The ride back to the Palace was in silence. Hans sat in the front with the driver but would glance back at the King every so often. He seemed lost in thought, clutching the folder in his hand. The folder that contained the information of the man Antoinette had been seen in the company of. He wondered if that man was the true father of Antoinette son or was it the King?

Rupert glanced out the window, his thoughts far away, to a time long past…

"I thought you wouldn't come, I…I've missed you…." Antoinette whispered as she went into his arms.

"I couldn't stay away" Rupert confessed as he lowered his mouth. She closed her eyes and eagerly kissed him back.

The kiss exploded into something else, something he had not experienced in a long time.

"Make love to me…" She murmured, her eyes glistening from unshed tears.

Letting the moment rule his actions he guided her towards the bed and began to undress her. He couldn't deny that he admired her beauty, her youth and her innocence. She never turned him away and that only made it harder. Their time together was always limited. After all, he was a married man, the King and she…well, she was going to marry his son. He knew how wrong it was. He always told himself it would be the last time, but it never was.

Rupert shook his head as if to clear his thoughts, erase the memories that he hadn't thought of in so many years. His mind recalled the image of the man in the folder. He wondered if this man had that type of relationship with Antoinette. Was this man the father of her son? Or did he truly have another heir? He needed answers and he needed them now.

Hans glanced back at the King noticing his grip on the folder had tightened.

Clarisse office…

"I will return as soon as I'm able to. Once I look over the information I have and follow up on the phone numbers we will hopefully have the answers we need to get her out of the Palace and away from all of you" Joe stated with conviction.

"Oh…I hope it's soon. The more time passes the more pressure we are getting from Parliament. They want us to announce the engagement and to set a date for the wedding. I can't let Pierre marry her. I can't…" Clarisse said her emotions overwhelming her, as her eyes teared.

"We won't let it get that far" Joe promised.

"Joseph…what if…what if the boy is Rupert son" Clarisse whispered as tears slid down her cheeks. She was so tired of pretending, of keeping herself together, of not showing how truly hurt she was.

"If he is then we will deal with it together. I promise you; you are not alone in this" Joe vowed.

"I don't know what I would do without you" Clarisse replied, a sob escaping.

"Don't cry my love, please" Joe soothed as his own tears threatened to spill. He hated not being there for her when she was like this.

"Please hurry back" Clarisse sniffled as she grabbed a tissue and wiped her eyes.

"I will. I promise. I will call you the same time in two days" Joe promised.

"Alright" She whispered as she gripped the phone tightly. Her heart squeezing.

"I love you Clarisse" Joe said wanting to tell her how he felt, hoping it would comfort her.

"I love you too, Joseph" Clarisse whispered.

After a few moments of holding the phone in her hands, she put it away. Wiping her eyes with the tissue and taking out the little mirror in her top drawer, she looked at herself. Her eyes and nose were red. She put the mirror away and sighed miserably. She missed Joseph, her confidant, her best friend, her love. The stress of this entire situation was weighing heavily on her. She hoped that he found the answers they needed because she couldn't imagine going on much longer, living this lie, it made her want to scream and run away but she couldn't leave her son alone in this. None of this was his fault. It was Rupert fault. Although, she knew she handled Antoinette pregnancy poorly, but she had been hurt and angry. She couldn't fix the past, but she had to try and fix this for her family now. Their lives, the future of Genovia depended on it.

Italy…

Joe wandered around outside a while longer before heading inside to retrieve the information his brother had acquired for him. He sat looking over the folder and reading as much as he thought would be useful in his search for Antoinette son.

"Hijo" His mother, Maria, called out as she walked into Samuel office.

"Mama come in" He smiled as he stood up and went to her.

"Did you eat" She asked as she looked over his appearance? She thought he was too thin.

"Yes mama" He smiled. He couldn't deny that he missed her fussing.

"Why are you in here and not out there with the family" She asked confused?

"I'm working" He admitted sheepishly.

"That can wait. Your family is here hijo and we don't get to see you that often. Can't it wait" She asked clearly hurt?

Joe felt shame wash over him. His mother was right. In fact, his family had been right. He didn't visit often. But he wouldn't let them blame it on Clarisse. It wasn't her fault. It was his.

"Of- course mama. Let's go" He smiled as he hugged her; and they walked out together, forgetting that he left the folder out in the open.

Palace….

Clarisse walked across the Palace with Shades behind her as they made their way to her rooms so she can prepare for dinner. Knowing they were alone, she spoke softly.

"I spoke with Joseph today. He is making progress. He will be returning once he has followed up on all the lead's" She said keeping her voice low.

"That is wonderful news Your Majesty" Shades said in relief.

"I apologize if this has all been more than you expected" She said truly feeling badly for Shades who was just thrown into this situation.

"No apology necessary ma'am. I would do anything for Joe" He said sincerely.

"And I hope you know that he would do anything for you" She replied honestly.

Deciding it was a good time to speak freely she continued, "I also wanted to say that I am sorry about Charlotte."

"Thank you, ma'am. It wasn't meant to be, but she is truly wonderful, and we have remained friends. This is no way will affect our professional relationship" He stated wanting to assure her.

"I was never worried about that" She reassured him. "And I'm happy to hear that you will remain friends. They are hard to find, and Charlotte truly has a caring heart."

"Yes, she does" He said simply.

Clarisse turned once they arrived at her rooms.

"You can go now. I'm not sure how long we will be" She said honestly.

"Yes ma'am" He replied as he watched her go inside. Another guard stood at the end of the hall. He walked over and informed the guard to keep an eye on the Queen and to contact him if needed. Once that was done, he felt better about leaving her and he decided to go to the security hub to check on things.

Antoinette was walking away from the kitchen after having a talk with the cook about the menu and their guest. Although, she truly wasn't that happy about having Arthur over for dinner she knew that she didn't have much choice. The plan needed to begin in order to ensure her place in the Palace. She did wonder why Arthur wanted to have dinner with the royal family. It isn't like they would welcome him. Then it hit her. He wanted access into the Palace. A wave of nausea went over her. She didn't know what he truly had planned. She only knew what he told her. She hoped that whatever Arthur had planned wouldn't backfire on her. All she wanted was to marry Pierre and bring her son home to Genovia.

Shades was walking back to the security hub when he saw Antoinette in the hall. He wanted to avoid her but knew that he couldn't. She had already seen him.

Deciding to forget about Arthur for the moment, Antoinette walked towards Shades with a smile.

"Hello Shades" She said in a way that made him uncomfortable.

"Hello Lady Antoinette" He bowed.

"No need for that" She said waving her hand.

Shades remained silent.

"Have you heard from Joseph? I do hope his mother is doing better" She said hoping he would open up.

"I have not heard from him" Shades admitted deciding he would keep the other information that Clarisse shared with him to himself.

"Oh…well, if you do, please send him my regards" She added clearly unhappy by his response.

"Of-course" He replied politely.

Antoinette walked off, she wondered if Joseph truly was on a family emergency, but she had a nagging feeling that he wasn't. What are you up to Joseph, she thought as she walked to her suite to prepare for dinner?

Pierre arrived back to the Palace shortly before his father. The two men ran into each other in the hall as Pierre came out of the library with a book in his hand. Rupert stopped walking when he noticed his son.

"Having an early night" Rupert asked wanting to make conversation with him? Pierre hadn't spoken to him like they used to since the truth came out."

"This is for later. I assume mother hasn't had the opportunity to tell you. but we have a guest coming for dinner" Pierre shared.

"What guest" Rupert asked bothered? He wanted to speak with Clarisse alone and now that would obviously have to wait. He was not pleased.

"Arthur Mabrey" Pierre admitted, "Antoinette invited him, it seems she is feeling lonely."

"What? If she wants his company than why doesn't she go meet him somewhere" He seethed angrily!

"You would think she would do that, but I guess she just wants to make us all miserable" Pierre spat out, he was angry as well.

"What did your mother say" Rupert asked still in disbelief by this news?

"I'm assuming she agreed to keep the peace because I haven't heard any whining for me to think otherwise" He said annoyed.

"Unbelievable" Rupert mumbled under his breath as he walked off.

Spanish to English translation-

Hijo: Son Mama: Mom