CHAPTER 49: ALDRIANA?

"Do you know who cleared the dungeon?"

Theo doesn’t want to lie. He’s always been terrible at lying, but he also can’t tell the truth. He doesn’t know how to answer Arthur’s question.

Luckily for him, before he can spew out another lie, Arthur’s phone suddenly vibrates. He takes one look, and his face changes.

Theo notices immediately. "Something’s wrong?"

Arthur whips out his tablet from his space bracelet and begins tapping. "I don’t know. Sam just informed me there’s breaking news I should watch."

He lifts the tablet so Theo can see it too.

On the screen appears a face that Theo instantly recognizes. Meg! She survived!

The woman, Meg, is standing behind a long desk. Several other people are standing on either side of her.

Meg looks excited, nervous, and exhausted. There are small cuts on her face, and one of her hands is in a cast, resting in a sling in front of her chest.

One of the people beside her raises his hand. Arthur recognizes him as the Chief of the Arvion DEU, Harrison Stille.

The reporters standing in front of the long table — at a slightly lower level — begin to shush each other and settle down.

It is clearly a live press conference.

"Ladies and gentlemen, friends of the media, let us start this press conference," Chief Stille begins. "Our agenda today is to hear what Ms. Megan Lambert has to say. As you can see, she is still recovering, so she will not be taking questions."

He continues, "Before we give Ms. Lambert the floor, I’d like to clear up a few things. Ms. Megan Lambert is one of the survivors of the Arvion Beach sidewalk gate incident. She has kindly agreed to come forward and share additional information about the event."

"The past few days, there have been more theories and gossip than facts. One of the biggest questions remains: Who cleared that dungeon?"

"Ms. Lambert may be able to shed some light on that matter. Without further ado — Ms. Lambert."

Chief Stille sits down and leans toward Meg, whispering, "You can stay seated. No need to stand."

Meg nods slightly. She clears her throat a few times. "Hi," she says in a low, hoarse voice. The atmosphere immediately quiets. Everyone wants to hear her.

"Hi," she repeats. "Please excuse my voice. My vocal cords were damaged when a Haelion vine almost crushed my throat."

"I understand people are wondering who cleared the dungeon. I want to clear the air by saying I’m not sure. However, I decided to speak up because of the press conference Liam Monfort held a few days ago."

"His description of the woman who cleared the dungeon reminds me of the person who saved me and another man that day. I didn’t see her clear the dungeon, but I did see her fight the kraken-like Haelion that almost killed me."

Meg pauses to breathe, and the crowd murmurs among themselves.

She continues, "That woman saved my life. I am very grateful to her. I don’t know why she hasn’t come forward. I don’t even know if she survived. But I’m sure she did. So I’d like to use this opportunity to say..."

Meg looks straight at one of the cameras.

"Thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you."

She starts to sob.

Chief Stille takes over, gesturing for the people beside her, apparently her doctors and caretakers, to escort her away.

The reporters immediately start shouting questions, but one of her escorts wraps her in a thick coat and leads her out.

Chief Stille raises his hand to regain their attention. "Ms. Lambert will not be answering any questions," he says. "But I will."

"I have here with me a more detailed description of the mysterious woman."

On the large TV screen provided for the conference, an image appears – Aldriana.

That finally catches the reporters’ attention, and they begin taking notes.

"I have further information from Ms. Lambert regarding this woman," Chief Stille continues. "She introduced herself to Ms. Lambert as Aldriana. No last name was given."

"There are several people named Aldriana in Arvion, but none match the description. Ms. Aldriana, if you’re watching, please rest assured, we do not seek to cause you any trouble. We simply wish to know the truth. Did you really clear the dungeon? If you did, the mining rights are rightfully yours."

"If, for some reason, you cannot mine the Heartstone, you can contact the city, and we will assist you."

"Now, we can start taking questions."

When Aldriana’s face appears, Theo can’t help but gasp, and Arthur hears it.

"You’ve met her?"

Theo nods. "She saved me too. She was the one who showed me a good hiding place and told me to wait there until someone came for me. I fell asleep."

Theo takes the opportunity to remove himself from the equation.

Arthur nods absentmindedly. "That makes sense, actually."

He sighs. "That’s unfortunate for Ms. Aldriana. She’ll never find peace now."

Theo blinks, panic flickering in his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Well, think about it. She now holds sixty percent of the mining rights to the biggest dungeon ever found. People are going to be constantly looking for her. If she really cleared that dungeon, she’s powerful, too powerful. That means exploration companies, mining corporations, Sentinel groups... everyone will want a piece of her."

"She can’t just leave that dungeon unclaimed. If no one steps forward, the law says it goes to auction. And if it’s auctioned, the chaos will be unimaginable. But if the city claims it, Ms. Aldriana’s supporters will protest."

Theo’s voice rises slightly. "Aldriana’s supporters?"

"Yes." Arthur’s tone is completely serious. "Even though her identity was only just exposed, I can guarantee she already has a fan club somewhere."

Arthur leans back, frowning. "Chief Stille is too clever for his own good. He deliberately exposed her face, to force her to come forward and hand everything over to the city."

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"Bastard!"

Liam curses, glaring at the screen. He’s watching the press conference and swearing at Chief Stille for exposing Aldriana’s face.

Linus leans back in his chair, composed as ever. "He’s very cunning. In just a few days, he’s already deduced that Ms. Aldriana must have her own reasons for staying hidden."

"He’s a greedy bastard!"

"That’s an enormous amount of money, Liam," Linus replies calmly. "You’ve seen the number of Heartstones in that dungeon."

"By doing this, he’s forcing her to come forward and hand the dungeon over to the city! And if she doesn’t show up, he can label her irresponsible, selfish, or whatever else suits his agenda!" Liam’s pacing now, anger spilling over.

He stops and clenches his fists. "It was stupid of me to say I didn’t clear the dungeon. I didn’t think anyone could be this shameless!"

"You did what you thought was best. And I still believe you did the right thing." Linus exhales slowly. "But this is unfortunate for Ms. Aldriana."

"Dad." Liam turns to him, eyes determined. "I want to help her. I want to help her claim the dungeon."

Linus studies him. "What do you plan to do?"

"Can you hold that bastard Stille off for a few days? I want to search for her."

"You know where to start looking?"

Liam shakes his head. "No. But I’ll start with Meg Lambert."

Linus nods. He understands his son’s desire to help Aldriana. And he will help him. Aldriana had saved his son’s life. Linus would do anything to pay that debt.

"Alright. I’ll hold Stille." Linus stands and pats Liam’s shoulder. "Now, go get ready. We have dinner at the Montrose estate."

Liam groans.