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“Now, love, what can you tell us about this tiara?” Rider said, taking Frankie by the hand and guiding her to the couch.
CHAPTER 10
Shane
Shane sat next to Frankie, listening intently to her story, and let the men ask the questions while he wrote everything down. The tiara was more than just an expensive piece of jewelry. It was a reminder of who the king had favored and of the royal bloodlines that still flowed. He wondered if this was the story as old as time—a jealous wife who wanted to erase all evidence of the other woman, and her child, from the world.
While Frankie told the story of her family’s history to the men, Jay was fast at work on his laptop, occasionally looking up to ask a question or two before getting back to work on the keyboard. Shane wasn’t entirely sure what he was doing, but he knew it would help them.
They were finally getting somewhere. He would find these bastards and make them pay for what they had done. There was no solace knowing his family had been collateral damage, didn’t matter that his blood weren’t the target. What mattered was they killed them. The end did not justify the means.
“I think I found something,” Jay said. All eyes turned to him, and the room went deathly silent. Shane motioned for him to continue.
“In 1946, there was a constitutional referendum in Italy which affirmed the abolition of the monarchy and the creation of the Italian Republic. The Italian Constitution required all male members of the royal bloodline to leave Italy and even barred them from ever returning to Italian soil. They even wrote in an amendment in the new constitution, which forbade any other amendment that would change the republican form of government. That stopped any effort to restore the monarchy. The only way to do so would be to draft a brand-new constitution, overriding the current government, and throwing Italy into a civil war. Not everyone agreed, and many who didn’t, joined a deep state group known only as the IR2. From what I can find, the IR2 has a strong political hold. They are hidden but well-funded and an extremely powerful force, a shadow government, so to speak. From my research on the dark web, the IR2 is very well connected. Members include intelligence agents, police officers, high-ranking political officials, government servants. They all believe the monarchy should have never been removed, and it was an illegal act of government.”
“What’s a deep state?” They might be familiar with all of this, but she wasn’t.
“Oh, sorry. A deep state is a type of governance made up of secret networks of power, operating independently in pursuit of their own agenda. A government within a government, so to speak.”
“I see. I always thought those were just part of conspiracy theories.” She laughed. “My nonna told me about the exile of the royal blood, but wasn’t that lifted in 2002?”
“Yes, in 2002, that provision was repealed. In fact, a few members of the family returned to Italy, but there was a big protest. Some didn’t want the family back in the country, and others came out to welcome them, angry they had been deposed. In order to come back into the country, they required all bloodrelatives to sign an agreement renouncing all claims to the defunct throne and recognize the Republic as the only lawful government of Italy. Apparently, because of that, two brothers haven’t returned to Italy. They refuse to sign. One was killed in a suspicious boating accident, and the other is in hiding.”
“What’s that have to do with us? My family was never officially part of the monarchy.”
“No, but if they could overthrow the government and reinstall the monarchy, they would want no blood claims to the throne outside of their man,” Mitch gently said.
“None of us would want that,” Frankie said.
“I don’t think it would matter to them if you wanted it or not.” Shane placed his hand on Frankie’s knee.
“Frankie, does the name Dirk Emanuele mean anything to you?” Jay asked.
The color drained from Frankie’s face, telling Shane everything he needed to know.
“Yes. His men came to our house a year ago. They wanted my father to arrange a marriage between my oldest sister and Dirk, who is distantly related to us, I believe a fourth cousin twice removed, or something crazy like that. He’s the great-great-great-grandson of the king and his wife. I am the great-great-great-granddaughter of the king and his mistress. The bloodline link is weak, but we’re still family. My father said no. It might have been a thing back in the fourteen and fifteen hundreds but not something he would even entertain today.”
“Did he give up after that?”
“Oh, no! There was a…” She looked off to the side, out the window. “Little feud, I guess you would say. They wouldn’t leave us alone until my father sent a couple of his men back in body bags.”
Shane exchanged a knowing look with Phantom. It was all adding up now.
“Do you think he was responsible for… for… because my father turned him down?” Frankie had turned to him.
“I think it’s a good possibility. If he is planning a rebellion and needs to get rid of his competition but couldn’t marry into the family, murder would be the next option.”
“Oh my God. That means…” She looked at Shane wide-eyed. “That means it’s my fault your family is dead.”
“No, of course, it isn’t. It is no one’s fault but the man who ordered the attack and those who pulled the triggers.”
“It was my family they were after, not yours. Your family was innocent. I’m the only one left in my family, which means the fault falls on my shoulders.”
“What did I just say? Listen to me carefully. This is not your fault. You had no say in any of these decisions. You did not order anyone to be killed, nor did you light a match or pull a trigger. I don’t want you to blame yourself for this, Francesca.” It killed him that she would take responsibility for such a horrible crime onto her own shoulders.
She didn’t respond.
“Frankie, you’ve had a long few days. There’s a soaking tub in your bathroom. Why don’t you go up and take a bath?” Phantom suggested kindly. Shane thanked him with his eyes.
