold. “I’ve already thought of a way to help you. If you te me the truth about where my mother is, I’ll plead for your life before the king. So, Heather… tell me. Where i my mother?”