"He needed me to fail," I said. "Not die. Fail. The wedding night was not an assassination attempt, it was a demonstration. He needed to show the family that I couldn't hold the position, that the second son was not adequate, that the house wasn't safe under my leadership." I paused. "And then he would stand up."
Dane was quiet for a moment. "Literally," he said.
"Literally," I said. "The heir recovers. Against all expectation. Against all medical assessment, which means the medical assessments were managed, which means his doctor is compromised or replaced or never had accurate information to begin with." I picked up the wine again. "He walks back in. The prodigal son. The real heir, returned, having overcome the thing that took him down. The family receives him. My father receives him.
