Semua Bab They Crowned Her While My Twin Was Missing: Bab 1 - Bab 10

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

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

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

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

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