Chapter 8 - The Woman in the Video
The video ended after thirty-seven seconds.
Celeste sat frozen.
“My mother died in a car accident,” she said.
Rosa did not answer.
Celeste looked at her. “Say it.”
“I don’t know what happened to your mother.”
“But you think my father had something to do with it.”
“I think she was scared of him.”
Celeste stood so fast the chair scraped the floor. “You knew this for years?”
“No. Miguel never showed me that video.”
“Why not?”
“Because three weeks after your mother died, Miguel was attacked outside our apartment.”
Celeste stared.
“He survived,” Rosa continued, “but he stopped talking about Whitmore. He said he wanted me safe.”
Naomi examined the transfer papers. “These signatures need a forensic document expert. If they’re fake, the property sale could be challenged.”
Celeste rubbed both hands over her face.
Her phone rang.
DAD.
She let it ring.
Then a message appeared.
COME HOME. NOW.
A second message followed.
YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT ROSA ALVAREZ COST THIS FAMILY.
Celeste showed them.
Rosa’s mouth tightened. “He wants you angry at me.”
“Maybe I am angry at you.”
“That’s fair.”
Celeste looked surprised.
Rosa gathered the documents. “But be angry at the truth too.”
Outside the bank, two reporters were waiting.
Naomi stopped cold. “How did they know we were here?”
Questions exploded.
“Ms. Whitmore, did you assault a flower seller?”
“Is Whitmore Development stealing property from Mercer Market?”
“Was your mother involved in a land dispute before her death?”
Celeste turned on Naomi. “Did you call them?”
“No.”
Rosa looked across the street.
Arthur stood beside a black sedan.
He had brought the press.
Then he raised one hand and gave Rosa a tiny wave.
That afternoon, every major local station ran the same headline:
May you like
FLOWER SELLER ACCUSED OF EXTORTION PLOT AGAINST WHITMORE HEIRESS.
And the person making the accusation was Celeste’s father.
