ALEX'S POV
I was following her.
I told myself I wasn't. That I just happened to be walking in the same direction. That I was simply ensuring the scholarship student made it safely to her next class.
But when Jade rushed out of the cafeteria looking like she was about to fall apart, I followed.
I kept my distance, staying far enough back that she wouldn't notice. She moved quickly through the empty hallways, one hand pressed to her mouth like she was holding back sobs.
She should have gone to her next class. Should have kept going, kept fighting, kept that steel spine I'd seen in Political Theory.
Instead, she slid down a wall and started crying.
Something in my chest cracked.
I was about to step forward when Finn appeared out of nowhere with chocolate bars.
Of course it was Finn. Sweet, kind, emotionally intelligent Finn who always knew the right thing to say. Who could offer comfort without making it weird or complicated.
I couldn't do that. I'd tried in Political Theory to push her, to prepare her for how harsh this place was. And all I'd done was make her hate me more.
I watched them sit together. Watched her almost-smile at something he said. Watched her take the chocolate and actually eat it.
When was the last time I'd made someone smile?
I should leave. This was creepy. But my feet wouldn't move.
Then Jade's whole body went rigid. She stared at her phone like it had turned into a snake.
Finn leaned closer, asking what was wrong. She didn't answer. Just kept staring at her screen with an expression of pure horror.
I was moving before I made the conscious decision to move.
"Jade—" I started.
She looked up at me with wide, terrified eyes. "There are cameras in my room."
The world stopped.
"What?"
She thrust her phone at me with shaking hands. I took it, Finn reading over my shoulder.
It was a video. Jade, this morning, in her temporary room. Private moments no one should have seen. And below it, a text message: "Smile, Jade. You're always being watched."
Rage—white-hot and absolute—flooded through me.
"When did you get this?" My voice came out too calm. The calm before I did something violent.
"Just now. There's more. They have footage from Seattle. From before I even got here." Her voice cracked. "How is that possible?"
I knew how. It required money, connections, and complete disregard for laws. It required someone with serious resources and zero conscience.
Camilla.
It had to be her. She'd threatened Jade yesterday. And this—surveillance, humiliation, systematic destruction—this was exactly her style.
But I needed proof before I could act.
"Finn, take her to the nurse's office. Tell them she's having a panic attack—they'll let her rest there where there are no cameras." I was already pulling up my security contacts. "Jade, give me your room number. I'm having it swept immediately."
"Swept?" She looked confused, tears still streaming down her face.
"For hidden cameras and listening devices. We'll find them. And we'll find who put them there."
"You can't promise that." Her laugh was bitter. "You can't even protect me from people spray painting my photo everywhere. How are you going to protect me from invisible cameras?"
She was right. I'd promised protection and failed. Twice in one day.
"I'll do better," I said, and meant it. "I swear on my crown, I'll do better."
"Your crown?" Her eyes flashed with anger even through the tears. "What good is your crown if it can't stop people from torturing me?"
The words hit like bullets. Because she was absolutely right.
I was the crown prince. Future king. I had power and authority and resources most people couldn't imagine.
And I couldn't protect one girl from a cyberbullying campaign.
What kind of ruler would I be if I couldn't even do this?
Finn helped Jade to her feet. "Come on. Nurse's office. Then we'll figure out next steps."
I watched them walk away, Finn's arm around her shoulders in a gesture of comfort I'd never be able to give.
My phone rang. Marcus, my security chief.
"Your Highness, we have a problem. The security sweep of Miss Morrison's room found three hidden cameras and two audio devices. Military-grade equipment, professionally installed."
My blood ran cold. "When were they installed?"
"Based on the activation logs? Last night. Between 2 and 4 AM, during the time frame when the room was supposedly being cleaned after the vandalism."
So whoever did this had access to academy maintenance schedules. Had authorization to be in that room during off-hours.
"Pull the security footage from that hallway for that time period."
"Already did, sir. The cameras were disabled. Same professional job as the North Dorm incident."
Of course they were.
"What about the devices themselves? Can we trace them?"
"We're trying. But sir..." Marcus hesitated. "There's something else. We found a sixth device. In your room."
Everything stopped.
"What?"
"Someone planted a camera in your personal quarters. Same equipment, same time frame. Whoever's doing this isn't just targeting Miss Morrison. They're targeting you too."
My mind raced. A camera in my room meant someone had heard my private conversations. My phone calls with my father. My arguments with Camilla. Everything.
"Who has access to my quarters?"
"Security personnel, your personal assistant, cleaning staff, and..." He paused. "Members of the royal family and their approved guests."
Camilla. She had access as my ex-fiancée. The engagement might be broken, but her security clearance hadn't been revoked yet.
She'd been in my room. Multiple times. I'd assumed she was trying to "accidentally" run into me.
But she'd been planting cameras.
"Revoke Camilla Beaumont's security clearance. Immediately. And I want her whereabouts for the last forty-eight hours."
"Sir, if we revoke her access without cause, it will create a diplomatic incident. Her father is the French ambassador—"
"I don't care if her father is the Pope. She's violated my privacy and Miss Morrison's safety. Revoke it. Now."
"Yes, Your Highness."
I hung up and immediately called Dante. He answered on the first ring.
"Tell me you found something," I said.
"Yeah. And you're not going to like it." I heard typing in the background. "The message board posts, the videos, the poll—they're all coming from inside the academy network. But the IP addresses are bouncing through so many proxies my cousin can't trace them. Whoever's doing this knows what they're doing."
"It's Camilla."
"You sure?"
"There are cameras in Jade's room. And in mine. Planted last night during maintenance. Camilla has access to both locations and the motive."
Dante whistled. "That's bold. Even for her."
"We need evidence. Something concrete that connects her to the devices or the message board."
"Working on it. But Alex? If it is Camilla, she's playing a dangerous game. Going after a lottery winner is one thing. Surveilling the crown prince? That's treason."
He was right. If Camilla was behind this, she wasn't just being petty. She was committing crimes that could land her in prison.
Which meant she had a bigger plan. An endgame I wasn't seeing yet.
"Keep digging," I told Dante. "And keep this quiet. If Camilla knows we're onto her, she'll destroy the evidence."
"Got it. And Alex? Check on Jade. She looked really shaken."
I was already heading toward the nurse's office when my phone buzzed with a new email.
The subject line made my blood freeze: "A PROPOSITION FOR THE PERFECT PRINCE."
I opened it.
"Dear Alexander,
You're so predictable. The moment something threatens your perfect image, you swoop in to save the day. It's almost admirable.
But here's what you don't understand: I don't want to destroy Jade Morrison. I want to destroy YOU. And she's the perfect weapon.
Here's my proposition: End your sponsorship. Publicly. Announce that the lottery winner isn't suitable for Regency Academy. Send her home.
Do this, and I'll delete every video. Remove every camera. Stop the campaign.
Refuse, and I'll release footage that will ruin both of you. Private moments. Vulnerable moments. The kind of moments that end careers and break hearts.
You have until midnight tonight to decide.
Choose wisely, Your Highness.
Tick tock."
No signature. But I knew who sent it.
And she'd just made her fatal mistake—she'd given me a deadline, which meant she was getting desperate.
But she also had footage she could weaponize. Footage of Jade in her most vulnerable moments. Footage of me in mine.
If I refused, she'd release it and destroy both our reputations. Jade would be humiliated beyond recovery. And I'd lose all credibility as future king.
If I agreed and sent Jade home, Camilla would win. Jade would be safe but broken. And I'd prove that I couldn't protect the people who depended on me.
My phone rang again. My father.
"I just received a very interesting phone call from the French ambassador," he said coldly. "Care to explain why you've revoked his daughter's security clearance?"
"She's been surveilling me and a student. I have evidence."
"Evidence you should have brought to me FIRST, before creating an international incident!"
"There wasn't time—"
"There's ALWAYS time to follow protocol!" He took a breath, forcing calm. "Fix this, Alexander. Apologize to Camilla. Restore her clearance. And end this ridiculous sponsorship before it costs us a crucial diplomatic alliance."
"No."
Silence. Then: "What did you say?"
"I said no. I'm not apologizing to someone who violated my privacy. I'm not restoring clearance to someone who's terrorizing another student. And I'm definitely not ending the sponsorship."
"Then you leave me no choice. I'm invoking executive override. Your sponsorship of Jade Morrison is terminated, effective immediately. She'll be on a plane back to Seattle by morning."
The call ended.
I stood there, phone in hand, world crashing down around me.
I'd lost. Camilla had backed me into a corner and I'd lost.
Unless...
I pulled up my contacts and made a call I'd sworn I'd never make.
"Kieran? I need your help. And it's going to require you to break about fifteen laws."