The Crown in the Storm ✔️

The Devil is in the Castle

"I don't understand you, Elena," Naila said, nearly smashing the teacup on the table. I glared at her hand. That teacup was worth more than her designer shoes.

"You don't have to understand. You have to answer the question." she huffed and settled back into the chair. "well then too bad you might not have that long to live. Understanding does take time." she looked at me alarmed.

"What... what?"

"What?" Ammi Jaan said. "Did you poison her?"

"Poison..." her face paled and she stared at me. "...why?" I showed her a small vial and she gasped, clutching at her throat.

"I can give you the antidote right now if you answered some questions honestly"

"I'd rather die"

"That's fine by me"

"What is this nonsense Elena, what has happened to you?" Ammi Jaan asked, panic seeping into her voice. Naila looked at us, her eyes on the antidote.

"I just want to get even. She wanted to kill us. She sent a shooter after me and an assassin after you"

"I did not. That's a lie. Feroze would never forgive you" I guwaffed and she looked around, searching for something to help her.

"Remember that tangy flavor in your tea? That was the poison. The essence of ornagus. Did you see those guards outside? They're sworn to me. Feroze can not do anything"

"I have a young child... he needs me" dread was stamped on her face. I looked at her unmoved.

"Elena stop this madness..." I did not move. They stared at me and I pointed at my wristwatch. "You have ten minutes"

"Okay... what do you want to know?"

"Everything"

"I did not try to kill either of you..."

"Was it your father?"

"In a way... but it wasn't him entirely. There are people around you who want you dead" oh joy. More enemies.

"What's your role with the New Revolutionaires? How long ago? How did you create them?"

"I helped in the creation... but I don't know anything about it now. That was two years ago. We spread misinformation, by using false statistics.  We bribed the media and corrupted the police. Things aren't as bad as people think them to be. I was the one who came up with it."  the pride in her eyes made me want to punch her. The brilliant witch.

"Does Feroze know about this?" Ammi Jaan looked at me, her eyes wide.

"No... he does not know anything. We had to make sure he was uninvolved..."

"So his path remained clear. What are you planning to do with all of the drugs in the city?" she coughed, tears streaming out of her eyes.

"I... Daddy wanted to use them for financing the group. He paid a couple of desperate union men. They wanted the money." Hania's father. "I don't know more than that... he didn't tell me anything else. He did not tell me who the leader was, it's not Daddy, I can tell you that... now please give me the antidote..."

"If it's not your father then who else? He hates me. You hate me"

"Can you blame us? You just dropped out of the sky in the middle of our election. After we made sure you would stay away. This was not about you. You always make it about you and the freaking south. Feroze married you to get the south. I had to take drastic measures to get him back and to keep him, so he would not go back to you!" she snarled.

"Who is the leader?" I continued, ignoring the venom in her tone. She only had two more minutes.

"It's someone local. Daddy talked about someone in the castle... someone close to you" Zaroon? It could not be Zaroon. Zaroon was there throughout the whole thing. He had been just as affected. Could he be that good of an actor? "He said it made it easier to control the revolution from the ground" I blinked. She gasped and started to explain. "He doesn't tell me..."

I waved the vial and pretended to drop it on the floor.

"No stop! Stop! It's someone older... I heard Daddy on the phone, he said 'you should know, you're a father, you understand what we have to do to protect our children' Antidote now!" she screamed and then coughed. Her ten minutes were up.

"Give it to her Elena" Ammi Jaan shrieked running over to Naila. I almost rolled my eyes at the theatrics.

"Drink this and rinse your mouth after five minutes... go" she grabbed the vial, drank the clear liquid and ran out of the room. Ammi Jaan collapsed on the chair. I got up, grabbed the vase of fake flowers placed on the table and I turned the camera off.

"How could you do that Elena? You can not stoop so low! You could have killed her" I started to laugh.

"Remember that orange solution we used to make? The one with pepper and vitamin C pills? I added a bit of that into her tea. The pepper was making her throat itch. She was not dying... there's no 'essence of orangus'" Ammi Jaan blinked and burst out laughing.

"She's going to drink the vial, which is a brew of water and mint. She'll rinse her mouth and rush to a hospital to get her tests done, where she'll find nothing. No proof that we 'poisoned' her." I explained showing her the camera. "And we have this as proof. We can blackmail them now"

"I can not believe you're my daughter. This was something your father and Uncle EJ would have done" I beamed. She relaxed on the chair and called for Andaleeb.

Andaleeb rushed in, her smile wide and anxious.

"I saw her leaving for the hospital Begum Sahiba... it worked!"

"So she was in the plan as well? You could have told me Elena" Ammi said, gesturing for Andaleeb to clear the table.

"I asked Andaleeb to make the brews. Thank you Andaleeb, they worked like a charm. I could not tell you, or it would not have been authentic."

"You're welcome Begum Sahiba... will that be all?"

"That will be all for now Andaleeb..."

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