Chapter 5

Three days later, the council room of the Marchetti manor was packed.

Family elders, regional lieutenants, and allied associates had gathered to witness the verdict of the first succession trial.

At the head of the mahogany table, Joseph Marchetti sat with his hands steepled.

Elissa stood a few steps behind him, her hands clasped over her skirt, maintaining a neutral, composed expression.

Across the room, Eloise stood with Sophie.

During the three days after the test, Sophie had asked twice what Eloise knew.

The first time, Eloise said they were not safe enough to discuss it.

The second time, she promised they would talk before the results were announced.

Now they were standing inside the council room, the ledger already open, and Sophie still had no answer.

The old consigliere cleared his throat, opening the official test registry.

"The results of the first trial, administered at St. Agnes Academy under council-appointed supervision, have been tabulated," the old man announced.

Joseph leaned forward, his slate-gray eyes narrowing slightly.

"For candidate Sophie Marchetti," the consigliere continued, looking down at the parchment. "Score: Zero. The test booklet was submitted entirely blank."

A ripple of muffled whispers broke out among the lieutenants.

Elissa's gaze shifted briefly toward Eloise.

"And for candidate Holly Robinson, acknowledged before this council as Holly Marchetti," the consigliere said.

He paused.

The old man's eyes flicked up from the page, darting briefly toward Joseph before landing on Elissa.

The silence in the room instantly turned heavy and brittle.

"Score: Zero," the consigliere read flatly.

Elissa's composure cracked. "What?"

She stepped forward, her voice rising. "That's impossible! Holly studied for weeks! Her test must have been misgraded!"

Joseph stood up slowly.

He stared at the consigliere. "Explain yourself. How could Holly possibly receive a zero?"

The consigliere turned a page in the registry and held up a thin, plastic evidence bag containing a cream-colored envelope marked with Holly's initials.

"The proctors reported an irregularity during the morning session," the old consigliere stated evenly. "A sealed envelope containing unauthorized solution notes was discovered in Miss Holly's possession, tucked inside her skirt pocket. Although inspection of the exam booklet revealed she did not open or copy from the contents, the pre-trial integrity of her test materials was compromised before she ever sat at the desk."

The old man looked directly at Joseph. "Under family testing protocol, any pre-trial compromise of a candidate's materials invalidates the submission. The score is zero."

Elissa turned to Holly, who stood near the back, shaking her head with tears streaming down her face.

"Then you're punishing a child for refusing to cheat," Elissa said, her voice sharp. "She never opened it. She never used it."

"Possession was enough," the consigliere replied.

Elissa's eyes hardened. "Then perhaps you should ask who put those notes into circulation—and who wanted them found."

"Mom gave it to me," Holly's voice cracked through the silence.

Elissa stopped. She looked at her daughter, but did not deny it.

Joseph did not raise his voice.

He looked first at Holly, then at the sealed envelope inside the evidence bag.

Finally, his eyes settled on Eloise.

"You predicted zero," he said.

Eloise held his gaze.

"Before the test. Before the envelope was found."

The room became entirely quiet.

Joseph turned his gaze from Eloise to Elissa.

"Did you know what was inside?" Joseph asked.

Elissa held his gaze. "I knew it was meant to protect her."

"That wasn't my question."

Elissa said nothing.

Joseph turned to the junior lieutenant beside the monitor on the wall.

"Play the St. Agnes parking footage."

The wall-mounted monitor flickered to life.

The grainy video showed the parking lot behind St. Agnes Academy at 11:42 p.m. on the night before the test.

Eloise stood beneath a security light, speaking to Dr. Lena Park, the academy official responsible for test integrity.

Eloise handed her a sealed folder.

There was no audio. The camera could not show what the folder contained.

It only proved that Eloise had contacted a testing official after signing the integrity clause.

Joseph walked slowly along the edge of the mahogany table.

"The envelope was opened after confiscation, in front of two witnesses," the consigliere added quietly. "It contained solution notes matching protected portions of the test."

"Under the integrity clause I added—and Eloise accepted in front of every witness—contact with a testing official constitutes interference," Joseph said, his voice carrying clearly across the room. "She heard the rule. She questioned it. Then she signed."

"I did not alter either girl's test," Eloise said, her voice steady.

"I didn't say you did," Joseph replied. "The clause prohibited contact. You made contact."

He turned his gaze toward the elders.

"The clause was clear," Joseph said. "If either mother contacted the testing staff, her daughter would be placed in neutral council custody until the review was complete."

Two council guards stepped forward.

They wore the gray pins of neutral family custody rather than Joseph's black-and-gold crest.

Sophie looked at the open registry, then back at her mother.

"You promised," Sophie said, her voice trembling.

Eloise finally looked at her.

"You promised you would tell me before the results."

"I was going to."

"The results are here," Sophie whispered, stepping back as the neutral guards approached.

"Until the council determines whether the contact constituted interference, Sophie must remain at the neutral residence under Aunt Caterina's supervision," the consigliere stated quietly. "No private contact with either parent."

The guards stopped a respectful distance away, waiting for her to move.

Sophie didn't move.

One of the guards stepped closer and reached for her arm.

The old consigliere's emergency phone began to ring.

No one in the room had ever heard it ring during a witness session.

The old man looked down at the number, then at the black envelope beside the ledger.

He answered.

He listened for less than ten seconds.

Then he rose.

"Stand down," he told the guards.

Joseph's eyes narrowed. "On whose authority?"

The old man looked toward Eloise and Sophie.

"No Marchetti soldier is permitted to touch the Blackwood heir."

Joseph slowly pushed back his chair. His face went still.

"Which one of them," he asked, "is the Blackwood heir?"