The Prince's Secret

The Prince’s Secret By Elizabeth Lennox Register for free stories at http://www.elizabethlennox.com/subscribe Follow me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/Author.Elizabeth.LennoxOr on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ElizabethLenno1 Copyright 2023 ISBN13: 9781950451715 All rights reserved This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Any duplication of this material, either electronic or any other format, either currently in use or a future invention, is strictly prohibited, unless you have the direct consent of the author. Table of Contents Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Epilogue Postlogue Excerpt from “The Wicked List” Chapter 1 Emma groaned, glaring at the empty tea kettle. “Seriously?” Her sleepy glare turned to the empty, silent hallway. But Amanda, Emma’s roommate and best friend, wasn’t awake yet, so her best friend wasn’t aware of the caffeine-induced antipathy directed towards her. With a sigh, Emma grumpily padded over to the sink to re-fill the electric kettle, stopping her brain from thinking that the kettle was laughing at her. “Just a kettle,” she hissed as the water poured into the kettle. Every night, she filled the kettle so that she only needed to flip the switch at the bottom to start the heating process. Most mornings, it wasn’t an issue. But every once in a while, her roommate engaged in a late night writing binge to meet her deadlines and guzzled coffee to help her concentrate. Amanda was Emma’s best friend, so she tried to be forgiving. But messing with one’s morning caffeine fix? That was cruel and unusual punishment in roommate protocols. Sighing with resignation, Emma settled the beaten up electric kettle onto the heating stand and flipped the switch to begin the heating process. Once she had the water started, Emma meandered over to her computer to see the latest news headlines. With a satisfied smile, Emma read the top headline, her shoulders relaxing as a warm sense of success welled up within her. The headline today was her story. She’d done that! She’d revealed the senator’s multiple illegal stock transfers. She’d even quoted his previous declarations about how all politicians needed to rise higher in their moral integrity in order to preserve the virtue of their office and demonstrate that the public could trust their leaders. It was hard to trust someone who was able to increase their net worth into the millions in just a few years when raking in a salary of only low six figures. Emma emitted an inelegant snort as she shuffled in her bunny-slippered feet to the shower. “Time to start the day,” she muttered, pushing sleep-crazed hair out of her face. Emma was not a sound sleeper! She tossed and turned every night, her mind going too fast to let her truly relax. She had to be seriously exhausted for her body to finally give in and sleep. And even then, if she was able to get six hours of sleep, life was wonderfully delicious that day! Eight hours of sleep? Emma snorted again as she turned on the hot water in the shower. Never happened! Fifteen minutes later, showered and dressed, her still-wet hair pulled up into a messy bun, Emma poured the hot water from the kettle into the French press. “Five minutes,” she whispered to no one. “Just five more minutes and I will…” She froze, staring at the laptop. Her headline, the top headline that she was so proud of…was gone! In this time of whiplash technology, the news cycles were by the moment instead of twenty-four hours. This new headline was replaced by…! “Are you kidding me?” she whispered, rushing across the room and almost missing her chair entirely as she dropped into the seat, glaring at the newest headline. “Forced vasectomies for prisoners?” she read out loud. “That’s…inhumane!” “What’s wrong?” Amanda asked, padding into the room in her fluffy, pink slippers. She held a cup of tea, but Emma didn’t think to admonish her roommate for stealing the hot water again. This newest, outrageous headline took up all of her mind-space. Emma shook her head in stunned horror as she read, “Our esteemed governor has proposed legislation that would require all current criminals held in the prison system to undergo a vasectomy!” Amanda’s eyes widened, her cup of tea halted halfway to her mouth. “Are you kidding me?” she hissed, moving forward as if to read the headline herself. Emma didn’t bother to answer, correctly assuming her friend’s question was rhetorical. She scrolled through the article, skimming the words quickly. “According to one of my sources,” she paused and glanced meaningfully at Amanda, as they rolled their eyes in unison, “during a press conference late last night, the governor claimed that the prisoners, with no exceptions, should undergo the sterilization procedure in order to protect the next generation from…!” Amanda’s horrified voice picked up where Emma broke off. “…The potential insanity that he’s recognized in the criminal population!” Amanda finished, reading the same article on her cell phone. “The governor truly believes that the prison inmates are insane?” She braced a hand on the desk. “He thinks that every prisoner should endure a vasectomy in order to halt the genetic makeup from being passed on to future generations?” “I just…!” Emma didn’t realize that her mouth was still hanging open as she continued to scroll through the rest of the article. “What in the world?” she whispered. “Is there a new study that came out from some pseudo-doctor claiming that the prison population was…?” Amanda’s hand fell to her lap as they stared at each other. “This is awful!” Emma whispered. “Prisoners aren’t insane! They committed a crime! Some of them have learning disabilities! Some were abused as children and violence is all that they understand!” Amanda nodded. “I agree!” She lifted her phone and found the