It's true, I was the one who took Ella's hand on that dance floor. Just one little night. Velvet music. Moonlight dripping silver from the ceiling. Just the two of us. Me and Ella. No lies. No drama. Just perfect chemistry. That's how it was supposed to be.
I chose her from the very beginning.
Yeah. I betrayed Anastasia. I chose to believe Ella instead. And then….
"Why?" you ask?
Why did I trust Ella more?
Because I wanted to do what felt right. I just wanted to follow my damn heart, Inspector. And my heart said she was telling the truth. You look into a girl's eyes like that, hear her soft voice cracking while she talks about her stepmother and stepsisters treating her like trash at home… what do you expect? Anyone with a pulse would feel something.
Sympathy isn't a crime.
And yeah, stupidity isn't either.
If I had known she was lying about her family from the start, maybe… ah, shit!
Sorry. Didn't mean to slam the table like that. I'm still trying to process everything. Ella's freakin' fairy tale turned out to be straight-up fiction. Framing her own family like that? I can't wrap my head around it. What was she thinking?
I should've trusted Anastasia.
The girl who loved me. The girl I once loved back. I should've listened. Why am I such an idiot? I betrayed her. I trashed her feelings like they were nothing.
"There's no point regretting it," you say?
Yeah. Easy to say. Everything already happened. Ella's gone.
You sound like my dad, Inspector. If he were here, he'd probably say the same thing. Don't blame yourself. He'd look at me with those steady eyes of his, voice calm like a judge delivering mercy.
And yeah, I know. Ella's death isn't entirely on me. I didn't lay a hand on her. I didn't push her. Didn't touch her. But that doesn't mean I'm innocent, right? She was my prom date. My responsibility. Wherever she went that night, whatever she did, I should've been there.
No. Her death can't be my fault. It can't. Even if I was angry. Even if I cursed her in my head that night....
She was murdered, wasn't she, Inspector?
Not because of some curse?
Ha. Haha. Don't look at me like that.
There's no way I killed Ella. No way. My dad didn't raise me like that.
You ever heard of Crown, Inspector?
Old TV show. Superhero stuff. I used to watch it every Sunday morning with my dad. We'd sit on the couch with chips and cola like it was sacred ritual. That show was our thing.
Crown was about this weak, nerdy teenage kid. No friends. Zero aura. But he had one secret.
He was the reincarnation of a king.
The power of a king. Whatever he commanded, happened. That was his ability. He could defeat any villain with one condition. He had to shout the order. And the villain had to hear it.
"Surrender!"
"Turn yourself in!"
And boom. Game over.
Every time Crown switched from that whiny kid voice into that commanding, king-like tone, I'd get chills. His eyes would change. His presence would change. Like authority itself stepped into the room.
I wanted to be like that. A hero. Take down the bad guys. Save people. That was my dream when I was a kid.
I remember asking my dad something once.
"Why does Crown always send villains to prison?"
Dad frowned. "What's wrong with that?"
"If they just go to prison, they can escape. Like Rex. Like Mad Hunter. They'll just commit crimes again."
"So?"
"They should just die," I said. "Crown could just order them to shoot themselves. Or blow themselves up. He's a king, right? No more villains. No more crime."
You know what my dad said?
He smiled, showing his yellow teeth from too much coffee and cigarettes. His big hand ruffled my hair.
"Crown doesn't have that kind of power," he told me. "Even a king doesn't have the right to decide who lives or dies."
I remember how stunned I was by his answer back then. I just sat there, mouth slightly open, taking in every single word like it was gospel.
I believed him. Every single word.
Of course, I found out later he was lying.
King's power has no limit, Inspector. I know that better than anyone.
Why?
Because I have the same power as Crown.
All I have to do is shout. And I can make anything happen. I can get whatever I want.
Even someone's life.
Believe it or not, the power of a king lives inside me.
***