This was a group photo, with Adrian Desmond and Paige Desmond in it. Sienna Johnson wasn’t surprised, as they were siblings after all. However, lanie Carpenter was also in the picture, with Adrian holding lanie’s shoulders in an intimate posture. What was going on?
That odious man Adrian had said before that there were no romantic feelings between him and lanie. If there were no romantic feelings, why would he hold her so tightly?
She slapped the photo face down on the table, deciding out of sight, out of mind.
There was a large bed in the room, and it looked very comfortable. lanie might have slept in this room before, Sienna thought, feeling a wave of disgust. She didn’t sleep on the bed, instead lying down on the sofa for a light nap.
Her emotions were turbulent, but exhaustion eventually claid her, and she fell asleep.
...
In the room, Adrian Desmond had dismissed everyone else, leaving only Jule, Brett Jacobs, Walter Klein, and Paige Desmond.
Paige Desmond got straight to the point. "Brother, I’m not just talking about it; I genuinely want a divorce. You all need to prepare yourselves. After Kiya and I divorce, they will likely revoke most of the privileges granted to our Desmond Family."
Although none of them approved of Paige Desmond’s desire for a divorce, no one dared to interject. They all waited for Adrian Desmond to offer words of counsel.
A divorce? They had never heard of a divorce within the Abyanabad royal family.
"Why the divorce?"
"Irreconcilable differences!" she stated concisely.
Adrian Desmond retorted angrily, "Back then, I advised you against this marriage. Who was it that was so desperate to marry him? And now you co to talking about irreconcilable differences! What were you thinking back then?"
Paige Desmond, gentle on the surface but unyielding within, appeared as soft as water but possessed a will more stubborn and resilient than many n. "Back then, I never imagined he would marry another woman. Now, he intends to marry the Pelindi princess. I cannot accept it, so divorce is my only option."
"What about Dylan? Are you abandoning him?"
"With your capabilities, Brother, finding a peaceful place for my son and to live shouldn’t be difficult. Unless, of course, you’re unwilling to help ."
She was his only sister; how could he possibly refuse to help her? But...
Seeing her brother’s troubled expression, Paige Desmond offered a light, bitter Night Owl. "My feelings mirror Sister-in-law’s. If I didn’t love him, he could marry as many won as he pleased. But I do love him, and so I cannot tolerate this. If he insists on marrying her, then I have no choice but to leave."
"I understand."
"Will you help , Brother?"
Though Paige Desmond appeared composed, she was inwardly anxious. If Adrian Desmond didn’t help her, her chances of successfully obtaining a divorce on her own were almost nil. However, she couldn’t bear to live in that gilded cage any longer. She certainly couldn’t stand sharing her husband with the Pelindi princess.
"Brother, are you planning to settle in Sileria City permanently? Please, take with you. You and Dylan are the only family I have left now."
"Don’t rush into things. I need to speak with Kiya first..."
Paige Desmond grew agitated. "Speak about what? You n are all the sa—greedy and insatiable. One wife is never enough; you always want another. You probably wouldn’t be satisfied until you’d married every beautiful woman in the world!"
The n in the room flushed, chastened by Paige Desmond’s outburst.
"Alright, I understand. You may leave us for now," Adrian Desmond said, a headache forming.
"Kiya will undoubtedly co looking for , but I will not go back with him!"
"Mhm."
Only after receiving her brother’s assurance did Paige Desmond depart.
In Abyanabad, won were unequivocally a vulnerable group. For her to achieve a divorce through her own efforts was virtually impossible. Furthermore, her stated reason for seeking a divorce—Kiya’s intention to take another wife—was hardly considered significant in a country where n commonly had multiple wives and concubines. Ordinary wealthy n could marry several won, let alone the royal family of Abyanabad.
Once Paige Desmond had left, Walter Klein finally dared to speak. "Sixth Master, are you truly going to allow the Princess Consort to divorce?"
Jule, ever the pragmatist, outlined the entanglents of their interests. "The royal family of Abyanabad has granted us nurous privileges. The right of passage through the Amwaka Strait alone generates enormous annual revenue for us.
"However, these privileges were granted out of consideration for the Princess Consort. Once she is no longer the Princess Consort, I believe many of the privileges we currently hold will be rescinded."
Brett Jacobs remained neutral. He deferred to Adrian Desmond; Adrian Desmond’s decisions were his decisions, which he would obey and execute strictly.
"...Won these days are more troubleso than ever," Jule opined, clearly against the Princess Consort’s divorce. "In Abyanabad, it’s commonplace for a man to have several wives. This is especially true for the royal family. The Princess Consort has only provided the royal family with a single, sickly young heir in all these years. I suspect Prince Kiya’s desire to marry another is for the sake of producing more offspring. I don’t consider Prince Kiya marrying another wife to be such a significant issue. Sixth Master, what are your thoughts?"
"I will make my decision after I’ve spoken with Kiya."
Adrian Desmond had made up his mind, and the others fell silent.
"Walter, tell Jule and the others what you’ve discovered." Adrian Desmond turned to the pressing issue. This matter was far more intractable than his sister’s desire for a divorce.
Walter Klein’s expression turned grave, his voice tense as he spoke. "Sixth Master, following the leads you provided, we have indeed found traces of Night Owl. He has been to Sileria City... Night Owl approached Madam by impersonating Aiden. As for his purpose, I haven’t been able to ascertain it. Also, Aiden is already dead..."
"Are you certain?" Jule asked, incredulous.
"Certain!" Walter Klein continued, "Before his death, Frederick Stewart attempted to contact Madam to inform her that the Aiden she knew was an imposter. Following this clue—knowing Frederick Stewart had been imprisoned in the basent—if he knew Aiden was an imposter, the cri scene must have been that sa basent.
"So, I specifically brought in an experienced bailiff from the Criminal Investigation Departnt in Abyanabad to re-examine the basent. A luminol test confird a bloodstain reaction in the corner, and subsequent DNA testing verified that the blood belongs to Aiden Howard."
The luminol reaction is often called the ’prince of blood detection’; even bloodstains several years old can be detected if not thoroughly cleaned.
Hearing this grim news, a somber mood fell over everyone present.
Although Adrian Desmond had long suspected that Aiden Howard had t with misfortune, hearing the definitive confirmation still saddened him.
"Was it Night Owl’s doing?" Adrian Desmond asked in a low voice.
"It’s uncertain if Night Owl personally carried out the act, but he is undoubtedly connected to it."
Jule, the newest mber of Adrian Desmond’s team, knew little about this Night Owl. He asked, full of righteous anger, "Sixth Master, shall I take so n today and eliminate that Night Owl?"
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