Chapter 4 - The Twin in the Shadows
The atmosphere in the room shifted from tense confusion to absolute horror. Duke Sterling took an instinctive step back, his eyes darting toward the exits.
"Read it, Alexander," Margaret urged, extending the trembling document toward the Prince.
Alexander took the heavy parchment. His fingers broke the royal wax seal without hesitation. As his eyes scanned the formal Latin and English calligraphy, his jaw clenched so hard I could hear the grinding of his teeth.
"Two daughters," Alexander read aloud, his voice echoing off the stone walls. "Born twenty minutes apart on the fourteenth of June. The first-born: Eleanor Victoria Whitmore. The second-born: Clara Margaret Whitmore."
Murmurs erupted across the cathedral like wildfire. Guests pulled out their phones, typing frantically despite the palace jamming signals.
"Why?" Alexander demanded, his gaze lifting from the page to pierce Margaret. "Why was she sent away? Why did my wife live her entire life believing she was an only child?"
Margaret swallowed hard, glancing nervously toward Duke Sterling and his guards. "Because of the ancient Succession Act of 1888. It stated that if twins of royal blood were born, the council had the power to declare the entire line disputed, stripping the crown from Eleanor's father and passing it directly to the cadet branch—the Sterling family."
I caught my breath. "Duke Sterling's family."
"The late King knew Sterling was plotting a coup," Margaret explained, tears spilling freely now. "He couldn't risk the dynasty collapsing. So he begged me—his most trusted royal midwife—to smuggle Clara out of the country before the Sterling faction discovered there were two babies. I raised Clara as my own daughter in America, under an ironclad vow of secrecy."
"And Eleanor?" I whispered, my heart aching with a grief for a sister I had never known. "Did she ever know about me?"
"Eleanor found out three years ago," Margaret revealed softly. "She discovered a hidden diary in the royal archives shortly after Oliver was born. She was actively looking for you, Clara. She was gathering evidence to overturn the old decree and bring you home."
Alexander’s head whipped around toward Victoria. "And that's when Eleanor suddenly fell ill, wasn't it?"
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Victoria took another step back, her chest heaving, the color entirely drained from her face. "That is an outrageous lie! Eleanor had a weak heart! The royal physicians confirmed it!"
"The royal physicians who were funded and appointed by your father's foundation!" Margaret fired back, her voice ringing with raw courage. "Look at the screen, Alexander! Look at what was uploaded to the cloud server before they cut the wires!"
