Hey everybody! I'm back with another chapter! Thanks fo reading and enjoy the story!

The news broke tonight on the 9 o'clock news. Spence's autopsy details had been shared with the press and that combined with their stories painted all of us in a bad light. It didn't make us look any better when a breaking news alert interrupted the story to tell everyone the results of the rape kit conducted on me along with some details about me that only my doctors and the police who had subpoenaed my medical records could have known. My personal medical information was being released to the press along with some leaked photos of my bruises and the gash on my head.

Within a second of the images being announced, before they could even give a warning about graphic images, Jamie was clicking off the tv and storming out of the room. I followed him.

"Grandpa!" he yelled from his spot at the top of the stairs.

"James, what's wrong?" Ms. Chancellor's voice followed by the click of her heels reached us before we could see her.

"Have you seen the news?" he asked.

Her heels clacked as she retreated back into her office. When we reached the bottom of the stairs I could hear the keyboard clicks and hear her sigh along to the zip of her scrolling up and down the page on her mouse.

"It seems I need to have a word with a few people." she muttered and excused herself closing the door to the office.

The embassy was loud, much louder than normal tonight. I could hear people racing around downstairs and the phones ringing all night. My own phone was blowing up as well. Noah, Rosie, Megan, Alexei, even Lila texted me. I guess she was taking this whole society sisters thing more seriously than I thought.

The only person I had the energy to reply to was Alexei. He was the most worried, but was also receiving just as much, if not more, bad press than me. Him and Jamie were both being slandered and accused without any evidence. They both had alibis for the whole night.

Grandpa was furious the next morning. He called every Adrian newspaper and news channel that had published the photos personally and gave them his best 'I'm screaming at you but I'm better than actually raising my voice at you, feel my wrath' voice. He called the acting Prime Minister, the Chief of Valancia's police department, and anyone else he could think of to politely berate them until Alexandra Petrovic showed up up at our door herself with an invitation for me. Princess Ann was inviting me to the palace. I didn't know if this was a pity invite or if she wanted something, but I had only met the woman a few times when I was very young. From what I remember, she, my mother, and Alexei's were once very close.

I took the invitation, but I didn't give an answer yet. I wanted to think about it.

The crowds took their stances outside the embassy once again looking for a story or just to yell and scream 'liar!' 'crazy bitch!' 'murderers!'

The most common narrative had become, "Grace Blakely, the granddaughter of the American Ambassador, lied about being raped by a West Point Cadet, because she is a psycho, just look at her medical records that we obtained and have now spilled for the world to see, and as a result of her lie, James Blakely, her brother and once a friend of John Spencer, along with Alexei Volkov, boyfriend of Grace Blakely and son of the new Russian Ambassador, had killed John Spencer by breaking his neck and disposed of him in the ocean where he washed up on the Adrian shore. And look, there's even a video of the pair threatening to kill the victim on the internet!'

I curled up in a corner without my phone and spent the majority of the day not moving.

At some point, I'm not sure when, I decided to go for a walk. I went up to the second floor, using he same passage I had to go and visit Dominic and found myself on the streets near the palace. I walked to the toward the castle until I found myself caught up in the momentum of the crowd. They had torches, they were chanting, and I was completely clueless about what was going on. It felt like we were on a witch hunt and I was a wolf amongst the sheep.

The parade thinned out as people circled around a bonfire and the royal family appeared. The smoke was getting to me. I started to panic, to think of my mother and get scared. I thought I might collapse in the streets and get trampled.

"Grace." I heard her voice as I watched the enormous fire erupt. I wasn't even sure who had lit the bonfire.

"Grace!" I heard the name again and I turned around looking for the voice calling out to me. She had to be here somewhere.

I followed the voice off to the outer edge of the crowd by the old castle gate. I could see the centuries in their stuffy, old looking outfits standing guard. The royal family was on the other side of the gate, heading back inside the castle in their fancy, medal clad suits and fancy dresses, and I stopped watching were I was going, just long enough to spot Princess Ann.

I thought of calling out to her. She had asked to see me, but right now she seemed busy.

I bumped into someone and was knocked on the ground. He was American, I could hear it in his voice when he started to apologize, but then he stopped.

"I'm sorry are you-" he paused, "Wait a minute, aren't you the girl in the news? The girl who cried rape?"

"I'm sorry, I don't know what you are saying." I said in Adrian, keeping my head down, but it was already too late, he'd recognized me and his revelation was loud enough that other members of the crowd had noticed. I was a spectacle once again and I was being back against the giant stone walls not thirty feet from the castle gate where the guards stood oblivious.

They were yelling at me. Things were thrown. I just sat on the ground against the wall and protected my head until someone came forward and grabbed my arms, pulling them away from my head.

"I'll give you something to really cry rape about." the man said as he moved to touch me some more but I screamed.

I guess at some point I guess one of the guards had come to check out what was going on.

"Break it up!" He yelled, batting people back and motioning for a police officer across the street to come and help.

He took one look at me and knew who I was, "Ms. Blakely, are you here to see Princess Ann? We were informed you would be arriving for a visit at some point in the next few days."

"Yes..." I didn't really know what I was going to say to her, but for now, I had no qualms using her to get myself off the street.

I followed the guard to the gate and was asked for identification. I reached into my pocket but realized I had left my wallet at home.

"No need!" I heard a woman say and I looked up to see none other than Princess Ann coming in my direction, "Grace, dear, it's so good to see you again!"

She bent down, not caring that her pretty pink dress was getting dirty and wrapped me in a warm hug.

"You look just like, Caroline now that you're all grown up." she smiled and took my hand in hers leading me inside the big iron gates and mahogany doors to safety.