Chapter 14 - The Truth Before Midnight
By evening, Adrian, Elena, Lily, Miriam, Theo, and Celeste were aboard a government aircraft traveling to Varelia.
Commissioner Hale remained behind to coordinate international arrests.
Celeste traveled under guard, but she had agreed to guide them through the old palace railway.
The capital appeared beneath the clouds shortly before midnight.
Thousands of people filled the streets.
Some carried the blue and silver flag of the former monarchy. Others held signs demanding that no child be placed on a throne.
Images of Lily and the unknown girl appeared on every news screen.
Lucien had created exactly the division Adrian predicted.
At the old railway station, Lucien stood on a raised platform before cameras.
The twelve-year-old girl sat beside him.
He introduced her as Princess Rose Ashbourne, daughter of Prince Nicholas and first heir to the restored throne.
Lily watched the broadcast from inside the aircraft.
“She looks scared.”
Elena sat beside her.
“She probably is.”
“Will people make us fight?”
“Only if we agree to.”
“What if she hates me?”
“She does not know you.”
Lily looked at Adrian.
“Can we help her?”
“That is why we came.”
They entered the capital through a secured military entrance arranged by investigators who had seen the Crown Ledger.
Theo led them beneath the old station.
Celeste remembered a passage her father had used during her childhood.
It opened behind the royal waiting chamber.
Through a narrow observation window, they saw Lucien preparing Rose for another broadcast.
“You will read the statement exactly,” he told her.
“I want to see my mother.”
“Your mother is being protected.”
“You said she would be here.”
Lucien gripped the arms of her chair.
“Do not embarrass me.”
Adrian recorded the conversation.
Elena whispered, “We need to remove the guards without frightening her.”
Celeste looked at the emerald.
“My father’s men still believe I represent the council.”
“You betrayed him,” Theo said.
“They may not know.”
Celeste entered the waiting chamber alone.
The guards straightened.
Lucien stared at her.
“How did you get here?”
“I came to correct your mistake.”
“You confessed.”
“To protect the restoration. Adrian was about to destroy the ledger.”
Lucien studied her face.
Celeste had spent her life learning to lie for him.
For once, she used the skill against him.
“The Ashbourne family is divided,” she continued. “Adrian has abandoned his company. Elena has no political support. Give me Rose, and I will present both girls to the council.”
Lucien stepped closer.
“You no longer have authority.”
Celeste removed the emerald.
“I have the Crown Ledger.”
His eyes fixed on it.
She placed the brooch on the table.
Lucien reached for it.
The hidden door opened.
Theo and investigators entered.
Lucien pulled Rose from the chair and held her in front of him.
No weapon appeared, but his arm tightened around her shoulders.
“Stay back.”
Rose began crying.
Lily stepped through the doorway.
Lucien stared at her.
Adrian reached for Lily, but she shook her head.
She walked slowly toward Rose.
“You do not have to read his statement,” Lily said.
Lucien pulled Rose closer.
“Stop.”
Lily ignored him.
“My name is Lily. What is yours?”
The older girl hesitated.
“Rose.”
“Do you know where your mother is?”
“No.”
“Neither did I.”
Rose looked at Elena.
“Did you find her?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“I kept asking questions even when important people told me to be quiet.”
Lucien’s guards began lowering their weapons.
The cameras in the station were still broadcasting.
Millions of viewers watched him restraining a frightened child.
Adrian stepped forward.
“It is over.”
Lucien laughed.
“You think the public will accept you after this? You have two girls, two claims, and no proof of parentage.”
Elena removed a document from her coat.
“We found Rose’s birth record in the Crown Ledger.”
Lucien’s expression changed.
The record identified Rose’s mother.
Sofia Marek.
Celeste’s mother.
Rose was Celeste’s younger half-sister.
Her father was not Prince Nicholas.
It was Lucien Vane.
“You created a false heir using your own child,” Celeste said.
Rose looked at Lucien.
“You are my father?”
Lucien said nothing.
Celeste’s face filled with disgust.
“You told me my mother died. You hid her and raised her second daughter as a royal weapon.”
Lucien released Rose and ran toward the service tunnel.
Theo followed.
Adrian remained with the children.
Several minutes later, Theo returned with Lucien in custody.
This time, international investigators placed him inside an armored vehicle and transmitted the arrest live.
The false restoration referendum was suspended.
The royal council accounts were frozen.
Rose sat beside Lily as Elena explained that none of what happened was her fault.
Celeste remained several feet away.
Rose looked at her.
“Are you really my sister?”
Celeste nodded.
“Did you know about me?”
“No.”
“Will you disappear too?”
Celeste’s eyes filled with tears.
“I may go to prison.”
“Why?”
“Because I hurt people.”
Rose considered this.
“Can people be sorry and still be punished?”
“Yes.”
“Can they come back afterward?”
Celeste looked toward Lily.
“I hope so.”
Before dawn, the Crown Ledger was delivered to Varelia’s highest court.
The names of corrupt officials became public.
Money stolen from disaster relief funds was recovered from hidden accounts.
Elena was formally cleared of every accusation.
Miriam was recognized as Lily’s lawful temporary guardian during Elena’s absence.
Adrian’s board offered to restore him as chief executive.
He refused.
For the first time in eight years, the Ashbourne family stood together without a palace, a throne, or an empire separating them.
The central conspiracy had collapsed.
Lucien had been exposed.
Elena had returned.
Lily had found the man who knelt.
May you like
But one question remained.
Where was Queen Amara?
