Page 68 of The Billionaire's Royal Crown

“Troubleshooting.” Caroline shook her head. “Here…retrieving your videos.”

“What does it say?” Elena asked, her heart pounding.

“Uh, your camera will automatically record when it senses movement lasting longer than two seconds. Blah, blah. Here…connect the camera to your laptop, navigate to the drive marked F to find the videos.”

Maddie sniffled and spun back to the computer. “Here, I can find that.”

“Oh, good,” Caroline answered, straightening as they watched Maddie navigate to the appropriate location.

“Here.” She sniffled again, wiping at her cheeks as a list of folders popped up on the screen.

Elena leaned forward and squinted at the screen. “Looks like they’re arranged by date.”

“Yeah.” Maddie scrolled through the list in search of the correct date. She found it and opened it, finding numerous videos. “Should I just start with the first one?”

“No, wait,” Elena said with a shake of her head. “Time of death was after midnight. It should be on the next day.”

“Right,” Maddie said with a nod, backtracking to get to the correct folder. “I’ll just play the first one.”

She toggled on the video.

“I hope we don’t see anything we shouldn’t,” Caroline said as they waited for it to load.

Elena drummed her fingers against her arm. The video popped up, showing Victoria Kingsley engaged in a heated conversation with Chloe.

“Oh dear, perhaps you ought to look away, Maddie.”

Maddie stared at the screen, shaking her head. “No, I have to see this.”

The women argued for a few more moments before Victoria threatened Chloe, telling her to leave her family alone and stormed from the apartment.

Elena blew out a sigh of relief. “Thank heavens. There…proof she did not do it.”

“Unless she went back. She was pretty mad at the end there,” Maddie said.

“Go to the next video,” Caroline instructed.

Maddie clicked on the next one, finding a short clip of Chloe walking to her couch. She moved to the next one and played it.

The women leaned forward, watching the action on the screen. Elena gasped as the video continued, her eyes wide. She glanced at Caroline. “I think we just witnessed a murder.”

She flicked her gaze back to the hooded figure on the screen, wondering if this would be enough proof to clear Victoria Kingsley.

CHAPTER 18

NATE

Nate rose from his seat, peering over Alexander’s shoulders as he carefully opened the royal decree. Would the missive he’d found tucked away in an Eldorian law book only moments ago help them in anyway or simply be another dead end?

“Have you found something?” Isabelle asked, crossing the room with Stephen in tow.

“Possibly,” Alexander answered. “Nathan discovered this unopened royal decree hidden within a legal tome. I’m trying to wade through the verbiage now, but you know how these things go.”

“Please read it aloud,” Isabelle urged.

“Fine.” Alexander cleared his throat as he read from the parchment. “Let it be known to all subjects of the Kingdom of Eldoria: By the grace and wisdom vested in me, I, King Frederick IX, Sovereign of Eldoria proclaim the followingamendment to the Royal Decree of Matrimonial Standards established under the reign of King Edward VII.

“Whereas the prosperity and stability of our beloved kingdom lie in the happiness and wise governance of its rulers and acknowledging that true and faithful counsel can be found beyond the ancient bounds of royal blood.

---