Chapter 12 - The Call Celeste Couldn't Explain
The sheriff's office identified the SUV and tried to stop it. The driver accelerated away, then abandoned it near a shopping plaza. Celeste wasn't inside when deputies arrived.
Adrian found her at Blackthorn Hall that evening, sitting at the foot of the grand staircase with her makeup smeared and her white dress folded across her knees.
“You followed Mara,” he said.
Celeste shook her head. “Martin told me you were meeting someone who wanted money. I thought he meant to ruin us.”
“Who's the driver?”
“I don't know his real name.”
“Do you ever tell the truth?”
She flinched. “You think I wanted any of this?”
“I watched you threaten Mateo.”
“I wanted him quiet. Martin said if the papers came out, your company's lenders would pull out and hundreds of people would lose their jobs.”
“That's what he told you. What did he actually ask you to do?”
“Get the envelope. Destroy the bracelet. Sign the sale.”
“And hide the children?”
“No.” Celeste looked up sharply. “I didn't know about Lucy until yesterday. I swear it.”
Adrian wanted to hate her without complication. But something in her face suggested she was frightened of a man she'd believed she controlled.
“Why did you work with him?”
Her answer came barely above a whisper. “My brother owed him money. Martin said he could make the debt disappear.”
Nora entered with Harris. Celeste went rigid.
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“I'm not promising you immunity,” Harris said. “But if you want to tell the truth, now's the time.”
Celeste stared at Adrian and whispered, “Martin told me your mother died naturally. Last night I found an invoice that suggests someone paid to change her medical chart.”
