"There is one more thing," Aldous said, his voice carrying visible reluctance now as he reached into his worn coat, withdrawing a small bundle of documents he had clearly kept carefully protected throughout his weeks in hiding. "Something I have hesitated to reveal, understanding its weight extends far beyond simple palace conspiracy."
"Tell us," Elena pressed, her patience worn thin now after the devastating revelation about her mother's physician.
"The man Corwin served," Aldous said slowly, "the true authority behind your father's poisoning, ultimately traces back to a single source funding both his involvement and, considerably earlier than any of us previously understood, Garrick's entire political rise within this court."
Adrian, who had remained quiet throughout most of this conv
