The Queen's Biggest Mistake

33. Fire

A little impatience will spoil great plans.

-Chinese Proverb

Chapter 33

"This is your fault! Are you happy now?!" Jackson pointed his trembling finger at me. All the agents in the headquarters stood on guard, ready to defend me if need be. "The president warned you about this! That he would kill us if you didn't resign but you ignored it! And now, Meg was dead!"

As soon as I received Lian's message, I contacted my spy on that place and he located them within minutes. I made sure I would have a Safronov agent or spy placed on every town for emergency purposes, like this. The palace and the carnival were fifteen minutes away if you were driving over the speed limit. So when I got there, my spy already cut the cage using a specialized glass cutter.

Lian was kneeling beside Meg, hugging her dead body with all her might. Jackson was kneeling on the opposite side, his forehead resting on Meg's hair. The sound of their cries tore a piece of my heart. Actresses cried on TV prettily. Tears flowed on their flawless cheeks as they sobbed quietly.

Lian and Jackson did not cry like that.

They were crying as if their bodies were being split into half. They were mourning as if all the pain in the world was dropped in their shoulders and crying was the only way to deal with the pain. They were screaming so loud as if shouting their agony would make the heavens hear them and would bring their friend back to them. But it wouldn't.

It was done.

'Pulse?' I mouthed at my spy and he just shook his head. The people were asked to leave and my spy already dealt with the police.

A tear quietly escaped out of my eye as I watched Meg's motionless body but I quickly wiped it, making sure nobody saw.

Now, Meg's body was being handled by Cole Salvador in the morgue while my agents watched Jackson put all the blame on me inside the headquarters.

"The president warned us! He warned us about this but you didn't give a damn!" He cried so hard his veins showed on his neck and arms. His whole body was trembling in anger and agony.

"Now, young boy! You don't talk to the queen with that tone!" Agent Hilton angrily marched towards us. He was about to punch Agent Jackson's face but Agent Damien pulled him away.

My agents were taking sides now; I tried to diffuse the situation by holding on to my serenity.

"The president is manipulating us, Jackson." I tried to explain to him calmly but he was having none of it. "The enemy would kill us, no matter what we do. Do you really think they based their actions on ours?"

"What if they did? What if Meg would still be alive if you just quit hah?! Do you really love your position that much that you would be willing to gamble our lives than to lose your throne?!" He screamed; I almost expected the walls to shake helplessly under the intensity of his voice. I wanted to shake him, to shout at him that he was falling for the president's lies. But under that angry man was a grieving friend. Could I blame him for behaving this way?

"If I quit, not just Meg, but a hundred of Safronovs could be killed that day. Do you really think the president would not take advantage of the situation if you lose a leader?" I tried to speak softly but he was sobbing so hard I doubt if he ever heard me.

At the corner of the room, Lian was trying to conceal herself in the shadows. But her deafening cries betrayed her location. She never stopped crying on our way here in the palace and I knew she would cry herself to sleep tonight.