Charlotte & Nate (Royals of Valleria #4)

by Marianne Knightly

  As their mother had spoken, the delectable cake Charlotte had made was brought out and set in front of Genevieve. Nate wondered why anticipation for cake had his heart beating faster. He didn’t doubt Charlotte’s abilities in the kitchen, but suddenly he had a desperate need for his family to approve of it.

  While Nate admired the delicate work of the Vallerian coat of arms made in fondant, his mother began slicing into it. Nate was literally on the edge of his seat, waiting as his mother cut one piece after another and passed them around the room. Nate received his last.

  While the rest of his family chatted and dug into the cake, Nate’s mind once again flashed back to the kitchen, to the moment a cake had met his face. That cake had been layered with a dark pink or reddish filling, but this one was a deep dark blue, almost purple, and he recalled her deft work with blueberries earlier.

  His fork easily pierced the cake and he lifted it to his mouth. He closed his eyes as he took the first bite, and moaned softly. A hint of cream cheese fluttered through the cake, and the filling tasted like fresh, juicy blueberries covered in decadent, airy whipped cream.

  When Nate opened his eyes to further dig into his scrumptious slice, he found the eyes of his family on him. Had he moaned a little too loudly? Forcing his cheeks not to blush, he instead quirked an eyebrow. “What?”

  “It sounds like you really like that cake. Should we leave the two of you alone?” Lorenzo wagged his eyebrows again.

  This time, Nate elbowed his brother in the ribs, and Lorenzo made mock sounds of pain. “It’s a delicious dessert. It’s too bad you can’t appreciate all forms of art, brother dear.”

  “You call this art?” Lorenzo said in a mocking tone.

  “Beautiful art isn’t just what our dear sister paints on a canvas. It’s what can be made in a kitchen – like this cake – or in the cut of woman’s beautiful gown. Even the palace gardens are considered a work of art to some.”

  “That was almost poetic, Nate,” Carolina said softly; Nate shrugged off the compliment.

  Lorenzo huffed a laugh. “Nate, a poet? Please. Although, if that’s what you really want, you can ditch working in finance. Why not grow your hair even longer and become a poet?”

  Nate simply quirked an eyebrow. The length of his hair was often a point of contention with his mother, though he never thought any of his siblings cared that much about it. Only he really knew why he kept it long, and it was for their sake, not his. “Art takes many forms, Lorenzo. It’s a pity you’re too dense to recognize them. Did you like the cake?” Nate asked, trying to get the conversation back on track again.

  Lorenzo grumbled. “It was good.”

  “Good?” Carolina scoffed. “Good is too poor a word for this. It was fabulous.”

  When both his parents agreed with Carolina, Nate felt relief sweep through him. It was almost the first step in a long journey he wasn’t sure if he would take.

  “Yes, our palace staff is excellent,” Genevieve said, pride clear in her voice. “And our kitchen staff prepares excellent food. More than one visiting dignitary has tried to steal Coco from us. Unsuccessfully, of course.”

  Genevieve turned to Nate, a glint in her eye. Nate did not like the look of that glint at all. He took another bite of cake to fortify himself for what came next.

  “I heard that there was an incident in the kitchens earlier involving you,” Genevieve said.

  All eyes turned to Nate, who slowly swallowed the now thick, and far too large bite of cake in his mouth. “I went to the kitchens for a snack and someone spilled something on me. No big deal.”

  Lorenzo looked aghast. “You let someone spill something on you? But you’re a prince.”

  “I don’t think I had a choice as to whether something spilled on me, prince or no,” Nate said dryly. “The suit’s redeemable, so I don’t see what the big deal is.”

  “What spilled? And who was it?” Genevieve asked, a woman hot on the trail of a good story.

  Nate would never betray Charlotte, nor anyone else for something that was clearly an accident. “If you’re so interested in what happened, why not just interrogate the kitchen staff?”

  Genevieve pursed her lips, something she rarely did in private and never in public. “I tried speaking to Coco about it, but she wouldn’t give me any details. I am the mistress of this palace, am I not? Things like this fall under my purview.”

  Gabriel took Genevieve’s hand. “My dear, of course you still manage the palace and you do it extremely well. However, if Coco said that she has taken care of it, I’m sure she has. If she felt this incident was not an accident, she would be the first to tell us.”

  Genevieve sighed, her anger leaving her. “Yes, you’re right. Coco is very loyal to us. Are you sure you’re fine, Nathaniel?”

  His parents preferred to call them all by their full names, why they never knew. “Perfectly fine. I told you, only a suit was harmed.”

  “Then we’ll lay the matter to rest,” Gabriel said definitively. Though Genevieve gave him a narrow-eyed look, he remained firm. Nate wondered if his father would pay for that comment later.

  Gabriel cleared his throat as he slid his hand away from his wife’s. “Right. Nathaniel? I believe you needed to discuss something with me? Let’s head to my study.” Gabriel stood and gestured for Nate to follow.

  “Don’t be too long,” Genevieve said with a sickeningly-sweet smile to her husband.

  “Of course not, my dear.” He cleared his throat again before he walked out.

  All three siblings held back a bubble of laughter. After their mother stormed out, muttering under her breath about her ‘idiot husband’, everyone burst out laughing. Their parents rarely fought, but it was usually amusing when they did.

  “Why didn’t you want to tell Mama what happened?” Lorenzo asked, wiping a tear away from his face.

  “Who cares about that?” Nate said, deflecting the question. “I’m stopping by your apartment later; I need to talk to you about something.”

  Lorenzo quirked a questioning eyebrow but nodded. “All right. I’ll be there.”

  Nate nodded and walked out, giving his sister a wave good night as he did so.

  Nate walked the short distance to his father’s study. His official royal offices were located on the other side of the palace, along with offices for all his siblings. A king, however – and even a prince, he thought ruefully – did not always get the evenings off from work, and so required an office at home, too. No, ruling a country was often a full-time, around-the-clock job.

  This was exceptionally clear when he entered his father’s study to find a brooding Alex standing beside their seated father. As the heir to the throne, Nate would need his help, though he was sorry Alex was being pulled away from Rebecca.

  Nate shut the door and took a seat in front of his father’s desk. “I apologize for the need to bring you in on this tonight, Alex. It’s a serious situation, but I could have briefed you in the morning.”

  Alex waved the apology away. “It’s all right. Rebecca understands, and she’ll still be there when we’re done here. What’s going on?”

  Nate had gone over the words in his head multiple times, but none of that seemed to matter in the moment he needed to reveal them. Diplomacy and subtle hints dissipated in favor of cold, brutal reality. “Valleria’s in debt. Deeply in debt. And I think the previous Minister of Finance and Treasury was behind it.”

  Whatever the pair had thought Nate might say, it certainly hadn’t been that given the shock on their faces. Gabriel recovered first. “Are you sure, my son? And how much debt are we talking about? Some debt is anticipated with a nation the size of ours.”

  Nate nodded. “You’re right, Papa. Some debt is understandable, given the way the markets work and given how much of our exports are perishable goods such as food, wine, and olive oil. A year of drought can cause significant debt and lost revenues. However, I’m not talking about millions, I’m talking about billions. That can’t be explained f
rom lower than expected exports.”

  Alex looked agog. “Billions? What the fuck? How long has this been going on?”

  “That’s why I think the former Minister was involved; there’s no way someone could have siphoned that much money off of our accounts in the few months since I’ve been here. My guess is that it may have been going on for years.”

  A heavy silence fell upon the room while the ramifications of Nate’s statement settled within them. If it had been going on for years, then it had happened right under their very noses.

  “All right. All right.” Gabriel straightened in his chair. “Tell us what you know, and start from the beginning. Alexander, please make us all a drink. I think we’ll need one.”

  As Alex beginning filling glasses with scotch, Nate began. “As you know, you asked me to take over this position when the last minister, Calvin, passed away unexpectedly.”

  Alex handed Nate a glass of straight scotch. “You didn’t want the job at the time.”

  “I still don’t,” Nate said, taking the glass and a long drink. “I appreciate the job, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t know that it’s for me long-term. Anyway, I won’t leave until this is resolved in some way.”

  Alex handed Gabriel a glass of scotch on the rocks. “We very much appreciate that, my son. Now, get to the point.”

  Nate nodded. “I began to realize something didn’t add up within a week or two. Our investments, both foreign and domestic, seemed to be doing fairly well for us. Some fluctuation is expected with the markets – just look at how China’s has fluctuated in the last few months – but nothing unusual. It was then that I decided to look into the government budgets.”

  Nate downed the rest of his drink in several long, burning gulps. He let the scratching, scorching heat tear down his throat and settle in his turbulent stomach before he continued, his voice just a little hoarse. “It wasn’t just one agency or office that was off, it was several. I didn’t know what to think.”

  Alex narrowed his eyes as he sat down in a chair next to Nate’s. “Is that when you arranged all those meetings with the various agency heads, to introduce yourself to them in your new role?” Nate nodded. “Well, why the hell didn’t you tell me what was going on or what you suspected? I could have helped you.”

  Nate shook his head. “You know as well as anyone what people said when I took over this position. No one believes I can do it. Once they find out about this, I’m sure to get the blame. I wanted to keep you and Papa out of it as much as possible, at least until I had proof.”

  “You’ve got that proof now, do you?” Gabriel asked.

  Nate sighed and sat back in his chair. “Yes. Yes, I do.”

  Alex finished his drink and set it aside. “Are there multiple agency heads complicit in this?”

  “That’s what I don’t know. My research discovered that money was – is, I should say – being siphoned off at the project level. Usually, someone in my position would never look there, but when the higher level budgets weren’t adding up, I dug deeper.”

  Gabriel steepled his hands in front of him. “Which projects?”

  “They’re all construction projects; it’s the one thing they all have in common. However, the projects themselves are in different agencies. One involves our Agriculture and Natural Resources Agency, another our Education Agency. I even found one in a defense agency.”

  They all exchanged a glance; Nate’s brother, Marcello, was the Minister of Security and Defense; all defense projects fell under his purview.

  Alex shook his head. “I refuse to believe that Marcello had anything to do with this.”

  “So, do I,” Nate agreed. “I told you that I wasn’t sure the agency heads were involved, and I know that’s true of Marcello. He would never betray his country or this family for money.”

  “Well said, my son. However, that still doesn’t tell us who is behind all this. If Calvin was involved, he’s not now. That means someone else is running this show.”

  “Yes, Papa, that’s what I thought, too.”

  Alex rubbed a hand across his forehead. “I still don’t understand how the funds are being siphoned off. If it’s at the project level, it would have to be by small portions of money here or there.”

  “I’m still doing some digging, but I believe it has to do with the workers on these projects.”

  Gabriel leaned forward. “How do you mean?”

  “When people immigrate into this country, they’re given an identification number. They use that number when applying for work, getting healthcare, everything, until their citizenship comes through.” Nate sighed. “When I dug deep into one project, I discovered the ID numbers for workers paid on the project did not exist.”

  Alex’s brows furrowed. “Are we dealing with illegal immigrants?”

  “No.”

  “You seem quite sure of yourself, Nathaniel.”

  “That’s because when I dug even deeper, I found out that the payments for all of these ‘workers’ went to bank accounts in other countries, some of them even went to the same bank account.”

  “Meaning one person’s behind this?” Alex asked.

  “I don’t know yet. When I traveled to that international finance and banking conference a couple of months ago, I used the opportunity to touch base with some of my contacts, who were able to help me. All of those accounts link back to one of three companies, which I believe are shell companies setup to divert the money somewhere else.”

  Gabriel’s eyes narrowed and his hands fisted. “So, essentially we've been paying dummy corporations for these projects and workers that don't exist.”

  Nate nodded. “Basically, yes. In the few projects I’ve analyzed to this extent, either the projects were made up, or they actually existed but some of the workers paid didn’t. It’s a mix.”

  Alex nodded grimly. “It’s a good way to cover their tracks. I think it may be time to bring Marcello in on this.”

  “I agree. It took me months to get this far on just three projects. If we want to delve deeper, I’ll need some help.”

  Gabriel idly ran a finger across his salt and pepper mustache. “And you’ve still no idea who may be behind those countries? One of our enemies? If this has been going on for years, it could be anyone.”

  “No, Papa, nothing yet. I’m hoping Marcello may be able to help with that as well.”

  “What about the project managers or others in the agencies?” Alex asked.

  Nate shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine. We’ll need to dig into their finances to see if they’ve gotten any kickbacks. I have no doubt the Vallerian Bureau of Investigation or the Vallerian Intelligence Agency could discover that.”

  Alex leaned back in his chair and stared up at the ceiling. “Well, this is a fucking mess.”

  “To say the least.” Fixing an intense glare on his face, Gabriel stared at Nate. “While we’re doing the investigations, we’ll still need to do something to ease the debt we’re now under. It doesn’t escape me that you’re supposed to reveal next year’s budget to the Royal Council in just a few days.”

  “I know, Papa. That’s also partially what I wanted to talk to you about. I’ve thought and thought about this, but I see no way out of it. We’re talking major budget reductions across the board. The raises we’d approved for government workers at the start of next year will have to be cut, and we’ll have to let people go. That’s just the start of it.”

  Alex growled and ran frustrated hands through his inky black hair before getting up and pacing around the room. “I don’t understand how this happened. Were we lax in our oversight? How the hell did someone steal billions from us without us knowing?”

  Alex was practically yelling at this point; Nate half-expected one of the family to come bursting into the room to see what was wrong. “We’ll need to let the family know, Papa. This sort of thing won’t remain hidden for much longer, I’m sure of it. They deserve to know what’s coming.”

  “What about our
personal finances?” Alex spat out. “We need to review everyone’s to ensure they’re not spending above their means. This is exactly the sort of the thing that could be used against us.”

  “Then I’ll ask Marcello to research that first,” Gabriel said, nodding. “You do realize that details related to the cost of your wedding will be discussed when this comes out?”

  Alex’s hands fisted at his sides, then uncurled. “We’ll deal with that when the time comes. The wedding is being paid for from my personal finances, and yours and Mama’s. They can’t fault us for using state funds for it.”

  “But what about the security costs?” Nate chimed in, ignoring Alex’s narrowed eyes. “With all of the other heads of state planning to attend, not to mention the security along the procession route, well, that will use state funds.”