Page 29 of The Billionaire's Royal Crown

“Now, I just want to make it to the engagement announcement.”

“Nate has a good point. How long do we need to wait around? We’re all supposed to be in Eldoria for this announcement in a few days,” Charles said.

Clifford sucked in a deep breath. “That may not happen. I’ll do my best to keep tabs on this, but if the police are still investigating…I’m sorry.”

Victoria slid her head forward, her eyes going wide. “What? Are you saying…are you saying Nate could miss his own engagement announcement?”

Clifford cocked his head, shrugging. “I’m saying he may make it. I’m not certain the rest of you will. And I’m not even sure about him. It depends on how quickly they start identifying suspects and questioning them. Where their heads are at in terms of charges. Maybe if we get lucky, there’ll be another suspect that they find on surveillance or something.”

“We’ll keep our fingers crossed,” Charles said as he rose and stuck his hand out.

“Isn’t that terrible? We’re literally hoping that someone else is caught for this crime.” Victoria shook her head as she eased into a chair.

“No,” Nate said with a shake of his head. “Someone murdered her. I didn’t like her, but I didn’t want to see herdead. And the person who did it should be punished for it. Not us.”

He glanced over at his quiet brother, wondering about the clothes he'd seen earlier.

“Nate’s right, Victoria,” Charles said, his hands rubbing her shoulders while he kept his voice firm but gentle. “Someone committed a crime. It’s not wrong to hope the police find that person. Until then, we just have to wait.”

“I should tell Ellie about this. I…” Nate’s voice trailed off. How would he tell his fiancé that he couldn’t attend their engagement announcement?

Victoria’s features pinched. “Oh, please tell her how sorry we all are, and that we’re hoping this resolves quickly.”

“I will. I hope we can make it as planned, but…we may need to make a decision about this sooner rather than later based on what develops in the next twenty-four hours.”

“Oh, honey, I’m so sorry. Maybe, though, by the weekend, at least you and Maddie can go. I’d hate for you to have to postpone. But then again, I’d hate to miss this.” Victoria’s features creased as she rubbed a hand against her forehead.

“It’s okay, Mom. I want all of us to be there. So, I’m hoping for the best. I’ll see what Ellie has to say, too. I’m going to call her now.”

“Good luck. Tell her we said hello, and we really hope things in Eldoria are going better than they are here.”

“She said something about challenging news. I need to ask her about it. I only got to tell her about Chloe before Clifford came.”

“Well, I’m glad you were with us, Nate,” Charles said. “Give Ellie our best.”

Nate nodded before he strode from the room, pulling his cell phone from his pocket. His heart thudded against his ribs as he found Elena’s name, his shaky thumb hovering over the call icon.

He imagined trying to explain all of this to the fiancé he’d only just won over. What would the royal family think of him after this?

Their engagement hadn’t been announced yet. Would King Frederick demand that they call it off?

“Ugh,” he groaned as he slid his eyes closed. “Just get it over with, Nate.”

He pressed the call button, swallowing hard. His heart pounded against his chest as he paced back and forth in the hall.

“Nathan,” Elena answered after a few rings. “Oh, darling, how are you? Has there been any developments?”

“Hey, Ellie. Not many, no. I just…wanted to check in. We were just discussing what may happen from here on out.”

“And?” she asked. “It’s awful. Will her family deal with the arrangements or will it fall to Stephen as her current spouse?”

Nate ran a shaky hand through his hair. They’d been so focused on the murder and the fallout from it, they hadn’t even considered that Stephen was her next-of-kin and would be responsible for making arrangements. “Gosh, I don’t even know. We’ve been so focused on the legal side–”

“Legal side? Is there some sort of legal issue?”

“Well…” His chest tightened as he prepared to tell her the entire sordid story. “Yes. They were going through the divorce to start with and…she…Stephen was arrested for assault yesterday.”

“What?” Shock coursed through Elena’s voice. “Of Chloe?”

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