Page 78 of The Billionaire's Royal Crown

The judge returned to his seat, smashing the gavel down before he gave the prosecutor a glance. “Counselor.”

“At this time, we will be dropping all charges against Victoria Kingsley.”

Before he could finish his statement, a cheer erupted from Victoria, Charles, and Maddie.

“Mrs. Kingsley, you are free to go. I hope you give a proper thank you to this resourceful young woman,” the judge said as he banged his gavel again.

“Oh, I will, Your Honor,” she answered with a grin before she reached for Elena’s hand.

The bailiff stepped forward to remove Victoria’s handcuffs as Charles shook hands with Cliff.

“Whatever was on that video must have done the trick,” Charles said.

“Elena managed to find footage of the murder,” Cliff answered.

“Oh, not me,” Elena said with a shake of her head. “Maddie and Caroline were involved also. It was a team effort.”

“Well, I cannot thank you enough, though, Maddie, I do want to have a discussion about sneaking out of the house to go to crime scenes.”

“May we have that discussion on a flight to Eldoria?” Elena asked. “With this nightmare over for you, I’d very much like to go to Eldoria.”

“You want to see Nate,” Victoria said with a smile.

“And…face the trouble there. There is a slight problem with our laws. My…engagement to Nate may mean I cannot take the throne. I’d very much like to know the status of that as our engagement announcement may be postponed.”

“Oh, no,” Victoria said, her smile fading quickly.

“I am so sorry to tell you this. I do hope we don’t need to postpone, but…it may be beyond our control.”

Elena’s lips tugged into a frown as her forehead creased. She’d solved the situation here. But what was waiting for her at home?

CHAPTER 20

NATE

Nate’s chair creaked as he shifted on it, his heart thudded hard against his ribs. A vote had been called for on the decree lifting the royal marriage ban.

His mind swirled as he wondered if his testimony would help or hurt. He’d blurted out things he hadn’t intended, like his love for Elena.

He wondered if the king would throw him in a dungeon. Did they have a dungeon?

He wiped his sweaty palms against his pants as a hush fell over the room.

Alexander shot him a consoling glance as he leaned closer. “It will be all be over soon, one way or the other.”

“It’s the other I’m worried about. I probably ruined it,” he whispered back.

“It was an impassioned speech. Let’s hope it helped rather than hurt.”

The man at the podium spoke again. “The royal decree onthe floor requires a vote. To be clear, because of the previous decree a super majority is needed. Therefore, we require one hundred and thirty-four votes for this to pass.”

Sweat beaded on Nate’s brow as he scanned the faces of the two hundred delegates in attendance, wondering if they’d make the cut.

“All those in favor of approving the decree amending the requirement for royals to marry titled individuals in order to qualify for the monarchy, please indicate by saying ‘Aye.’”

Voices piped up across the room, though it sounded like nowhere near enough to pass the decree.

“All those opposed?” The man scanned the room as several people shouted, “Nay.”

---