He paced his living quarters from one end of the expansive living room, through the archway into the dining room, and back again. If the possibility of an internal breach didn’t exist, he could have called his younger girls at the hideaway to check on them before following up with King Eduard to verify Cassandra had arrived at her final destination. The chance of being overheard or, worse, his calls being traced, tied his hands.

A knock sounded at his door. Alejandro paused beside his favored chair and called out, “Come.”

Darius entered.

“Any news?” Alejandro asked.

“Everyone has safely arrived at their destinations,” Darius said.

Relief poured through him. “They’re all okay?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. They are all fine.”

“Any other updates?”

“I’m afraid so.”

“That doesn’t sound promising.” Alejandro sat and motioned for Darius to do the same. “What do you know?”

“I mentioned a guard was killed by the east entrance.”

“Yes. What about it?”

“It appears the shooting in the main hall may have, at least in part, been a diversion.”

“A diversion for what?”

“A robbery. Sire, I’m sorry, but the vault was broken into.”

“What is missing?”

“We are only beginning the inventory; however, the founding jewels are gone,” Darius said. “I’m so sorry, Your Majesty. The guards in that section of the palace abandoned their posts to respond to the shooting.”

Alejandro digested the implications. The jewels were one of the protections in place to ensure his family’s safety. Apparently, the precautions he had taken only last month had been more warranted than he had realized. “They were doing their duty. Their first priority was to protect me and my family.”

“Yes, but one of them should have remained.”

“Perhaps one did,” Alejandro said. “You mentioned one was killed not far from there.”

“Yes, but he wasn’t assigned to vault duty,” Darius said. “With your permission, I would like to reach out to Interpol. Recovering such a treasure is something they can help us with.”

“You may enlist their help, but there is one thing you should know.”

“What’s that?” Darius asked.

“The thieves didn’t get all of that particular treasure.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Trust me on this.”

Another knock sounded.

Alejandro nodded his permission for Darius to answer the door. A moment later, he returned with Dr. Marois and another man Alejandro had never seen before.

“If you will excuse me, Your Majesty, I should return to my duties,” Darius said.

“Of course. Please inform me as soon as you have any further developments.”

“Yes, sire.”

Alejandro turned his attention to the other two men. After being up all night with worry, the last thing he wanted was to deal with more people, especially his medical staff. “Dr. Marois. I don’t recall having an appointment scheduled with you this morning.”

“Your assistant indicated you would have a few minutes to meet with us, and I didn’t want to miss this opportunity.” Dr. Marois lifted a hand toward his companion. “Dr. Lewis was in Paris at a convention and agreed to consult with me on your case.”