The news over the next three days intensified. Arianne had expected scrutiny—Vincent's collapse was too significant to ignore. But she hadn't expected the angle they chose.
They were questioning Franz's competency. His legitimacy as Rochefort's successor. As if his brother's death had left a vacancy Franz was never meant to fill.
She watched the coverage from her office, the screen muted, the images enough. Talking heads gestured at charts. Headlines flashed: Rochefort Succession in Doubt. Can Franz Rochefort Hold? The Spare No One Prepared.
She turned it off. There was no point listening to any of it.
Franz was never raised as Alex's spare. Alex had made that deal with their father years ago. Franz had been allowed to pursue his own path, free from the pressure that had shaped his brother. Now the world was judging him for not being what he was never trained to be.
