He Sent Me Away So I Took His Crown Chapter 15
There was no judge in the underground chamber, no jury.
Seated along both sides of a long table were Moretti’s five district leaders and two neutral family heads. Luca’s sidearm, the heir’s signet ring, and the keys to the inner hall command room had all been placed on the tabletop.
Vittorio’s adviser handled the parts Luca had already admitted to first.
Abuse of the heir’s power.
Imprisonment of a wife whose name was still on the protection register.
Forgery of her signature.
Ordering enforcers to restrict her movement and communication.
Using a false statement to destroy her reputation in front of allied families.
After each charge was read, the adviser asked, “Before these witnesses, do you admit it?”
Luca stood before the long table, his voice lower each time.
“I admit it.”
Vittorio did not appear in person.
His image was projected onto a screen behind the head seat, his face devoid of any warmth for his grandson.
Then the adviser read the final charge:
“Knowingly activating the fumigation system while Elena Mercer remained inside the old quarantine room, with the intent of preventing her from appearing for public explanation, resulting in severe poisoning.”
Luca’s head snapped up.
“That wasn’t me.”
“I admit I locked the door, and I approved the statement. But I did not start the fumigation.”
His own adviser pressed a hand to his arm.
One of the neutral family heads at the table ordered silence.
Vittorio’s adviser then submitted the equipment authorization records, control panel logs, and backup surveillance footage from the Bellandi auction office, one by one.
The fumigation password had originally been known to only three people.
The day before the banquet, Bianca had obtained the temporary code from the equipment supervisor under the pretext of a security inspection.
Backstage footage showed her entering the control room after the broadcast began.
The silver-bell bracelet was not the only evidence.
The panel had preserved the connection record from her phone.
Most damning of all, the equipment supervisor swore in front of representatives from all three families that before entering the code, Bianca had explicitly asked:
“The old quarantine room is already locked, right? Elena is still inside?”
After receiving confirmation, she had pressed the activation switch.
The last trace of color drained from Bianca’s face.
Luca turned to look at her, as if seeing her for the very first time.
“You knew she was in there?”