Chapter 7 - The Poisoned Chalice
The morning of the Royal High Council meeting, the kingdom woke up to an explosive, catastrophic scandal.
Every major newspaper and broadcast network blared the exact same headline: THE BASTARD BRIDE: SOPHIA LAURENT’S TREASONOUS BLOODLINE REVEALED.
Alexander burst into Sophia’s chambers, his face pale with a mixture of rage and panic. He threw the newspaper onto her bed.
“Is it true?” he asked, his voice shaking.
Sophia read the article, her heart stopping. Elara and Victoria had leaked a devastating secret. Sophia was not a Laurent at all. She was the illegitimate child of the late Duke of Harrington—a man who had been executed twenty years ago for attempting to assassinate Alexander’s father.
Victoria had been forced to adopt the child to hide the scandal. This was why Victoria had always treated her with such vile hatred. Sophia was the spawn of a traitor. By royal law, anyone carrying Harrington blood was permanently banished from the kingdom, forbidden from ever sitting on the throne.
Tears blurred Sophia’s vision. “Alexander… I didn't know. I swear to you, I didn't know.”
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Alexander closed his eyes, the weight of the crown pressing down on him. The High Council was already demanding her immediate arrest. “I believe you,” he whispered. “But the law is absolute. I cannot protect you from this, Sophia. The Council is convening in two hours to demand your exile.”
Elara had won. She had found the one weapon Alexander couldn't block with his authority. But as Sophia looked at the newspaper, her despair suddenly morphed into a cold, burning fury. She refused to be a victim twice.
