Hadn’t Rupert captured Brenda? Ashley had insisted she was beyond saving, locked away in a fortress no one could reach.

Could Rupert and his men have failed? Blake pushed the thought aside. If Brenda had been freed, Ashley would have known. She would have sounded the alarm.

“I can prove it,” Katharine said, her posture as rigid as a royal decree. “As a member of the royal family, I vouch for her without hesitation. She is Brenda McGee. I’ve known her since childhood. There is no doubt.”

“She’s the real Brenda McGee, plain and simple. This farce has gone on long enough,” Bianca added, and her eyes fixed on Blake...