CHAPTER 3: THE PLOT BEHIND THE ROYAL PUSH
In the quiet sanctuary of the palace infirmary, Merit refused to rest until the chief physician confirmed her baby was safe.
When the words finally came, they felt like a blessing from the gods.
“The child’s heartbeat is strong and steady. Isis has protected you.”
Merit finally let out a tear—not of fear, but of pure, overwhelming relief.
Outside the chambers, Detective Reese stood with Prince General Seti, Merit’s husband and the Pharaoh's commander. Seti’s face was completely pale, stripped of his usual military confidence.
“My own sister did this?” Seti whispered, staring at the floor.
Reese looked at the commander with sympathy but firm resolve.
“Princess Khenmet didn’t just push your wife, General. She has been systematically trying to paint Merit as a foreign spy and an unstable madwoman for months to secure her own succession.”
Seti shook his head, struggling to accept the betrayal.
“No... Khenmet told me Merit was paranoid. She said Merit was trying to alienate me from the royal bloodline.”
Reese handed him a papyrus scroll containing the investigation's findings.
Inside were records of illegal gold transfers to assassins, forged letters to enemy kingdoms, and jars of rare scorpion venom that Khenmet’s servants had tried to plant in Merit’s sleeping quarters.
Seti turned the papyrus pages with shaking hands. Then, he found the most damning piece of evidence—a intercepted message Khenmet had sent to a rogue faction:
Once the foreign woman and her unborn bastard are removed, my brother will have no choice but to name me his sole heir.
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Seti stopped breathing, a cold anger washing over him.
“She was never trying to protect our family,” he said, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. “She was hunting us.”
