"Almost like someone was being paid for services rendered."
Viktor stood abruptly, the mask of diplomatic concern slipping."Princess Bettina.I was told you were en route to the airport."
"You were told what we wanted you to believe."
He looked from Betty to me, Roberto and Captain Steiner walked into the room from the antechamber.The realization that he was surrounded passed across his face like a shadow.
"This is absurd."He straightened his jacket, trying to regain control."Whatever you think you've discovered, I can assure you there's a perfectly reasonable explanation.Someone is clearly trying to frame me, probably the same person who's been sabotaging the Princess."
Betty set a folder on the desk and opened it."The timeline of every sabotage incident, cross-referenced with your access to the relevant locations and the payments from Cyprus.The luggage.The speech.The Chilly Baker story, which was sold to the tabloids by a contact who's been linked to your office.The scheduling conflicts that kept me from my lessons.All of it traces back to you."
"Circumstantial."Viktor's voice had gone harder."You have no proof of anything."
Captain Steiner stepped forward and set a small device on the desk."Last night, you made a call to an unregistered number in Nicosia."
She pressed play.
Viktor's voice filled the room, tinny but unmistakable: "The situation is resolved.The princess is returning to America, and the prince has agreed to consider the Belarusian option.The democracy transition can proceed as planned.Our friends will be pleased."
The recording ended.Viktor stood frozen, his face draining of color.
"Fabricated," he said, but his voice lacked conviction."Anyone could have manufactured that recording.Voice synthesis technology is remarkably sophisticated these days."
"Is it?"I leaned back in my chair."Then you won't mind if we play it for the Grand Duchess and let her decide whether it sounds like you."
Viktor's composure cracked further."The Grand Duchess trusts me.She's trusted me for fifteen years.She won't believe these lies."
"About that."I turned my laptop to face him and pressed a key.
The Grand Duchess appeared on screen, propped up in her bed at the Valdorian palace.Her eyes were sharp, fixed on Viktor with an expression that made even me uncomfortable.
"Viktor."Her voice was thin but steady."I trusted you with the security of my family, my country, my granddaughter.And all of it was a lie."
"Your Grace."Viktor's voice had gone hoarse."Whatever they've told you, it's not true.I have served you faithfully since the day you appointed me.I would never betray Valdoria."
"When Bettina came to me and told me you were a suspect, I didn't want to believe it.I hoped she was wrong.So I dug into your communications.Your activities.Count Alessandro's as well, though he proved to be merely a fool, not a traitor."She paused, and the silence was devastating."I have proof of your treachery.I know about the payments.I know about the sabotage.I know everything, Viktor.Everything."
Viktor's legs seemed to give way slightly.He caught himself on the edge of the desk.
"Your Grace, I can explain.The situation is more complex than you understand.Russia's influence in the region is inevitable.I was trying to position Valdoria to benefit from that reality rather than be crushed by it."
"By destroying my granddaughter?By ending my family's eight-hundred-year legacy?"
"The monarchy was already dying."Viktor's voice turned bitter, the diplomatic mask finally shattering."You're dying.The princess is unsuitable.The alliance was a desperate gamble that was never going to work.I was trying to manage the transition in a way that would protect Valdorian interests."
"Russian interests, you mean."
"They're the same thing now.Whether you accept it or not."
I stood, drawing Viktor's attention back to me."Here's what I don't understand.At first, we thought you wanted to replace Betty with Anastasia.A different princess, a Russian-aligned marriage.That would have made sense, in a ruthless sort of way."
Betty moved to stand beside me."But that was never the full plan, was it?You didn't need a Russian heir for Valdoria."
Viktor went very still.
"You just needed to eliminate me," Betty continued."Discredit me publicly with Chilly Baker and the sabotage.Destroy my marriage by exposing the fraud.Drive me back to America in disgrace.Make sure I never return to claim Valdoria."
I picked up the thread."And when the Grand Duchess dies, Valdoria has no heir.The monarchy ends.A small, newly democratic nation emerges.No American protection, no strong alliances.Vulnerable to economic pressure on your banking sector and wine exports.Vulnerable to election interference.Vulnerable to gradual political capture."I watched his face as each word landed."Russia doesn't need to conquer Valdoria.They just need to wait for you to hand it to them."
