Chapter 3 - The Trap
Celeste denied writing the note.
Mara did not believe her.
Neither did Isabella.
Helena remained calm.
“You are all turning ordinary concern into conspiracy.”
“Ordinary concern?” Isabella asked. “You collected my meals.”
“For medical reasons.”
“You are not my doctor.”
The regency clause had been created decades earlier to protect a child heir if a parent became truly incapacitated.
Helena had turned it into a weapon.
If Isabella ate, the palace recorded “lack of discipline.”
If she refused food, she looked ill.
If she attended events, her body suffered.
If she canceled, she was called unfit.
There was no correct choice.
Then a messenger rushed into the chamber.
Isabella’s former midwife had returned.
Miriam Hale entered carrying an old leather case.
Isabella had not seen her since three days after Julian’s birth.
“Why did you leave me?” Isabella asked.
Miriam’s eyes filled.
“I didn’t.”
She placed the case on the table.
“I was dismissed because I refused to sign a statement saying your condition came from overeating.”
Adrian stared.
“I was told you resigned.”
Miriam opened the case.
Inside was the original chart from Julian’s birth.
Isabella’s blood loss had been severe.
Her heart had nearly stopped.
The surgeons expected months of recovery.
One order was written across the bottom in red:
DO NOT INFORM THE KING UNTIL QUEEN MOTHER HELENA APPROVES.
Adrian looked at Helena.
“You controlled what I knew that night too?”
Helena said nothing.
Then Miriam handed Dr. Vale another document.
A diet order carrying his signature.
Severe restriction.
No extra meals.
No recovery calories.
Dr. Vale stared.
“I never wrote this.”
The signature was forged.
Miriam pointed at the paper.
“I kept it because I knew one day someone would need to prove that.”
Adrian’s anger rose.
“Who forged it?”
Helena glanced toward the door.
Too quickly.
A guard entered seconds later.
“Your Majesty, Lady Celeste is gone.”
May you like
On her desk she had left one note:
ASK THE DRESSMAKER.
