THE SHADOWS OF HER CROWN

Chapter 18: The Unmasking Begins

The morning sun poured through the windows of Crestmont Academy like liquid gold, but Elara felt no warmth in it.

Every shadow seemed longer. Every laugh more suspicious.

The message at the fountain haunted her.

“The Belmonts may find their daughter… but will they bury her next?”

She wasn’t just being threatened. She was being hunted.

During lunch, Nolan slipped her a folded note beneath the table.

“They want to meet you. Tonight. Privately. East wing, Room 304.”

Her breath caught.

Her parents.

The people she'd only seen in dreams.

The ones who never stopped looking.

Serena, seated at the far end of the dining hall with her squad, was unusually quiet. But her eyes—those calculating emerald eyes—never left Elara.

Julian and Zane had grown more protective. Wherever she went, one of them was nearby. Zane walked her to classes. Julian lingered near her dorm at night. They didn’t speak about what was happening—they didn’t have to.

Everyone felt it: the calm before a storm.

That evening, Elara slipped away while the others were distracted by study hour. Her hands trembled as she pushed open the door to Room 304.

It was dimly lit. Two figures stood inside—a tall, elegant woman with raven-black hair and soft gray eyes, and a broad-shouldered man with a deep scar across his jaw.

Her heart knew before her voice did.

“Mom…” she whispered.

Celeste Belmont stepped forward, eyes brimming with tears. “Elara…?”

Her name. Her real name.

She barely made it across the room before her mother wrapped her in trembling arms. Her father followed, his silence heavy with emotion. Nolan entered last, eyes glassy.

For a moment, the world disappeared. There was only family. Home. Healing.

But just as Elara opened her mouth to speak, the door burst open.

Serena.

Her face twisted in rage, mascara streaking from her eyes. “You don’t belong with them!” she shrieked. “I am their daughter! I lived the life you threw away!”

Celeste stepped in front of Elara protectively. “Serena, you—”

“Don’t call me that!” Serena screamed. “I was perfect! I did everything right! And you’re going to throw me away for her?!”

Elara’s voice was low. “You always knew, didn’t you?”

Serena laughed bitterly. “I knew the moment your eyes looked just like hers. I knew, and I made sure you’d never find out. But now…” She pulled something from her coat pocket—a vial, shimmering with dark liquid.

“Now, no one will remember you ever existed.”