# Chapter 26: Prom Night's Missing Crown
Hello everyone, it's me again! How are you all doing? Today I will continue to walk with you and review Chapter 26 of *When the Truth Unravels*. I hope you're ready, because this chapter is not just about glitter, crowns, and slow dances. This is the moment when prom night begins to crack, and somewhere behind all the beautiful dresses and fake smiles, Elin's disappearance becomes a scream no one wants to hear.
The gym was still throbbing with music. Bass hammered through the walls, through the floor, through Jenna's skin until her whole body felt too hot and too small. Josh had abandoned the idea of crowning Elin. That was wrong. Every instinct in Jenna screamed it. Elin had been looking forward to prom for weeks, and now the DJ was spinning another track as though the night had not just been gutted.
Jenna stood in the shadowy lobby, trying to convince herself that Elin had simply sneaked off—maybe to smoke a cigarette, maybe to fix her makeup, maybe to hide in the bathroom and wait for the drama to die. But the rational voice was too quiet. The primal voice, the lizard-brain voice, knew better. Elin was not having harmless fun. Whatever she was doing, people were going to pay for it. Most likely Jenna.
For one brief, terrible second, Jenna's imagination twisted into the darkest place possible. Elin's face—white, still, waxy, like a doll's. A razor blade on the edge of a sink. Empty pill bottles scattered across a floor. Red ribbons rising through water, the kind you see in horror movies when it's already too late. Jenna's heart slammed at the cage of her ribs. She took a deep breath and shoved those images down, buried them deep, slammed the door, and turned the lock. Elin's doctor had sent her home. That meant none of those nightmares were possible. That had to be true. It had to be.
"Where is she?" Jenna whispered to herself.
Rosie stood nearby, digits white around her phone. "I've been texting her. I'm not getting any reply. Ket says she's not with her."
Jenna pressed her palms to her forehead and shut her eyes, willing the problem to dissolve.
Then Ket and Teddy appeared, and Jenna's confusion spiked. Teddy? Here? The two of them came out of the dim hallway as though they had no idea the world was on fire.
"Where have you guys been?" Rosie asked.
Ket and Teddy exchanged a quick glance. "In the band room. Watching Golden Girls," Ket said after an awkward beat.
A flash of hurt crossed Rosie's face, but Jenna shook her head. There was no time for Teddy-Rosie drama, no time for silent resentment, no time for anything except finding Elin.
"We can't find Elin," Jenna announced. "She's not answering texts, either."
Ket blinked, mouth open. Her surprise was real—and somehow that made everything worse. If Ket didn't have a clue, then no one had a clue.
"Well... what do you think happened?" Ket asked.
Rosie shrugged, wrapping her arms around herself. "Beats me. She said she was going to look for you. Did Ben say something to her?"
"I don't think so," Ket mumbled.
Jenna turned sharply to Rosie. "Why would you think Ben said something?"
Rosie glanced away. She was silent, as usual. Teddy looked between the three of them with growing concern. He might not have understood every secret they were carrying, but he was a good listener, and he understood fear when he saw it.
"Guys, what's going on?" he asked.
Ket cleared her throat. "I, uh, may have an idea of what happened."
"Care to share with the class?" Jenna raised an eyebrow.
Ket glanced at Teddy, who raised his eyebrows in confusion. "Why are you looking at me? I don't know what's going on," Teddy said.
Ket grabbed Jenna's arm and Rosie's arm and started pulling them down the hall. "We'll be right back! It's a girl thing!" she called over her shoulder.
Jenna realized Ket was steering them toward the bathroom and immediately stomped on the brakes. "Hold on," she snapped, heart pounding wildly. "Just tell me what you think is happening already."
Ket looked around, scanning the hallway for listening ears. She wanted privacy, but Jenna could not handle another trip into that bathroom.
"No one's listening," Jenna hissed impatiently.
Ket sagged against a row of lockers, shoulders hunched, biting her lip. Then she let it all out.
"I told Vaughn about what happened. To Elin."
For one second, Jenna could not comprehend the words. Then she heard Rosie curse under her breath, and everything snapped back into focus. At least there was a logical explanation. That mattered. Maybe it was stupid, maybe it was a betrayal, but at least it explained some of the chaos.
"I know it was stupid, so don't lecture me," Ket said quickly. "But I'm sure Vaughn won't tell anyone. The problem is, I told Elin at Fisher's party. Now she's pissed."
"But she's not pissed," Rosie said, forehead crinkling. "At least, I don't think she is."
Ket threw her hands up. "Then why else would she run off when she's been looking forward to prom for weeks?"
"I don't know," Rosie argued, "but the last thing she told me was that she was going to look for you. She was talking about sushi! Did Vaughn say something to her?"
"No," said Ket.
"How are you so sure?" Rosie asked.
"I know," Ket said firmly.
"How do you know?" Rosie insisted.
"He's not even at the dance yet!" Ket snapped.
Jenna stepped in before the two of them could tear each other apart. "Stop. There's no point in arguing. We need to split up and look for her. She's probably moping in a classroom somewhere, or fixing her makeup in front of a mirror. That's likely all this is."
Ket and Rosie nodded, but neither looked convinced. "What are we going to tell Teddy?" Ket asked miserably.
"Why is Teddy here, again?" Jenna said.
Ket's gaze flicked toward Rosie, who looked away. "I think it was a last-minute decision."
"Well, yeah—he's wearing jeans and a suit coat he probably stole from his grandpa," Jenna muttered, rubbing her temples.
Rosie nudged her with an elbow. "Who's down there with Teddy?" she asked, peering down the darkened hallway.
Ket swore softly. "It's Fisher and FDR."
"And Ben," Rosie added, her voice sour.
Ket and Rosie started moving toward the shadows where Teddy was still waiting. Jenna stood rooted to the floor for a moment, her mind snagged on a strange, stupid detail.
"Who the hell is FDR?" she asked, picking up her tulle skirt and rushing to catch up.
Fisher Reese and her date—the one everyone apparently called FDR—were standing with Teddy and Ben in the lobby when Jenna and the others returned. They all wore identical expressions of concern. It should have felt comforting, everyone joining the search party, but nothing about this night felt normal.
"Hey, is Elin okay?" Fisher asked in a hushed voice.
Jenna scrunched her nose. "Fisher, when did we become friends?"
Fisher flinched.
"Jenna," Ket hissed under her breath.
Jenna was genuinely puzzled. It wasn't rude—it was a real question. Since when was Ket the arbiter of what was proper? And since when did Ket stick up for Fisher?
"Sorry, Fisher," Jenna said, confused. "But for real, are we friends?"
Fisher blinked. Then a smile spread over her overly orthodonted face. "Of course we're friends, Jenna. We've known each other since we were little."
"Oh, okay," Jenna said—because knowing someone for a long time is not the same as being friends, and no amount of orthodontics could fix that logic.
Ket took charge. "We don't know where Elin is. We're going to split up and search the school before this becomes a thing."
Weirdly, Fisher did not ask questions. She simply nodded. "I'll tell people she wasn't feeling well and she went to my condo to take a nap. If you find her before the after-party, no one will ever know she split."
Jenna blinked. That was... a surprisingly good idea. "Okay. That's a good start. We were her ride, which means she's still on campus somewhere. Let's split up and search. We're bound to find her."
Ben blew out a breath from between his teeth. "Fine. Where should we start?"
Jenna started to craft a polite way to point out that Ben ditching Hannah to search for his ex-girlfriend would be a disaster. Hannah would only add more fire to an already burning night. But Rosie beat her to it.
"I think we'll be fine without your help," Rosie said coolly.
Ben scowled, and his jaw tightened. "Seriously, Rosie, what is your problem? You have been the biggest bitch to me lately."
"Don't call her a bitch," Teddy and Ket snapped at exactly the same time.
Ben glared at Rosie, and for one horrible second, he looked as though he truly hated her. Sweet, kind Ben, glare burning down at Rosie, who was glaring right back with equal heat. What the hell was going on? How drunk was everyone?
"You told me at Fisher's party to stay away from Elin—"
"Wait, what?" Ket interrupted, spinning toward Rosie, whose cheeks were turning scarlet. "Did you lie to me? You promised you'd leave Ben alone."
Rosie looked away. "Look, can we talk about this later?"
"No, we're going to talk about it now," Ket said, voice rising, dark eyes flashing. "Because I think I just figured out what really pissed Elin off."
Jenna put a hand on Ket's arm. "We don't have time for that. We have to find Elin. We need all the help we can get."
FDR spoke for the first time. "Well, at least half of us should head outside."
"In this?" Ket asked, gesturing toward the doors. Snow was falling steadily beyond the glass, drifting down like frozen secrets.
"We saw her outside when we arrived," Fisher said.
"I gave her my coat," FDR added. "It wasn't snowing yet, but she looked cold."
Rosie nodded and turned to Jenna. "Fine. Everyone who wants to help look"—her eyes skittered toward Ben and then away—"should split up. If you find her, text the others. Otherwise—"
"There is no otherwise," Jenna interrupted fiercely. "We're going to find her."
Rosie held Jenna's gaze, and Jenna remembered exactly who she was dealing with—Rosie Winchester, Eeyore personified. She could not resist finishing her sentence, because some people always expect the worst.
"Otherwise," Rosie concluded quietly, "meet back here in thirty minutes."
---
## Ket West-Beauchamp — April 18, 9:20 PM
Thirty minutes came and went. Then forty. Then an hour, in the way hours are made of stones.
Ket had searched classrooms, bathrooms, the library, the dark corners of the gymnasium, and the perimeter of the school building. Elin was nowhere. Every call went straight to voicemail. Every text stayed unplayed. The snow outside had begun to collect in thin white lines on the windowsill, and Ket could not stop thinking about Elin out there in the cold.
The group reunited in the lobby, one by one, each face blank and desperate. Teddy shook his head. Fisher shook her head. Jenna's eyes were too bright, and her lips were pressed into a thin, stubborn line.
Rosie swallowed visibly. "I think we need to call the police."
Jenna whirled around to face her. "What? Why would we do that?"
"Why do you think?" Rosie hissed, glancing over at Ben, who was listening to every word. "Our friend... who is not very responsible right now... has disappeared."
"Do you really think that's extreme?" Teddy asked, his face unsure. "I mean, you guys got in a fight, and she left prom. That's not irresponsible. That's just dramatic. She'll apologize tomorrow."
But Rosie ignored him, her eyes glued to Jenna. "We need to call the cops," she repeated.
"I don't know, Rosie," Ket said, glancing between the two of them. "If the cops come, she is going to be so embarrassed. And pissed."
"Totally," Jenna agreed. "We just have to find her ourselves."
Rosie's lip curled in disgust. "You just don't want to get caught being drunk at school."
Jenna flushed. Ket could not tell whether it was from embarrassment, anger, or the alcohol content in her blood. But Ket felt a sudden rush of defensiveness on Jenna's behalf.
"That's not true, Ro," Ket said, trying to channel as much of Mama Leanne's calm as she could. Authoritative calm. Steady, cool, unbreakable. "If we thought Elin was..."
The sentence dissolved before Ket could finish it. Maybe because what followed was too terrible to say out loud. Maybe because if one of them spoke those words, the night would stop being a misunderstanding and become a nightmare.
Outside, the snow kept falling. Inside, the gym kept beating like a synthetic heart. And some distance away—somewhere no one wanted to imagine—Elin was still alone.
---
### Reader's Impressions & Star Rating
Wow. Just wow. This chapter does exactly what a suspense novel should do—it takes the brightness of prom night and slowly drains the color out of it. There are so many red flags scattered through this chapter: Ket's secret confession, Rosie's lie, Ben's uncharacteristic hatred, and Elin's fragile mental state lurking behind every innocent explanation. Jenna's denial is perfectly heartbreaking because it comes from a place of love rather than logic. And Ket's final POV section? You can feel the moment when the group stops pretending. This isn't a dramatic exit anymore. This is a crisis. I loved how the author managed to make every character feel complicit, even while they all wanted the same thing. The chapter left me breathless with worry.
⭐ Rating: 4.8 / 5 Stars
### Next Chapter Prediction
I predict the next chapter is when reality crashes through the last layer of denial. Someone is going to realize that they know more than they've admitted—maybe Rosie, maybe Ben, maybe even Vaughn. The police are going to become unavoidable, and the secret Ket told Vaughn will spiral out of control. I also think Elin's disappearance is going to connect to something much darker than a prom night argument, and the friend group will be shattered long before they find her.
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