Thorns Grow After Betrayal (Celeste and Chester) novel Chapter 296

“Postpone the match?”

Celestine sat up in bed, blankets still warm from just having settled in.

Could things really be this coincidental?

“Hey, Crystal, do you know the name of the CEO of The Prescott Group?”

“President Prescott? You caught me off guard—I actually can’t remember off the top of my head. Hang on, let me look it up for you.”

Crystal Lennox pulled out her phone and started tapping away.

Celestine’s heart thudded in her chest, skipping a beat from nerves.

If Gideon really was the one behind The Prescott Group… suddenly, all these strange coincidences would make sense.

Crystal’s lips parted slightly as she read the name aloud.

“Finley Prescott.”

The tension in Celestine’s body instantly melted away.

Not him.

She let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Crystal tucked her phone away and gave her a curious look. “What’s got you asking about The Prescott Group all of a sudden, anyway?”

Celestine smiled, feigning nonchalance. “I realized I’ve never seen any coverage about their CEO. Got curious, that’s all.”

“You should’ve just asked me—I know all the gossip.” Crystal grinned mischievously. “Word is, Mr. Prescott married young and is absolutely devoted to his wife. She once mentioned wanting to study abroad in Germany, and he dropped everything—left the company behind just to go with her. For years now, he’s been running the business remotely.”

Celestine’s eyes widened. “Seriously? That’s wild!”

Crystal laughed. “What’s so wild about it?”

She didn’t think she’d shared anything all that shocking.

“It’s just…” Celestine paused, searching for the right words. “It’s rare to hear about a man so loyal, so completely in love with his wife.”

“Grandpa, just go. The hotel’s charging an arm and a leg tonight,” she said, holding up five fingers with an exaggerated wink, tossing out a deliberately hazy number.

Even after all these years of comfort, Luther was still thrifty to the core.

Before leaving, Luther fussed over her with a barrage of instructions, only agreeing to go when Pete finally led him to the hotel across the street.

As he walked out, Pete shot Celestine a discreet thumbs-up.

Her brother didn’t stand a chance against her cleverness.

Left alone for a moment, Celestine finally had a chance to check her phone. The online drama from earlier had finally died down.

Although people were still gossiping about Joanna’s plastic surgery, the company’s PR machine had spun it into a story of a shy, insecure girl finding self-worth after losing her parents.

Joanna herself even started a trending hashtag: #BeautyHasNoRules.

The more Celestine read, the deeper her frown grew.

This kind of glorification of cosmetic surgery—how many impressionable young fans would it mislead?