“Yes, Your Majesty,” the head of security coughed. “If you turn to the back, you’ll see the evidence found during the search of Annabel that shows her contact with the terrorist organization.”
Wilhelmina suspiciously furrowed her brow.
“Sir, based on my understanding of Countess de Garis, Annabel would never leave any evidence for you to discover if she were truly collaborating with the enemy.”
“Your Majesty, we deliberately relaxed her surveillance before, so…”
Wilhelmina slammed the folder on the dining table and stood up.
“Darling,” Albert reached to support her shoulder but she brushed away his hand.
“Who told you this approach, Mr. Stroz?” the queen’s voice, filled with anger, made the head of security tremble. “Why was there no report beforehand, and why did you continue to be lenient with her after the art academy incident? Were you using me and the Prince as bait? This is negligence!”
“Your Majesty…” the head of security stammered, unable to defend himself.
Wilhelmina looked at him with disappointment. She understood why Hans Borg received high support rates; the imperial bureaucracy desperately needed reform. As a queen, the safety of her family was clearly mishandled.
Albert gently stroked his wife’s back to calm her. Wilhelmina took a deep breath to stabilize her emotions.
“Mommy…” Amilia said timidly.
“Shut up, Amy.” Queen Barbara shouted at Wilhelmina, “I knew it, you’re just like them. Talking about treating the former royal family well is a hypocritical excuse. You won’t stop until you’ve driven us to desperation!”
Wilhelmina pressed her lips together, looking at her silently.
“Why? We’ve never been bad to you. Perhaps we’ve spoken ill of you, or embarrassed you. But so what? Annabel has been placed under lifelong house arrest, and we can never return to social circles…”
“I’ll ask you one question.” Wilhelmina’s voice was authoritative, drowning out Queen Barbara’s shouting, “Did you participate in this?”
Queen Barbara’s momentum was exhausted. She sat back uneasily on the sofa, glanced at her husband, and said truthfully, “No. You may not believe me, but we haven’t contacted her for a long time.”
“So, you don’t know what she’s doing?”
“No,” Prince Heinrich said, “She never tells us anything.”
