The words were forceful, even if the letter dated June 6, 2023, was embellished with a "dear Monsieur Palmero" and concluded with "sincere salutations." The message was clear: "From this day on, please do not sign any commitments and do not come to the prince's palace." The letter, signed by Albert II, prince of Monaco, was addressed to the man who had served him for almost 20 years: the sovereign family's estate administrator, Claude Palmero. The man in charge of managing the family's bank accounts, even the most confidential ones; the man in charge of sensitive missions, even the most questionable ones; the accountant who kept the Grimaldis' fortune (over €1 billion) out of sight and made it grow through a myriad of companies of which he was, by his own admission, the dummy head.

What happened? Palmero simply went too far. Perhaps, too, he gave in to the Monegasque syndrome of impunity, or even omnipotence. Thanks to his networks, this 67-year-old charted accountant had become the best-informed person in the microstate. Above all, he became involved in something that was none of his business: Monaco's glittering real estate market, over which multi-billionaire Patrice Pastor reigns.

"This whole affair revolves around the corruption I'd been denouncing with increasing force for years," Palmero told to Le Monde. "It was necessary to remove me with great fanfare." But by dismissing his main pawn and accusing him of embezzlement, the prince has created a war machine. The man he trusted, now a pariah, is fighting back, armed with his memory and a few precious documents, including five large notebooks in which, over the years, he transcribed his thoughts and exchanges with his "boss," Albert II. "My honor is worth much more than money," he promised, before adding: "Maybe it's because I was holding the purse strings that I didn't see it coming. We all believed in the accession speech!"

That famous speech came in 2005, when Albert II, newly installed on the throne, called for a new ethical approach for his country. Today, Palmero accuses the monarch of having made a pact with Pastor, based on financial interests. "The prince may have made a pact with a powerful financial interest, the basis of which I don't know," he said. "Since then, we've seen a sort of complete alignment, and I'm the main victim."

Is it the bitterness of a man who has fallen from a great height? For 20 years, Palmero was the Principality's Cardinal de Richelieu, chief minister and close advisor to King Louis XIII. Now he's turned into the Count of Monte Cristo, the famed literary traitor. Palmero is armed not only with his saved text messages but also with his notebooks. It's a strange diary whose main character is "HSH," His Serene Highness, and whose common thread is the real estate market.

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