Chapter 339 A Little Misdirection
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Chapter 339: A Little Misdirection
Maya remained quiet as she looked at her grandmother.
She understood what Cecilia was trying to tell her. More than that, she could see the genuine remorse behind every word. It was there in the emotion in her voice and the regret written
across her face.
But Maya could also see something else just as clearly.
Cecilia genuinely wanted to protect her and Jaime, even if it meant facing the consequences of decisions she had spent years regretting.
“Grandma Cecilia…”
Cecilia slowly shook her head, cutting her off.
“I stood by and allowed it to happen once. I made a choice that cost me my daughter, and I have lived with that regret ever since.” Her voice trembled with emotion. “I will not stand by and allow those same beliefs to destroy my grandchildren’s lives too.”
Maya gently covered one of Cecilia’s hands with her own.
“That was a long time ago, Grandma. You can’t keep blaming yourself for every choice that was made back then, and we can’t spend our lives afraid that history is going to repeat itself.”
Cecilia opened her mouth to respond, but Maya continued.
“If he comes knocking, then let him knock.”
Cecilia looked startled by her response.
“But Maya…”
Maya’s voice remained firm.
“I am my mother’s daughter. He couldn’t force Mom into submission back then, and if Mom could stand her ground against him, so can I.”
“Is there another way?”
Damien’s voice cut through the tension, drawing everyone’s attention.
“Can we get the blood without alerting him?”
Cecilia gestured toward the case.
Chapter 339: A Little Misdirection
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“That case is temperature–controlled and protected by a tamper–evident seal. The individual units inside are inventoried and tracked, and any access to the reserve is electronically monitored.”
Damien’s expression hardened.
“So the moment someone opens it…”
“There will be a record of it,” Cecilia finished. “And because the reserve is maintained specifically for members of the royal family, opening it will trigger a security notification. Even if Tobias doesn’t receive the alert personally, someone responsible for the reserve will.”
Harper, who had been quietly examining the case while Cecilia spoke, suddenly looked up.
“Then we don’t stop the alert.”
Everyone turned toward her.
“We let it happen. We just make sure it tells them the wrong location.”
Damien stared at her.
“What do you mean?”
Harper crouched beside the case and examined the locking mechanism more closely before tapping a small component built into its frame.
“This is where the tracking system is integrated. The moment the seal is broken and the case registers that it’s been opened, it triggers the alert. The report tells them the case was accessed, where it happened, and how much of the reserve was removed.”
Harper studied it for another moment.
“So we leave all of that alone.”
She rose to her feet and brushed her hands over her pants.
“We’re not going to disable the tracker or stop it from sending anything. That would only make it obvious someone deliberately tampered with it.”
She looked at Cecilia.
“We manipulate the location data instead.”
Damien’s expression shifted as he began to understand.
“So when the case is opened…”
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Chapter 339. A Little Misdirection
+25 Points
“They’ll still get their alert,” Harper finished. “Everything will look exactly the way it’s supposed to, except according to their system, the Queen will be somewhere else.”
Nora’s expression suddenly changed.
“Lisbon.”
Everyone looked at her.
Nora turned to Cecilia.
“The children’s hospital.”
Recognition immediately crossed Cecilia’s face.
“Yes.”
Harper looked between them, confused.
Nora explained, “One of the foundations Lady Cecilia oversees has supported a children’s hospital in Lisbon for years. She recently funded an expansion of one of their treatment programs.”
She looked back at Harper.
“We can use that as the location. It would give His Majesty a believable reason for her to be
there.”
Harper considered it for a moment before a slow smile appeared.
“Even better.”
Cecilia looked at her. “Why?”
“Because now we don’t have to invent a reason for you to be there.” Harper gestured toward the case. “If I can make this thing report that it was opened in Lisbon, the King already has a perfectly believable explanation for why you might be there.”
Cecilia nodded, quickly following Harper’s reasoning.
“And if Tobias calls, I’ll tell him there was a medical emergency. Someone needed blood, I happened to be there, and I authorized the reserve to be used.”
Harper grinned.
“You got it, Pontiac!”
“Harper!”
Chapter 339. A Little Misdirection.
Ken immediately shot his daughter a warning look.
“Mind your manners. Be mindful of who you’re speaking to.”
Harper’s grin vanished.
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She looked at her father, then at Cecilia, suddenly remembering that the woman she had just casually addressed was, in fact, a Queen.
“Oh, right.”
She quickly straightened herself before dipping into an awkward curtsy.
“My apologies, Your Majesty. Please forgive my disrespect.”
The unexpected formality coming from Harper was so unlike her that it briefly lightened the tension in the room.
Cecilia’s lips curved with amusement, while Ken and Alice could only shake their heads at their daughter, who suddenly looked more like a child being reprimanded for forgetting her manners than the confident woman who had just devised their entire plan.
Nora, however, still looked uncertain.
“And what if His Majesty investigates further?”
Harper straightened from her curtsy, her playful expression fading as she returned to the matter at hand.
“Let him. We just need him to waste time proving it isn’t true.”
Cecilia fell silent.
Harper’s expression turned serious again.
“By the time he checks the location, starts asking questions, and figures out you were never there, we’ll already have what Jaime needs.”
Her eyes shifted briefly toward the room where Jaime still lay unconscious.
“And hopefully, by then, Jaime will be stable enough that none of this matters anymore.”
She looked at Maya, and a faint, almost mischievous smile tugged at her lips.
“By the time he figures out the truth, we’ll be gone.”
Once everyone agreed to the plan, Harper pulled out her phone and quickly got to work.
Chapter 339 A Little Misdirection
*25 Points
Her fingers moved rapidly across the screen as she connected to the tracking system embedded in the case, working quickly to intercept the signal before the seal was broken.
After a few moments, she looked up.
“Okay. Take it in.”
Lee and Max immediately carried the case into the adjoining room where Dr. Brown had instructed them to bring it. The lab technician was already waiting inside, along with one of
the nurses.
Harper followed closely behind.
“All right. Open it.”
Lee carefully broke the seal.
The moment the lock disengaged, Harper’s phone came alive with a stream of incoming
data.
“There you are,” she murmured.
Her attention remained fixed on the screen as she intercepted the outgoing report and replaced the case’s actual location with the one they had agreed upon.
Lisbon, Portugal.
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