The Billionaire’s Son Ran Crying to a Maid at the Gala—Then He Revealed a Terrifying Secret About the Fire That Changed Everything!

Her attorney claimed she would provide information about the foundation's missing money, but only if Elena was excluded from all interviews and hearings. The prosecutor refused. Celeste then changed her story, saying Adrian had ordered the alarm disabled and had asked her to cover up the fire because Nora was planning to leave him.

Reporters crowded the sidewalk. A financial network replayed old photographs of Adrian and Nora with a headline suggesting a murder conspiracy. Online comments called Elena a gold-digging liar. The same public that had once praised the Vale family now wanted a villain, and Celeste was giving them several choices.

Adrian's board met in emergency session. Some members wanted him to step aside until the investigation ended. Others worried about donors leaving. Adrian listened until the chairwoman asked him whether he had ever signed the alarm work order.

"No," he said. "But I failed to verify it. I failed to question the report. And I let an innocent woman take the blame because I was grieving and wanted the story to be simple."

"If you remove me, I won't fight it," he continued. "But you will not use Elena as a shield for this company's reputation. The foundation exists to help families in crisis. If we cannot tell the truth about our own house, we have no business asking anyone else to trust us."

The board voted to suspend him pending the investigation. Adrian accepted the decision without protest.

Adrian accepted the risk. "I may lose the company, but I won't lose the truth again."

That afternoon, Walter Pike gave a sworn statement. He identified Celeste's signature and described the threats against his family. The alarm technician's phone records matched the timeline, and the forensic lab confirmed that the recordings had not been edited.

Then Grace found a final payment from Celeste to the technician, sent the morning after the fire. The note attached to the transfer contained five words: You never saw Nora alive.

Before they left, Theo hugged Elena and whispered, "If she tells another lie, will you still come back?"