Just as he had assumed, his parents were angry, especially his mother. “How could something like this happen?” his mother asked. She was fanning herself, as the anger was making her temperature rise.
“I knew we should not have trusted that family,” Bridgette said. She was sitting there with a smug I-told-you-so look on her face.
“All of that is false,” the prince said.
“And how do you know?” the king asked him.
“I know her character.” He did not know much about Macee but the one thing he knew without a shadow of doubt was her innocence. She was not that kind of person. There was no way on earth.
“There is no smoke without a fire,” Bridgette said.
“She is the crown princess of this country. Of course, there will be some malicious people who want to destroy her image. By becoming a royal, she has automatically made some enemies.”
“What about the obscene photographs?” the queen asked.
“They show nothing incriminating. Besides that was before she even knew that she was going to be the crown princess. She cannot be held accountable for that.”
“I understand you want to defend your wife but as the crown prince you have to be objective about this,” the king said.
“I am and I will get to the bottom of this. The culprit will not escape my wrath,” the prince said and left the room. Admittedly, when he first saw the party photographs, he thought this was Macee's method of getting an annulment, but when he read the newspaper article about her being promiscuous, he immediately knew she was being set up.
When Macee was done speaking to Liane, she was surprised to see Francesca enter her quarters. All this time she had been living in the palace, her sister had never come to see her. Francesca walked over to Macee and hugged her. Macee could not help but breakdown. “You came,” she said between sobs.
“Of course, I came,” Francesca said. “You’re my baby sister.” She released Macee from her embrace and guided her to the sofas. Francesca held her younger sister's hands. “Are you okay?” she asked. Macee shook her head.
“Why would someone do this? What is the point of being so cruel?”
“Mace, you are the crown princess now. You automatically became an idol and an enemy.”
“I never asked to be the crown princess and now I am being punished for it.”
It broke Francesca's heart to see her sister like that. Macee was the light of the family. She was the one who never followed anyone's rules. She was always so happy and free spirited. It was rare to see her cry. She felt guilty for giving her a hard time at the beginning. She vowed to herself to make sure she exposed the person who leaked those pictures and made up those lies about Macee. That person had to pay.
“It will be okay, Mace,” Francesca said and kissed Macee on the forehead.
“I hope so,” Macee replied. She was glad to have the support of both her sisters. She still had not spoken to her parents and she was dreading it. They might not be as understanding as the crown prince had been. Macee had expected him to be angry about it. It surprised her to see him so calm and try to comfort her.
Chapter 16
Francesca had gone to speak with the crown prince after she had seen Macee. Her intention was to plead on Macee's behalf and convince him of her innocence. To her surprise, the crown prince was already convinced that Macee was innocent. It made her feel better about leaving Macee in the palace alone. She did not want her sister to go against the royal family by herself. Francesca was pleased to see that the prince was going to be in her corner.
“I will find out who did this to my sister,” Francesca said to the prince before she left. The prince nodded.
“That is exactly what I aim to do. If you find something or need anything, do not hesitate to contact me,” he replied her.
Francesca curtsied before she left his office. One of the advantages to being her father's daughter was that she had the connections and the resources to get to the bottom of this.
As expected, Mrs LeBlanc was furious. Francesca returned home to find her raging on the phone. “You have disgraced the family,” Mrs LeBlanc screamed. Knowing that it was Macee she was speaking to, Francesca grabbed the phone from her mother’s hand and slammed it down.
“Mother, stop it!” Francesca shouted.
“Francesca LeBlanc, what is the meaning of this?”
“Macee did nothing wrong. Can't you see it was a set up? How can you blame her for this? Are you so against your own daughter that you would believe this trash?”
“That is exactly what I said,” Colonel LeBlanc said as he entered the room. “My little girl is not promiscuous,” he added.