"You can't lead House Blackwood as a mortal. The moment his power vanished, so did his candidacy."
Anger edged her voice, genuine frustration at her brother's stupidity, at the carelessness that had made him vulnerable in the first place.
An ignorant brother who'd thought himself untouchable and paid the ultimate price for that arrogance.
But beneath the anger was something else. Grief, maybe. Or regret that it had come to this.
"I'm sure Richard was involved. The timing was too convenient, the execution too precise. James's removal from succession consideration came just as Richard began consolidating his support among the conservative families."
A pause.
"And I'll make him pay for what he did to my brother."
The promise wasn't loud or dramatic. Just quiet. Absolute. The kind of vow that carried the weight of inevitability.
"But right now, there's no proof. No evidence I can use. Whoever helped him covered their tracks professionally."
