"As opposed to what, just guessing randomly?"
"As opposed to having hunches and instincts and trusting your gut."
"My gut is currently telling me to eat lunch.Is that helpful?"
I checked my phone.It was barely past ten."Your gut needs to be more patient."
We kept working, and slowly a picture began to emerge.Not a clear picture, more like a blurry photograph where you could make out shapes but not details.
Viktor's name kept appearing.Meetings with foreign contacts, access to every sabotaged location, financial transactions that seemed legitimate on the surface but had suspicious timing.
"I asked Roberto about him weeks ago," Archie said."Right after the Chilly Baker mess, when my mother and the Grand Duchess insisted he stay on to 'coordinate messaging.'"He scrolled through another screen."Roberto wouldn't say anything directly.But he didn't defend him either."
"These payments to Viktor," I said, pointing to a series of deposits."What are they for?"
"Consulting fees, according to the documentation.He advises on multiple projects for both royal families."Archie pulled up another file."But look at the timing.This fifty thousand euro deposit came two days before your luggage was damaged."
"Could be coincidence."
"Could be.Or could be payment for services rendered."
"But we can't prove it."
"No.The money comes from a Cyprus account registered to a holding company that's registered to another holding company.Roberto's trying to trace it, but these things are designed to be untraceable."
I studied Viktor's file.The man was everywhere, meetings with the Grand Duchess, communications with foreign embassies, access to both palaces' security systems.If he wanted to sabotage someone, he had the means and opportunity.
But so did other people.
"What about Petra?"I asked, hating myself for even suggesting it.
Archie pulled up her file."She has access to your schedule, your rooms, all your personal information.She's also been with you since you arrived."
"She's been helping me."
"Or she's been in the perfect position to feed information to whoever is orchestrating this."
I thought about Petra's kindness, her patient explanations, the way she'd looked stricken when I'd discovered the permanent marriage lie."I don't want it to be her."
"I know.But we can't rule anyone out based on whether we like them."
He was right, which made it worse.
We added Petra to the suspect list and kept going.
Professore Benedetti appeared next.The timing of his cancelled lesson, the morning my rooms were destroyed, was suspicious.And he had regular access to my schedule, knew my movements, could have passed information to someone else.
"Family emergency," I read from his message."Roberto verified?"
"He tried.Benedetti's sister confirmed he drove to her house that morning.But the timeline is tight, he could have trashed your rooms first, then driven to create an alibi."
"Or he actually had a family emergency and we're being paranoid."
"At this point, paranoid is probably healthy."
Queen Isabelle's file was thinner but no less concerning.She'd made her opposition to our marriage clear from the beginning.She had unlimited access to palace resources.And she had the motive, wanting a better match for her son.
"Your mother hates me," I said.
