Mag-log inElowen’s POVEvander didn’t bring a stack of papers when he came to see me.That was the first thing I noticed.He carried a single folder and left it closed on the table between us.“Am I being questioned again?” I asked.“No. I wanted to speak with you privately.”“About Blackstone?”“Yes.”I sat opposite him, keeping my hands in my lap.He glanced at the folder but didn’t open it.“I’ve found some additional information about the medical examination you mentioned.”“The one with the narrow window?”“Possibly. I can’t confirm it’s the same examination yet.”I nodded.“What did you find?”“A medical report was sent outside Blackstone through an administrative office that no longer exists. There was also an external inquiry about your condition during your imprisonment.”I looked at him.“Someone asked about me?”“Someone requested information. We haven’t identified who.”“Did they say why?”“No. The original report is missing.”I looked towards the window.For a moment, I remembered
Evander’s POVThe authorization had arrived three days after I submitted the petition to the King’s administration.It granted me access to the surviving records of the discontinued Special Administrative Liaison office, with one condition: I was to examine only materials relevant to the Blackstone correspondence inquiry.I had no intention of requesting anything beyond that.The archive’s senior custodian, a woman named Maera, met me at the entrance to the restricted repository.“Your approval covers the procedure manuals, reporting registers, and surviving authorization records,” she explained. “Some files remain sealed.”“Are the sealed files connected to the office’s former operations?”“Some are. Others were transferred under separate classifications.”“Can I request access if I find a reference to them?”“You may submit a separate application. Approval is not guaranteed.”I handed her the authorization.“Let’s begin with what I am permitted to see.”She checked the document befo
Caelan’s POVI almost cancelled the meeting twice.The first time was when I saw Seraphine coming down the staircase. The second was when Mother asked whether Elowen would be joining us.“She hasn’t been invited,” I said.Mother stopped halfway into the sitting room. “Why not?”“Because this meeting concerns the investigation. Evander hasn’t asked her to attend, and I don’t intend to make her sit through another discussion about what happened to her.”Mother looked at me for a moment before taking her seat.Seraphine entered a few seconds later, followed by Draven. Neither of them spoke until everyone had settled.I remained standing.“Evander has found more irregularities.”Draven folded his arms. “Which ones?”“Both the original case and Elowen’s prison records.”Seraphine glanced at me. “What kind of irregularities?”“The original evidence review is still missing. The supplementary witness statement was excluded from the main file, and the final record doesn’t contain the notation
Evander’s POVThe two records had been filed in different sections of the archive.That was the first thing I noticed.One was the dispatch entry confirming that Elowen’s medical report had been sent outside Blackstone. The other came from the prison correspondence register, a record of external inquiries made during her imprisonment.I placed them side by side.The entries carried different dates, but both contained the same administrative reference.I checked the numbers again, then called my assistant.“Bring me the original correspondence register, not the summary.”He glanced at the documents. “You found something?”“Possibly.”He leaned closer.“Look at these references. They lead to the same discontinued office.”“Does that mean the same person requested the medical report and the earlier information about her?”“No. It means both requests passed through the same administrative channel. We still don’t know who initiated them.”“Could it have been a routine prison matter?”“Then
Draven’s POVThe file was waiting on my desk when I returned.I had asked for every update connected to Elowen Veyra’s conviction, including the prison records Evander had obtained.I opened the latest one.“Anything useful?” my assistant asked from the doorway.“That depends on what you consider useful.”He stepped inside. “The Blackstone records?”“Among other things.”I turned to the medical dispatch entry. It confirmed that a report had been sent from the prison to an office outside its ordinary administrative chain. The recipient had not been Elowen’s family, her legal representative, or the authority responsible for reviewing her sentence.There was no explanation for the examination, no surviving authorization, and no clear reason an ordinary prison medical record had been routed through a separate office.“Do we know who requested it?” I asked.“No. The office was closed months later. The surviving paperwork doesn’t identify the person.”“And the report itself?”“Missing.”The
Elowen’s POVI couldn’t sleep. I had been lying in bed for nearly two hours, staring at the ceiling and listening to the Veyra estate settle around me. Somewhere down the corridor, a door closed. Pipes shifted behind the walls, followed by the faint sound of footsteps moving toward the stairs.Ordinary sounds.Safe sounds.I repeated that to myself whenever my thoughts wandered back to Blackstone.The room had been warm when I went to bed, and the blanket covered my legs. My door was locked from the inside. No one was going to drag me from my bed or demand that I explain myself to a guard who had already decided I was lying.I knew all of that.My body didn’t seem convinced.I turned onto my side and pulled the blanket closer.The conversation with Evander had brought back things I hadn’t intended to remember. The narrow window. The locked medical room. The warning not to ask questions about the paperwork.I hadn’t thought about that examination in months.Perhaps I had remembered it







