Chapter 65
The day started like any other, with Celestina seated by the window in her study, sipping tea and staring at the papers scattered across her desk. The light filtering through the curtains was gentle, but her mind was anything but calm. The sleepless nights, Dimitri’s haunting voice in her dreams, and Kael’s strange behavior all weighed heavily on her.
A soft knock at the door broke her from her thoughts. A palace staff member stepped inside, holding a small brown package.
“This just arrived for you, Madam President,” the woman said, placing it on the desk before bowing and leaving without another word.
Celestina frowned, staring at the package. There was no return address, no markings. It was plain and unassuming, but her heart raced as she slowly untied the string and opened it.
Inside was a single photograph. Her breath caught as she recognized the face immediately: Dimitri.
In the photo, he stood casually in front of an ornate wooden door, his smile faint but unmistakable. But what sent a chill down her spine was the man standing next to him—someone who looked strikingly like Kael.
“No,” she whispered, her fingers trembling as she brought the photo closer to her face. The resemblance was uncanny, though the man’s features were slightly younger, his expression colder.
Beneath the photograph was a folded note, scrawled in neat handwriting: “The truth is closer than you think.”
Celestina’s hands tightened around the photo, her mind reeling. Was this a cruel joke? A mistake? Or was it a truth she wasn’t ready to face?
Kael’s behavior grew even more unsettling in the days that followed.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to attend the event tomorrow,” Kael said over breakfast, his tone casual but firm.
Celestina glanced up from her plate. “It’s a meeting with community leaders. I can’t just cancel that.”
“You can, and you should,” Kael replied, leaning back in his chair. “It’s too risky. We still don’t know who’s behind the threats.”
Her patience snapped. “Kael, I can’t run a country from behind closed doors. The people need to see me.”
“And I need to keep you safe,” he said sharply, his gaze hardening. “You’re not stepping out of this palace until I say it’s secure.”
Celestina clenched her jaw, biting back her anger. The photograph in her study and the note weighed heavily on her mind, and Kael’s increasing control only made her more suspicious. She gave him a curt nod, choosing not to argue further, but her trust in him was eroding.
That afternoon, Celestina made a decision. She slipped the photograph and note into her bag and discreetly requested a meeting with her father’s former head of security, a man named Commander Drennan.
The meeting took place in a small, dimly lit room deep within the palace. Drennan, a broad-shouldered man with silver hair and a no-nonsense demeanor, greeted her with a respectful bow.
“Madam President,” he said, his voice gravelly. “How can I assist you?”
She hesitated for a moment before pulling out the photograph and note, placing them on the table between them.
“I need answers,” she said quietly. “This arrived for me a few days ago. That’s Dimitri, but the man next to him… it looks like Kael.”
Drennan’s sharp eyes scanned the photograph, and his brow furrowed. “It does resemble him,” he admitted, his voice cautious.
“The note said, ‘The truth is closer than you think.’ What truth? What connection could they possibly have?” she asked, her frustration seeping into her tone.
Drennan sat back, his expression thoughtful. “I’ll investigate this discreetly. If there’s a link, I’ll find it. But, Madam President…”
“Yes?”
“Be careful. If there’s even a grain of truth to this, you’re in dangerous territory. Trust no one—not even those closest to you.”
Her chest tightened at the warning. Dimitri’s words from her dreams came rushing back: “Don’t trust the people closest to you.”
That evening, Celestina buried herself in palace records, hoping to distract herself. Her desk was covered in papers detailing accounts, budgets, and other financial reports. She was scanning through them absentmindedly when something unusual caught her eye.
An account registered to the Hestrel family.
Her breath hitched. The Hestrel name was tied to a powerful but shadowy family with a reputation for underhanded dealings. What startled her more was the amount of money flowing into the account—and Kael’s name listed as an authorized representative.
“This can’t be right,” she whispered, flipping through more papers. She found additional transactions, some dating back to months before their wedding. It wasn’t just one coincidence; it was a pattern.
Her hands trembled as she pieced it together. Kael had financial ties to a family known for manipulation and corruption. And he’d kept it from her.
The sound of the door opening snapped her out of her thoughts. She hastily tried to shuffle the documents back into place, but Kael walked in before she could.
He glanced at the scattered papers, his eyes briefly landing on the Hestrel account name. His expression didn’t change, but something about his calm demeanor sent a chill down her spine.
“You’ve been busy,” he said, stepping closer.
Celestina forced a tight smile. “Just catching up on some financial reports.”
Kael leaned over, picking up one of the documents casually. “Hestrel accounts,” he said lightly, as though the name meant nothing. “I see you’ve been thorough.”
Her heart raced, but she kept her face neutral. “I thought it was worth reviewing.”
Kael placed the paper back on the desk, his movements slow and deliberate. “We can talk about it later,” he said, his voice smooth, almost too smooth. “Let’s not overwork ourselves tonight.”
He pressed a kiss to her forehead and left the room, closing the door behind him.
