Chapter 9
Daniel’s anger turned toward confusion.
That was the first honest expression Jenna had seen on his face in years.
“You said Dad left you at a gas station?”
Jenna looked at him.
“He did.”
“He told us you ran.”
“I know.”
Daniel’s eyes flicked toward Victor.
Victor snapped, “She is lying.”
Celeste’s voice broke through softly.
“Then why do I know this coin?”
Everyone turned toward her.
Richard’s face changed so sharply that Jenna knew the final piece had landed.
Celeste stared at the silver dollar in her palm.
“When I was little, my father kept a coin in his office safe,” she said. “Not this one. A photograph of this one. He said it was from the deal that made everything possible.”
Richard whispered, “Celeste.”
She looked at him.
“The Marrow Foundation seal used it. The old one. Before you changed it.”
Jenna said nothing.
She did not need to.
The bride was walking herself toward the truth.
Daniel looked sick now.
“You knew?” he asked Celeste.
“No,” she whispered. “I knew a story. Not this.”
Jenna believed her.
Not completely.
Not enough to trust.
But enough to understand Celeste had not expected the coin to appear beside her champagne glass like a buried key.
Richard stepped closer.
“Jenna, whatever you think—”
She lifted one hand.
“Do not.”
He stopped.
Victor’s eyes moved toward the investigators.
The attorney at the entrance checked his watch.
The ballroom remained frozen in wedding silence.
Jenna looked at Celeste.
The bride’s fingers closed around the coin as if it had burned her.
“Where did you get that coin?” she asked again.
This time, the question was not about metal.
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It was about everything her family had hidden behind it.
Read the full story 👉 Celeste recognized the coin from her father’s private story, and that recognition made denial impossible.
