From Substitute To Queen. Chapter 106

"I assumed as much." I kept my voice level. "What specifically concerns you?"

"The incidents." His fingers drummed once against the table, then stilled. "Every dangerous situation Sable has faced since returning to Blackwood territory traces back to you."

"I'm working to identify who's behind—"

"Working to identify." He cut me off, his voice rising just enough to carry steel. "Sable has survived two attempts on her life."

"I've increased security around Sable. I have my best investigators—"

"Can you guarantee her safety twenty-four hours a day?" His question hit like a physical blow. "Can you promise me that tomorrow, next week, next month, someone else won't target her simply because she's yours?"

I opened my mouth to respond, but he pressed on relentlessly.

"If Sable has to live every moment wondering who might try to hurt her next, if she needs constant protection just to exist... is that love, Caelan? Is that the life you want to give her?"

"I'll protect her."

The words felt hollow even as I said them.

"Like you protected her at the stable?" His voice dropped to barely above a whisper. "Like you protected her the night Blair jumped?"

Silence stretched between us. Every defense I might have offered crumbled under the weight of his accusations.

"I'm giving you two weeks," Rodrigo said finally.

"Two weeks for what?"

"Prove that Sable is safe with you. Prove that being in your world won't destroy her." He stood up. "Otherwise, I'm removing her from Blackwood territory permanently."

Heat flared through my chest. "You can't—"

"I'm her father." Each word carried absolute finality. "I have every right to protect my daughter from threats. Even if that threat is the man she loves."

The casual way he said it – the complete certainty in his voice – made my blood run cold. He would do it. He would take her away from me without hesitation if he believed it was necessary.

"There's something else you need to consider." Rodrigo's tone shifted, becoming almost conversational. "Blair."

"What about Blair?"

"She tried to frame Sable for that riding accident. Made you believe Sable had deliberately injured the horse." His eyes never left mine. "At your engagement party, her suicide threat nearly resulted in Sable's death. Notice the pattern?"

I frowned, not following his logic.

"Both incidents positioned Blair as the victim and Sable as either the perpetrator or the cause of Blair's suffering." Rodrigo circled the table slowly, like a prosecutor building his case. "Very convenient for someone seeking your sympathy and protection."

"Blair confessed to lying about the accident. She was confused, in pain—"

"Was she?" Rodrigo stopped directly in front of me. "Or did she simply adjust her story when she realized you wouldn't be manipulated as easily as she hoped?"

"She's admitted her mistakes," I said, but doubt was already creeping into my voice.

"Has she? Or has she simply found more subtle ways to attack your fiancée?" Rodrigo straightened his jacket with sharp, efficient movements. "When someone shows you who they are repeatedly, believe them the first time."

He headed toward the door, then paused without turning around.

"Two weeks, Caelan. Prove Sable is safe, or lose her forever."

I sat alone at the table after he left and tried to process what had just happened.

*Had I been blind to Blair's manipulations? Had I let my protective instincts toward her cloud my judgment about the real threat?*

***

Back in my car, I pulled out my phone and dialed Edward's number.

"Your Majesty?"

"I need you to conduct a complete investigation into Blair. Everything – her movements, her contacts, every person she's spoken with since leaving for the western territories."

"Will do. Anything else?"

"Focus particularly on any connection between her and Lucian. I want to know if their relationship extends beyond him simply helping her return to Blackwood."

Edward's voice sharpened with understanding. "Are you suspecting orchestrated attacks against Miss Crawford?"

"I'm suspecting I've been played by someone much more calculating than I realized." I started the engine, my grip tight on the steering wheel. "How soon can you have preliminary findings?"

"Within forty-eight hours for basic movements and contacts. Deeper investigation will take longer."

"Do it."

***

**Darrell's POV**

The cigarette trembled between my fingers as I sat in my car in the hotel parking lot. I'd been chain-smoking for the past hour, but nothing could burn away the images playing on repeat in my mind.

Sable's laugh. The way she looked at him. The trust in her eyes when she handed him her drink. The easy affection in every touch.

Had our entire relationship been a lie? Had she been performing for me while saving her real self for someone worthy of it?

The jealousy was eating me from the inside out, but it was more than that. It was the crushing realization that I'd held something precious and beautiful in my hands, and I'd been too stupid, too selfish, too blind to see its value until it was gone.

Another drag of my cigarette. Another image of Caelan's hand on her face.

Then I picked up the phone and typed four words.

"I agree to cooperate."

I hit send.

***

The hotel key card slipped from my fingers twice before I managed to get the door open. The scotch I'd consumed in the hotel bar burned in my chest, but it did nothing to numb the ache that had taken up permanent residence there.

What I found waiting in my room made me stop dead in the doorway.

Camila was stretched across my bed. Black lace barely covered her curves, and her eyes held a hunger that should have been flattering.

"What are you doing here?"

She sat up slowly, deliberately arching her back. "You've been traveling so much for business lately. I missed you, so I thought I'd surprise you."

"Get out." I turned away.

But she was already moving, crossing the room with feline grace. Her hands settled on my chest, and despite everything, despite the sick feeling in my stomach, my body responded.

"You don't mean that," she whispered, her lips brushing against my jaw.

She kiss me. And maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was the crushing loneliness, maybe it was just the need to feel something other than the hollow ache in my chest—but I kissed her back.

My hands found her hair, tangling in the golden strands as I pushed her back against the wall. She gasped against my mouth.

When I lifted Camila and carried her to the bed, I kept my eyes tightly shut. When I buried myself in her heat, I let myself imagine I was with someone else.

***

I woke to find Camila watching me, and the sight filled me with instant disgust.

"Good morning, handsome," Camila purred, trailing her fingers down my chest.

I caught her wrist, stopping the movement. "Don't."

Her face shifted, hurt replacing satisfaction. "Relly, what's wrong?"

"I want you to stop trying to seduce me. My heart belongs to Sable. Only Sable."

Camila's laugh was sharp, cutting. "Only Sable? But last night you seemed to enjoy me plenty."

"Men can separate sex from love." Each word was deliberately cruel, designed to hurt her the way I was hurting. "And besides, the whole time I was with you, I was thinking about Sable. Why do you think I wanted you so many times?"

Her face went white. "You bastard."

"What did you expect?" I got out of bed, not bothering to cover myself. "You've always known what I am, haven't you? If I wasn't a bastard, would I have cheated on Sable before I broke up with her? Would I have lost her in the first place?"

The truth hung between us like a weapon. Camila stared at me with growing horror and rage.

"You're shameless," she whispered. "Absolutely shameless."

I looked at myself in the hotel mirror—stubbled, hollow-eyed, a shadow of the man I used to be. "Yeah. I am."