All Chapters of They Crowned Her While My Twin Was Missing: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

The Royal Press Office was broadcasting Vivienne Laurent's investiture to the nation when I entered Valerian Palace through an old service tunnel.I had seen enough from the edge of the courtyard. Vivienne wore Celeste's crown beside King Adrien. My parents sat among the senior nobles, smiling as though their real daughter were being honored.I did not interrupt the ceremony. A stolen crown could wait. Celeste could not.The pain linking us had returned three days earlier after years of silence. It grew stronger inside the palace, proof that she had not escaped safely. If I revealed myself before finding her, whoever held her could kill her or move her beyond my reach.The bond had always transmitted only severe distress, never ordinary discomfort. As children, I had felt the shock when Celeste broke her wrist even from another city. The drug used in my false death had muted that connection. Its sudden return meant two things. The drug was finally leaving my body, and whatever Celeste

Chapter 2

"She is in the North Wing," the security leader said."You deleted three days of access records and disabled the cameras," I replied. "If she were still there, you would let someone see her."He said nothing. The assistant had already lost her nerve."She escaped three days ago. His Majesty ordered us to hide it until the investiture ended.""Who saw her last?"She hesitated. "Marianne Holt."Marianne Holt had been our governess. The night before my staged death, she held my hand and promised that while she lived, Celeste would never stand alone in the palace.Now she entered Mooncrest House leading eight Royal Household officers. A weighted interrogation strap hung from one hand. A pearl pin from Celeste's private trust gleamed in her hair."You are behaving strangely today," she said. "Put down the weapon and return to the North Wing.""Who did you remove from there three days ago?"Her expression tightened. "You are Celeste.""Was she conscious when she left? Who escorted her? Where

Chapter 3

Adrien entered and looked first at Marianne, not at me."Celeste, release her."He knew his wife had disappeared three days ago, yet he still did not recognize that another woman stood before him."Celeste is missing," I said. "You did not search for her. You crowned a replacement instead."Annoyance crossed his face. "You injured the North Wing guards and hid from the cameras. Security found no proof you left the palace. Now you claim you were abducted because you want me to stop Vivienne's investiture."Celeste and I had the same face, but she gripped her left hand when frightened and bit her lower lip when thinking. Even in pain, she hesitated before speaking harshly. Adrien had shared her bed for three years and knew none of it.“Celeste grips her left hand when she is frightened and bites her lower lip when she is thinking,” I said. “You shared her life for three years. Have you noticed me do either one?”Adrien's expression shifted, but only for a moment.“I will not participate

Chapter 4

My mother Helena crossed the courtyard, helped Vivienne rise, and inspected her wrist. She never asked whether the daughter she believed was Celeste had been injured.Vivienne pressed herself into Helena's arms. "Aunt, she stole my necklace and threatened the King. She wants to destroy everything I have."My mother came toward me. I kept the knife still at Adrien's throat; any sudden movement would give the surrounding guards a reason to fire. Her palm struck my face."Vivienne grew up without a family," she said. "We brought her home and gave her some care. Was that such a crime? You already killed her child. Must you take her marriage and crown too?"I tasted blood. "That slap was for her?""Yes. What of it?""I will remember."My father arrived in formal robes and ordered the guards to disarm me. I kept the knife near Adrien long enough to hold their fire."Kneel and apologize to the King and Queen," Roland commanded."If I refuse?""I will remove you from the Montclair family. You

Chapter 5

My mother stared at me, her lips trembling as every trace of color disappeared from her face. “You are alive?” she whispered.I rested the blunt ceremonial sword against her shoulder. “You sound disappointed to see me alive, Mother.”Helena shook her head in panic. “That is not true. I am only shocked. After you took the drug, the doctor confirmed that you had no pulse. We all believed you would never return.”“You did not give me only the medication that lowered my heart rate and body temperature. Someone added a neurotoxin strong enough to cause organ failure.”“That is absurd,” Roland snapped. “You disappear for three years, storm the palace with a weapon, assault royal personnel, and then accuse your own parents of murder. How much more chaos do you intend to create?”I turned toward him. “The toxin smelled of bitter almonds and metal. It would cause internal bleeding within forty minutes. Would you like to guess why I survived?” My father stopped speaking.Three years earlier, I n

Chapter 6

Helena clutched my clothes as though she could physically hold me back.“Celeste has lost her mind,” she said. “She attacked Vivienne and threatened the King. We placed her downstairs only to stop her from hurting herself or anyone else.”“You call secret detention, torture, and denial of legal counsel medical care?”Orson’s card failed to open the elevator. Gabriel connected a field terminal to the maintenance panel, and the lock released less than thirty seconds later.Behind us, Vivienne suddenly shouted, “Going down there will accomplish nothing. Celeste is already dead.”The entire courtyard fell silent. I turned slowly, and she mistook my expression for weakness.“She finally broke three days ago,” Vivienne continued. “She even revealed where she had hidden the Crescent Guard list. A useless prisoner was not worth keeping alive.”Adrien stared at her. “What Crescent Guard list are you talking about?”Vivienne’s confidence vanished. “I only overheard members of the palace staff. I

Chapter 7

Adrien grew paler with every page. Vivienne had bribed an obstetrician to fabricate test results, then hidden a blood pouch inside her gown. At the banquet, she fell down the stairs before Celeste touched her and ruptured the pouch before witnesses.“Those records are fabricated,” Vivienne cried. “Celeste hates me, and she worked with Cassandra to manufacture everything.”Celeste remained calm. “The original reports carry the doctor’s digital signature and the medical center’s timestamp. Every payment can be traced to your family foundation.”She turned to Adrien. “You always said you needed evidence. Now the evidence is in your hands.”Adrien tightened his grip on the file. “If you had these records, why did you never give them to me?”Celeste gave him a tired smile. “I did give them to you. You threw them into the fire.”“Last December, I waited outside your office for two hours,” she continued. “I asked you to suspend the accusations and authorize an independent examination. You cal

Chapter 8

Roland collapsed into a chair. “You said you transferred Crescent Guard to Celeste.”“I placed its protection network at her disposal. I never surrendered the highest command authority to you.”The core key had always been divided among me and three commanders. My parents stole a secondary credential, then represented it to Adrien as complete authority.Gabriel projected a recovered financial ledger onto the hall screens. “Seventy percent of Celeste’s premarital trust was transferred without her consent. Some funds went to the Laurent family foundation. The rest financed bribes to royal officials, medical personnel, and security officers.”The ledger contained Celeste’s objections. She rejected every transfer, requested an independent audit, and prepared a petition to the Constitutional Court. Her communications were suspended before she could file it.“She never agreed to surrender her property,” I said. “The theft required her husband’s signature and her parents’ signatures precisely

Chapter 9

Adrien stood in front of Celeste, and genuine panic appeared in his eyes for the first time.“I did not know the full truth,” he said. “They deceived me. If you stay, I will cancel Vivienne’s investiture, restore you as queen, provide the best medical care, and punish everyone responsible.”Celeste looked at him steadily. “Where were you the first time Royal Security injured me?”“Vivienne said you pushed her into the swimming pool.”“Where were you the second time they punished me?”“She said you put something in her tea.”“What did you say when they punished me for the thirtieth time?”Adrien opened his mouth but could not answer.Celeste answered for him. “You said I would never learn obedience unless the punishment truly hurt.” His face turned white.“When you stripped my title and sent me to the North Wing, I waited until dark for you to ask what happened, but you never came. I cut my wrist so an outside hospital would have to record my injuries, and you called it another attempt

Chapter 10

Six months later, Celeste could walk short distances with a cane. Her right arm would recover no more than seventy percent of its former strength, and the damage to her legs meant she could not stand for long periods or tolerate severe cold.She read the medical assessment and placed it on the table. “If I cannot stand for long, I will work sitting down. My sister can certainly afford a comfortable chair.”When she dropped her cane beside the sofa, I picked it up. “If you throw this again, there will be no dessert tonight.”Celeste immediately held my arm. “My hand slipped, and you know I would never mistreat such an excellent cane.”Gabriel arrived with the final case report. Vivienne received a lengthy sentence for fraud, conspiracy, unlawful detention, torture, obstruction, and attempted murder. Orson and the bunker staff were also convicted.Roland lost his title and received a life sentence for trust theft, forgery, bribery, and the Crescent Guard deaths. Helena lost every royal o

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