Max hung up the phone and then drained what remained in his glass. “It seems our delivery driver had a fender bender that morning, and it took some time to get it sorted. I suspect that’s when someone switched the boxes.”

“Were there any others?” Bennett said, sitting forward in her chair. “Did you check with—”

“Everyone else’s delivery was without issue. Yours was the only one tampered with.”

“Which means it was Napoleon, and most likely Simeon, too.”

“Simeon? That’s quite a stretch.”

“No, it’s not. How else do you explain why Simeon suddenly announced he was coming for a visit, a visit scheduled precisely when he knew you and yours would be in Tromso? You do it every year, Max. Everyone knows you do.”

“Look, I won’t argue that Simeon and Napoleon are thick as thieves, but if you’re suggesting Simeon is the mastermind behind—”

“I’m not. He’s just a pawn. Ever since I beat Simeon at the ludicrous chess game, everyone knows how the man feels about me, especially Napoleon. What I’m saying is Napoleon used that to his advantage, blew it out of proportion, and turned a sore loser into someone who wants nothing more than to see me gone.”

“And you believe together they planned this?”

“I don’t know. What I do know is that everyone takes whatever Napoleon spouts with a massive amount of salt, except for Simeon? If he were here to report it all back to the council, report that I’d gone on a rampage, would they then take it seriously? And, if he told Napoleon you and I are related—”

“Bennett, you know whatever is discussed amongst the council stays amongst the council until they have made a formal announcement. Even for Simeon, to breach that etiquette would be an inconceivable stretch.”

“It makes sense, though, doesn’t it?” Bennett said, crossing her legs. “They’ve both loathed me for centuries because I’m a daywalker. You can’t dispute that.”

“No, I can’t.”

“But it’s not the daywalking Napoleon tries to cram down the council’s throat every chance he gets. It’s the fact I have a seat on the bloody council. He’s spent centuries caterwauling that I have no right to that chair. Simeon has spent centuries trying to sway the council so his BFF can get a seat in hopes they can finally shift the power, finally swing the votes enough so they can take over the bloody world, and now my DNA makes all that moot. Max, the wind hasn’t just been taken out of Napoleon’s and Simeon’s sails. Their bloody masts have fallen into the water. The only way they could get me off the council now would be if I did something so heinous it could never be forgiven…and I almost did.”