Chapter 83 EXAMINATION
Celestia's Pov
I sat in my seat watching the three Elders gather around Medea on the ceremonial platform but I was not really focused on what was happening there. My eyes kept drifting past the platform to the buildings behind it.
The medical wing. I could see it clearly from where I was sitting. A long white building with rows of windows on the second floor. One of those windows belonged to Asher's room and he was in there right now while I was out here watching this fake ceremony.
I studied the windows and tried to count them. Iris the kitchen maid had told me Asher's room was at the end of the medical wing on the second floor. That would make it the last window on the right side of the building.
I stared at that window and wondered if Asher could see out of it. If he was standing there right now, small hands pressed to the glass, watching all these people gather for the ceremony below. If he could hear the distant voices, the music, feel that something important was happening without knowing why. I wondered if he had any idea—any sense at all—that his real mother was right here, so close, sitting among strangers and pretending calm while planning to come get him.
s.. sitting out here planning to come get him.
"Are you even watching this?" Lucian whispered next to me.
"Not really," I admitted quietly.
"You are studying the medical wing," Lucian said.
"Yes. I am trying to figure out the best route to get there. And I am calculating whether I can slip away during the ceremony's climax when all attention is on Medea," I said.
"That is smart. When everyone is focused on the Elders announcing the blessing nobody will notice you leaving," Lucian said.
"Exactly. That is what I am thinking," I said.
On the platform, the three Elders positioned themselves around Medea with practiced precision. Elder Janice stood at her head, serene and authoritative, while the other two Elders took their places on either side of her. In unison, they raised their hands over Medea’s belly and closed their eyes. The crowd fell completely silent as a heavy, expectant stillness settled over the grounds, the air thick with ritual and anticipation.
The crowd went completely silent. This was the most important part of the ceremony. The moment when the Elders would confirm whether there was life growing inside the Luna.
But I was not watching with the same anticipation as everyone else. I was watching with detachment because I already knew what the result would be. Elder Janice had been bribed to confirm a pregnancy whether one existed or not.
"My investigators sent me something interesting," Lucian whispered and he leaned close so nobody else could hear.
"What did they find?" I asked.
"They looked into the timing of when Medea announced her pregnancy. Do you remember when that was?" Lucian asked.
“Yes,” I said quietly. “It was right after she was supposed to apologize to me for throwing me in the cell.” My jaw tightened at the memory. “She was meant to make a public apology at a pack meeting, admit what she’d done. Instead, she stood there, smiled, and announced she was pregnant.” I let out a bitter breath. “Just like that, everything shifted in her favor.”
"Exactly. The timing is very convenient do you not think?" Lucian said.
I thought about that for a moment. Lucian was right. The timing was extremely convenient. Almost too convenient to be a coincidence.
"You think she announced the pregnancy to get out of having to apologize to me," I said.
"That is exactly what I think. She was about to be held accountable for what she did to you and suddenly she is pregnant. Everyone forgets about the apology because they are too busy celebrating the future heir," Lucian said.
"That is smart. In a terrible manipulative way but smart," I said.
“It also means she’s been planning this for a while,” Lucian said, his tone low but sharp. “This wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision. She knew she needed a way to avoid consequences, and she came up with the pregnancy lie. Every step she took, every story she told—it was calculated. She played everyone around her, built a scenario that made her untouchable, and now she’s reaping the rewards while no one suspects the truth behind it.”
I filed that information away in my mind. It would be useful later when we expose Medea's lies. The fact that she announced her pregnancy at such a convenient time would make people question whether it was ever real in the first place.
"How long until your investigators finish getting Dr Lake's statement?" I asked.
Lucian checked his phone quickly under the ceremony program so nobody would see.
"They said another hour or two. Dr Lake is cooperating but she is being very thorough. She wants to make sure everything is documented properly," Lucian said.
"Good. The more documentation we have the better," I said.
On the platform, the Elders were still conducting their examination. They had placed their hands on Medea's belly and were doing whatever it was Elders did to sense life. The whole thing looked very ceremonial and important but I knew it was just theatre.
Elder Janice had already decided what she was going to announce before she ever put her hands on Medea. The examination was just for show.
I looked at Medea lying on the mat, and a strange mix of emotions twisted inside me. Part of me hated her—hated her for framing me, for stealing my life, for keeping me away from my son all this time. But even as the anger burned, another part of me felt an unfamiliar pang of pity, or maybe it was sorrow, for how she carried herself so confidently while leaving destruction in her wake. The contradiction gnawed at me, making every breath feel heavier than the last.
But another part of me almost felt sorry for her. She had trapped herself in a lie that kept getting bigger and bigger. Eventually, it would all come crashing down and when it did the consequences would be severe.
"Do you think she knows we are onto her?" Lucian asked.
"Maybe. She is not stupid. She probably suspects that we are investigating but I do not think she knows how much evidence we have gathered," I said.
"Once we get Dr Lake's statement we will have everything we need. We can file for custody of Asher immediately," Lucian said.
"And expose Medea's fake pregnancy," I added.
"That too. Though I am curious to see how she plans to maintain this lie for months. She cannot fake being pregnant forever," Lucian said.
“She will probably claim a miscarriage at some point,” I said, my voice tight with controlled anger. “Elder Janice will back her up, saying the pregnancy was troubled from the start. And just like that, everyone will feel sorry for her instead of questioning whether the baby ever even existed. It’ll be a perfect story, crafted to make her the victim while keeping the truth hidden. No one will suspect a thing—everyone will be too busy sympathizing with her.”
"You have thought this through," Lucian said.
"I have had a lot of time to think about how they might try to cover their tracks," I said.
The Elders finally removed their hands from Medea's belly and stepped back. Elder Janice had a strange expression on her face. She looked confused or concerned about something.
I watched carefully trying to read what was happening. Had Elder Janice actually found something during the examination? Or was this just part of the performance?
Elder Janice signalled for Medea to stand up and Medea got to her feet slowly. She looked pale and shaky, as if she might faint.
"Here it comes," Lucian whispered. "The big announcement."