NOT WORTHY TO BE KING: FEARLESS WARRIOR

28. WHOSE CHILD IS HE?

Logan knew that Axel wouldn't have come to them if he wasn't sure about what he just said and even though Axel respected him, he didn't call him His Majesty or Clayton Prince Clayton for no reason. He only did that when he was in serious mode or when he wanted to piss him off but Logan knew the latter was not true.

"I know my mom can be mean sometimes but she's not a killer. There must be some misunderstanding somewhere." Logan looked at his sister as she cried, looking at everyone as if willing them to agree with her, to tell her they were playing a bad joke on her.

She looked at Axel. "How can you be so sure of what you just said? You don't know my mother and you can't judge her because of what you've seen of her in these three seconds you've spent in Mercy."

When Axel made a move to touch her hand, Malia backed away. "Don't touch me! Who do you think you are to touch me?"

Axel didn't look offended, he just raised both his hands in surrender. "I know you love your mother, Princess and I would love to say something good about her but I just can't. She knows something about Prince Clayton's mother's death."

"But that doesn't mean that she killed her," Clayton said as he came to his sister. She didn't say anything when he pulled her into a hug. "No one is saying that she killed my mother, just that she knows something."

"I don't want to believe that she could do something like that." She cried in Clayton's chest.

"I know and no one is going to force you to. Like you said, she can be mean but I don't believe she could do something that may end up harming you and Kaden. You are her kids and remember, even a she-wolf will not eat her cubs. It's natural for a mother to have a strong protective instinct towards her children, no matter what mistakes she may have made in the past. Let's focus on finding out what your mother knows, and use that information to uncover the truth about my mother's death."

When she stopped crying, Logan suggested that they all go to the palace to question the queen once again as she didn't reveal much the last time and they didn't have the new information they now have when they questioned her.

As they approached the palace, they could hear the sound of a heated argument coming from within. They quickened their pace and soon found themselves standing in front of the grand entrance to the king's throne room. The king and the queen were both arguing about something and Kaden was just standing.

Logan cleared his throat, announcing their presence. The king and the queen stopped talking and looked at them and Kaden did the same.

The queen's face was twisted in anger, her fists clenched at her sides. "Surely you are not here to question me about my cousin again. I told you that he is dead. Dead." she spat. "And besides, you can't question me, I am the queen, and my word is law!"

Logan stepped forward, his eyes locked on the queen's. "Your word may be law, Your Majesty, but it is not infallible. We have reason to believe that there is more to this story than you have let on."

The queen's eyes narrowed as she looked at Logan. "And what reason is that?" she asked, her voice laced with contempt.

Axel stepped forward, his expression grim. "We have reason to believe that you know something about the death of Prince Clayton's mother," he said, his tone firm.

The queen's face went pale, her eyes darting around the room as if she was searching for an escape. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Clayton stepped forward, his fists clenched at his sides. "Don't lie to us, Mother. We know that you asked your cousin to find you a baby, and we know that you know something about my mother's death."

The king stepped forward, his voice commanding. "Enough!" he said, his voice echoing through the throne room. He went to his wife, "If there is something that you know about Prince Clayton's mother's death, you must come forward and tell us the truth. I also want the truth about my daughter!"

The queen looked at the king, her face contorted with anger. "I don't know anything about her death!" she spat. "And even if I did, I would not tell you!"

"You must know that if you refuse to tell us the truth, we will find it ourselves and when we do, we won't hesitate to tell everyone in this kingdom and beyond about it," Logan said to her.

"Mother, please don't make a mistake again." Malia pleaded with her mother.

Axel took a step forward, his voice calm but firm. "Your Majesty, we understand that this is a difficult subject for you, but we must get to the truth. The death of Prince Clayton's mother has left a scar on our kingdom, and it is our duty to uncover the truth, no matter how painful it may be."

The queen took a deep breath, her eyes closing for a moment before she began to speak. "I was there the night that Prince Clayton's mother died," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"What?" "Mother?!" "Oh, my God!" Clayton, Kaden and Malia said at the same time. Malia almost fell to the ground but Axel was there to catch her on time and this time around, Malia didn't push him away.

"Please tell me you didn't kill her." Malia pleaded with her mother.

"I'm sorry." She said as she looked at her. "I didn't mean for all that to happen but I desperately needed a baby boy and I had given birth to a girl. I couldn't come back to the palace with her and that meant I had to make a plan.

"I found a loving family for her and they were willing to take her in as their own. They are blind but I'd been to that village for years and I knew they were good people and they were willing to help me raise her.

"I wanted a baby boy and I heard there was a lady who was pregnant with a baby boy around the village who seemed to have been running from someone and I asked Edmund to help me.

"I didn't plan for her to die but Edmund had terrified her and she was already injured when she went into labour. I think whoever was looking for her had managed to harm her even though she escaped. "I never meant to harm her, I just wanted her baby."

They all watched the queen, waiting for her to continue. She took another deep breath before speaking again. "I didn't kill her, if that's what you're thinking," she said, her voice shaking with emotion. "But I was there, and I saw what happened."

"Then why didn't you tell us before?" Clayton demanded, his eyes flashing with anger.

The queen looked down at the ground, her hands clenched at her sides. "I was scared," she said softly. "Scared of what would happen to me if I told the truth. Scared of what would happen to my children. But I know now that I can't keep this secret any longer."

They looked at everyone. "I understand if you don't believe me," she said softly. "But please, know that I am telling the truth. And please, don't let Kaden and Malia suffer for my mistakes."

"I will admit that I wanted to make you pay but I also know you're telling the truth. I may not understand how you got the nerves to abduct someone's baby but I'm not ungrateful.

"You said my mother was already injured when she went into labor and that means she was going to die and leave me all alone wherever she was.

"You raised me, even though you didn't do much of it but you still did and I thank you for that." He looked at Logan as if to ask him if he was doing the right thing and Logan nodded and Clayton smiled in return.

"There's something that I do not understand." The king spoke. "If Gail gave birth to a boy and he died, there is no way you could have had another baby boy as your own unless..."

Logan wanted to be out of the palace at that moment. He had figured out what the king just figured a long time ago and his suspicions were confirmed when the queen paled.

"Everyone in this kingdom knows that when the eldest son of the king dies, no other prince will ever be born by the king and queen." He looked at the queen and then at Kaden and back to the queen.

"You gave birth to Kaden and that can only mean one thing." He didn't need to say it out loud as everyone came to the realization. The queen wasn't the only one who paled. Kaden looked like he's been drained of blood.

"Whose child is he?!" The king yelled at the queen.

The queen looked at the king, her eyes filled with tears. "Kaden's father was a guard in this palace," she said quietly. "He was a man I fell in love with, but I didn't know the truth about him.

"You were ignoring me because of Gail and I found comfort in him. He was attentive, knew what I wanted and before I knew it, I was in love.

"When you eventually came back to me, it was already too late, I couldn't stop myself from going to him. It went on for a year and I tried to break up with him because you had promised me that you would never go back to Gail but I couldn't stop myself from wanting him and I eventually got pregnant with his child.

"I told him about it but he didn't believe me as he thought it was your baby and I thought it wouldn't hurt to make you believe that it really was and you didn't have a problem with that.

"The truth about him sexually assaulting servants suddenly came out and you chased him out of the palace and he was arrested." There was stunned silence in the room as everyone processed this information. Kaden's father was not only not a prince, but he was also a criminal.

Kaden looked up at the queen, his eyes filled with confusion and hurt. "Why didn't you tell me?" he asked softly.

"I didn't want to hurt you," the queen said, reaching out to touch his hand.

Kaden pulled his hand away, his eyes darkening with anger. "How could you keep this from me?" he demanded. "You've been lying to me my whole life!"

"A guard?!" the king exclaimed in disbelief. Logan had even forgotten that he hadn't said anything. "How could you do this to me? To our family? How could you bring a bastard into our home and raise him as your own son?"

The queen looked up at the king, her eyes filled with sorrow. "Like I said, I didn't know... I didn't know the truth about him until after the girls started telling the truth about what he was doing to them. I fell in love with him without realizing who he truly was. When I found out, I was scared and didn't know what to do. I couldn't bear to give him up or tell you or anyone the truth. I thought it would destroy everything."

The king shook his head in disbelief. "You have destroyed everything, Liliana. You have betrayed me, our family, and our kingdom. How can I trust you again?"

"I know I have made a terrible mistake, my king," the queen said, her voice choked with tears. "But please, don't punish Kaden for my sins. He is innocent in all of this."

The king looked at Kaden, who was standing there, looking as pale as ever. Logan knew it must have hurt him to be called a bastard as he had spent his whole life calling Logan that. "What am I supposed to do with him?" the king asked, his voice heavy with anger and disappointment.

"Please, let me take care of him," the queen pleaded. "I will leave the kingdom and take him with me. We will go far away and start a new life where no one knows who we are. I will take care of him."

The king considered the queen's words for a moment before nodding. "Very well," he said. "You may take Kaden and leave the kingdom. But know this, if you ever set foot in this land again, you will be punished for your crimes. And Kaden will never be welcome back here as long as he lives."