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“She got you there, Chad.” Jensen was a dark-haired, swarthy man, handsome and thinner than Chad, but still nicely built. “Nice to meet you, Ellery.” He shook her hand and thankfully didn’t give her some line.
Jensen turned toward Cassandria and her husband. “Gage and Cassie Remington. Gage is Macey’s brother.”
Oh, this was the guy who’d defended Macey and taught her to fight. Ellery liked him already.
“This is Prince Derek and his girlfriend Ellery Monson from America,” Jensen finished.
They all shook hands.
“Yay! Another American,” Cassie said. “Are ya from the South like the other new princesses Aliya and Hattie?”
Everybody sort-of flinched at Hattie’s name, but nobody corrected her. New princesses? Hattie was alive? She’d married Steffan? Ellery’s spine tingled.
“No, I’m from Boston.”
“Ah. Well, it’s a pleasure to meet y’all.” She smiled to include Derek.
“If everyone would please find a seat,” Sutton instructed.
Derek took her arm and led her to a chair. Ellery looked around but didn’t see Hattie Ballard. Thankfully. The prime minister wasn’t there either. That seemed strange as the man had seemed so close to the king and the crown prince.
The king walked to the back of the ballroom and out a side door, probably to escort the bride in.
Then four people walked in the door the king had just exited. Prince Curt, Aliya, Prince Steffan … and the gorgeous, dark-haired, very-much-alive, billionaire murderer—the Hattie Ballard.
“Oh, no,” Ellery murmured. It was all she could do not to launch herself out of the chair, run across the room, tackle the duplicitous woman, and beg Sutton Smith to haul her to some dank, dark prison where she couldn’t hurt anyone else. Pinpricks of horror danced along her skin.
She wasn’t supposed to alert anyone to her knowledge of the truth about Hattie. They were all hoodwinked. They’d turn against Ellery.
Would they? Would Sutton Smith? The guy had more security knowledge than anyone in the world. Wouldn’t he know who was bad and good? How could the whole world know that Hattie was a conniving murderous except the very impressive, kind, and smart royals in this room?
What if she screamed out the truth? Would Derek turn against her? Walk away from her? Ruin her trust and their love?
“Elle?” he whispered. “Everything okay?”
“That’s Hattie Ballard,” she hissed in his ear.
He turned, and his face lit up. “Steffan!” He rose from his seat and started toward his brother, still holding her hand. Ellery tried to drag him to a stop. “Elle, what’s wrong?” he asked, turning back to her.
“A brief pause in the wedding so everyone can greet Prince Steffan and his illustrious and infamous bride,” Sutton said from the front of the room, his voice laced with humor.
Ellery whipped around and saw a benevolent smile on the man’s face. Even Sutton Smith was in on the deception? No way. This woman was good. No, she was a master.
The groom, the general of the Augustine military, was heading to greet Steffan and Hattie. Ellery couldn’t catch a full breath. She needed to get to her phone and let Naomi know Hattie was here. At least Naomi could send her husband and the right police people to arrest Hattie, even if the royal family—and the Sutton Smith—were all deluded.
“Are you all right?” Derek asked again, concern etching his brow.
“I, um, I’m a little shocked. I thought Hattie was dead.”
“Oh.” He nodded and leaned in to whisper, “Jensen and Ray had to fake her death because she was framed for murder. We’ve kept it very hushed to keep all of them safe. I didn’t know she and Steffan were going to make it today.”
Ellery stared at him. If he loved her, trusted her, why wouldn’t he have told her Hattie was alive? She could’ve protected them all better.
“Chief Jensen,” she heard Hattie say warmly over the clatter.
Chief Jensen had covered up her escape? Derek had said that in his introduction. The chief of their police, the general of the Augustine military, the king and the crown prince and the Sutton Smith. All hoodwinked by one beautiful and brilliant and wealthy woman.
“You didn’t think that was pertinent information I should know?” she whispered to Derek as Steffan and Hattie’s group edged closer to them. Obviously, Steffan wanted to hug his long-lost brother.
