“Sir, we couldn’t see anything useful in the footage,” one of the royal guards assisting Carl reported.Carl had already returned to the palace to discuss the situation.“Yeah, I’ve seen it,” he replied calmly. “Keep checking everything. But move in silence. We can’t afford anyone else finding out what we’re looking for.”The guard nodded and left.Carl headed straight to Andrea’s chamber to report.She was still inside. He had insisted she remain in the palace while they searched for Elara.The moment he entered, Andrea looked up.“Carl, any update?”He walked toward her.“We reviewed the CCTV footage. It wasn’t very helpful. But… I did get some information. Do you know someone named Johnny Miller?”Andrea frowned.“Miller…”She searched her memory, trying to recall where she had heard the name.“He is the son of the owner of Miller Group, Your Highness. You were scheduled to meet him today,” Glenda reminded her.Andrea lifted her head suddenly.“Oh, yes! That’s right. The palace is

The music continued playing.Champagne glasses clinked.Laughter echoed from the far end of the ballroom.But in the small circle surrounding Andrea, Carl, and Johnny Miller—The air had turned lethal.Johnny gave a soft, controlled smile. “Your Majesty, I’m afraid you can’t simply escort me out of my own event without cause.”Carl’s expression didn’t change. “We have cause.”Johnny’s gaze shifted briefly to the security personnel stationed discreetly along the walls. His men.Carl noticed.So did Andrea.She stepped forward slightly, her voice calm but carrying authority.“Mr. Miller, if you have nothing to hide, then you should have no objection to clarifying matters privately.”A beat.Johnny weighed the room.The guests watching.The potential scandal.Slowly, he nodded.“Very well,” he said smoothly. “For the sake of cooperation.”Carl gestured toward a private lounge adjacent to the ballroom.Two of Carl’s trusted men quietly blocked the hallway behind them as they entered.The

The ride back to the palace was silent.Not calm.Not steady.Silent in the way a storm holds its breath before tearing through the sky.Andrea stared straight ahead, city lights flashing across the tinted windows of the armored vehicle. Carl sat opposite her, issuing clipped orders through a secure line.“Lock down all external gates.”“Rotate inner guard shifts.”“No one enters or leaves without triple clearance.”He ended the call and finally looked at her.“They were inside your corridor,” he said quietly. “They knew the layout.”Andrea’s jaw tightened.“Then we have another leak.”Carl didn’t disagree.When the convoy reached the palace, the scene was controlled—but tense. Guards stood at every archway. Medics moved through the west wing. Two covered bodies had already been removed.Andrea walked through the halls without slowing.The closer they got to her private chambers, the colder she felt.The doors were splintered.The inner sitting room was overturned.A shattered vase la

The convoy moved without headlights.Three armored vehicles.Two bikes flanking.No sirens.No insignia.Just shadows cutting through the industrial outskirts of North Brightskia.Warehouse 17 loomed ahead—rusted steel, broken windows, and the illusion of abandonment.Carl studied it through night-vision optics.“Thermals?” he asked.Red adjusted the tablet feed.“Multiple heat signatures. At least thirty-two. Two on the roof. Four near the eastern loading bay. Movement inside the central floor.”Carl nodded once.“Helena?”“No visual confirmation.”Carl’s jaw tightened.“She’s here.”He felt it.They didn’t move like amateurs. The perimeter was layered. Snipers positioned high. Escape routes pre-cleared.This wasn’t temporary.It was strategic.Carl lowered the binoculars.“Split into three teams. Silent entry. No explosives unless necessary. We want her alive.”Red smirked faintly.“That’ll be the hard part.”Carl’s eyes hardened.“I know.”Inside the palace war room, Andrea watched

By midmorning, Brightskia’s streets were waking to the scent of impending storm. Not literal rain—though clouds gathered over the distant mountains—but the storm of politics, commerce, and power that was beginning to churn under Andrea’s direction.In the war room, Carl studied the maps and intel feeds projected across the holoscreen. He tapped his fingers, watching troop placements, syndicate reports, and financial disruptions. Each data point represented a puzzle piece, and Andrea had already begun fitting them together.“She’s not leaving the country,” Carl muttered, reviewing Red’s latest drone footage from the private airstrip. “And the Millers? They’re moving fast—corporate pressure, private security, everything.”Andrea, standing at the large table, her hands resting lightly on the wood, didn’t look up. “Let them move,” she said calmly. “Every step they take will reveal their weaknesses. Every connection they try to hide will surface. We just have to wait for them to make a