Chapter 415: Chapter 415: The Lysander’s lineage is fabricated
"But he hasn’t found them," Damon said, following the logic. "Or they don’t exist."
"Or they do exist, but confirming them would expose inconsistencies," Silas added. "Which is why Aldric hasn’t presented them despite having weeks to do so."
Eve felt something crystallize in her understanding. "The challenge is designed to create doubt through technicality, not to actually win. If Lysander never completes full ratification, the challenge remains unresolved, which means my authority stays in question, which means old guard factions can use that uncertainty to undermine the reform from within."
"That’s my fear," Raphael said grimly. "They don’t need to win the legal challenge. They just need to create enough uncertainty to damage your credibility."
Eve moved to the window, looking out over the Seraphim Court’s gardens where supernatural factions mixed freely, where the politics of power and alliance were constantly shifting.
"Then we need to prove definitively that Lysander’s lineage is fabricated," she said. "We need to show not just that something’s missing, but that something has been deliberately falsified."
"Which brings us back to the evidence we need to find," Elena said quietly. "The documentation that proves Aldric constructed this lie. And we think it might be at Corvus’s estate."
Eve turned back to face the group. "Can you access it?"
Elena’s expression was conflicted. "Technically, yes. As Court staff, I have access to most administrative areas. But if I’m caught looking through private documentation...."
"You won’t be," Silas said. "Because you’re not going to look through private documentation. You’re going to look through Court records that have been illegally transferred to private storage. As Court staff responsible for record keeping, you’d have every right to inventory and identify material that shouldn’t be off-site."
Elena’s lips quirked slightly at the elegant misdirection. "That would work. Assuming the records are actually there to find."
"They will be," Silas said with quiet certainty. "If Aldric was constructing a false lineage, he’d need reference materials. Authentic documents to work from, to make the forgery convincing. Those materials would be expensive to acquire and too dangerous to keep anywhere obvious."
"Corvus’s estate would be considered secure," Raphael said, understanding the logic. "Private enough to keep the conspiracy hidden, but prestigious enough that the security wouldn’t raise suspicion if discovered."
"I’ll go tonight," Elena said. "After the Court staff shift change. It’ll be quieter, and I’m less likely to be noticed."
"You’ll take backup," Damon said immediately. "Not obvious backup, but someone positioned in case you need extraction."
"I can do that," Silas said. "I’ll stay outside the estate, monitor the approaches, make sure Elena can get out safely if things go wrong."
Eve wanted to argue, wanted to tell them this was too dangerous, that she couldn’t risk Elena or Silas on what might be a wild chase for evidence. But she understood the necessity. Without proof that the lineage was fabricated, she had nothing but legal arguments against the challenge...arguments that wouldn’t be enough to sway a Council already predisposed toward old guard sympathies.
"Be careful," she said to both of them. "Both of you."
"Always," Silas said, meeting her eyes with complete certainty.
***
The hours between Elena and Silas leaving and their return felt like the longest hours of Eve’s life.
She tried to work, tried to review the legal documents Raphael had prepared in case they needed to mount a counter-argument without evidence. But her mind kept wandering to Elena moving through Corvus’s estate, to Silas watching from the shadows, to the thousand things that could go wrong.
Damian noticed her distraction. He found her in the study, reviewing documents she’d read a dozen times already, and simply pulled her away.
"You can’t help them by worrying," he said gently.
"I know," Eve said. "But they’re taking a risk because of my situation. Because I couldn’t clear this up through official channels alone."
"They’re taking a risk because it’s the right thing to do," Damian corrected. "Elena understands the stakes. Silas understands the stakes. They’re choosing this."
"Still," Eve said. "If something happens..."
"Then we deal with it," Damian said firmly. "But catastrophizing won’t change the outcome. What will change the outcome is them having clear heads and the ability to focus on the task."
Damon appeared in the doorway. "They’re back. And Elena has something."
Elena and Silas entered the study looking windblown and adrenaline-heightened, carrying between them a leather satchel that was clearly full of documents.
"It was almost too easy," Elena said, settling onto a chair and pulling out the contents. "The records were there, exactly where we expected them to be. Stored in Corvus’s private archive, indexed but not heavily guarded. Which tells me he wasn’t expecting anyone to look."
"Or he was confident no one would connect him to the conspiracy," Silas said, settling beside Eve.
Elena spread the documents across the desk, and even at a glance, Eve could see the problems with them.
"These are Fae genealogical records," Elena said, pointing to the first stack. "Legitimate, from the Fae archives, dating back centuries. But look here..."
She pulled out a second stack, these clearly older and more fragile. "This is Lysander’s claimed lineage documentation. When you compare them side by side, the inconsistencies are obvious."
"What kind of inconsistencies?" Raphael asked, leaning closer.
"Dating discrepancies," Elena said. "Ink composition analysis shows these documents claiming to be from the 1600s are actually from the past thirty years. The paper is modern, treated to look old. The handwriting is carefully copied from authentic sources, but there are subtle differences in stroke patterns if you examine them closely."
"And there’s this," Silas said, pulling out a third document...a letter, sealed with wax that bore Corvus’s personal sigil. "Instructions. A detailed plan explaining how to present Lysander’s fabricated claim, when to file it, what legal arguments to use. Marcus Aldric’s handwriting, instructing Lysander step by step."
Eve felt relief wash through her, so intense it was almost dizzying.
"This is enough," she said. "This is enough to prove the conspiracy. To prove Lysander’s claim is fabricated."
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