Chapter 6 - The Woman in the Red Coat|
Celeste had never liked Paige's house.
It was too personal, too full of objects that had been chosen for reasons money couldn't explain. The framed photographs were mismatched. The kitchen table had a scratch from when Owen had tried to build a model airplane. The living room rug had faded where the children played every afternoon.
Celeste preferred rooms that made people feel they were being evaluated.
By ten the next morning, she had arranged for a designer to visit the house.
Marcus canceled the appointment.
“We need to talk,” he said.
She stood in the doorway of the study, holding a coffee cup.
“About what?”
“The foundation.”
Her expression remained composed, but her fingers tightened around the cup.
“What about it?”
“Someone has been asking questions about Lantern.”
Celeste set the coffee down.
“Then you should speak to your attorneys.”
“I have. They say the authorization documents are inconsistent.”
“Administrative errors happen.”
“Not when the same signature appears on three separate accounts.”
She looked at him carefully.
“Are you suggesting Paige did something?”
“I'm suggesting I don't know what happened.”
“That's convenient. Your wife leaves, and suddenly you discover accounting problems.”
Marcus studied her.
“Why were you at the foundation event with Victor Shaw?”
“Because I work with the board.”
“You told me you had never met him.”
Celeste's face changed.
Only slightly, but Marcus noticed.
“I may have met him at an event.”
“You were holding a security contract folder.”
“I'm not responsible for every piece of paper photographed near me.”
He walked to the desk and opened a drawer.
The folder containing the foundation's original investment records was gone.
“Have you been in my study?”
“Of course. I live here now.”
“You don't live here.”
The words escaped before he could stop them.
Celeste stared at him.
“You brought me here.”
“I made a mistake.”
For the first time, her polished expression cracked.
“Don't you dare call me a mistake.”
“I should never have brought you into my home.”
“You invited me because you wanted someone who understood you.”
“No. I invited you because you told me everything I wanted to hear.”
Her eyes sharpened.
“You're angry because Paige left.”
“I'm angry because my company may be under investigation.”
“And you're going to blame me?”
“I'm asking what you know.”
Celeste moved toward the desk.
“You need to be careful, Marcus. People who ask too many questions sometimes discover things they would have been happier not knowing.”
He stared at her.
“Is that a threat?”
“It's advice.”
She picked up her coat and left the room.
Marcus waited until he heard the front door close before calling his attorney.
“I want a complete audit of the foundation,” he said. “And I want every record connected to Lantern preserved.”
“That's a significant escalation.”
“Do it.”
At the same time, Celeste sat in the back of a waiting black car three blocks away.
She called Victor Shaw.
“He's asking questions.”
“Of course he is.”
“He knows about the documents.”
“Does he know about the recordings?”
“No.”
“Then we still have time.”
Celeste looked out the window.
“What happens to Paige?”
Victor's voice was flat.
“She becomes the person responsible for the transfers.”
“She won't cooperate.”
“Then we make cooperation look like her only way out.”
Celeste swallowed.
“You said no one would be hurt.”
“No one needs to be hurt if everyone behaves intelligently.”
She ended the call.
For several minutes, she sat without moving.
Then she opened a hidden folder on her phone and looked at an old photograph.
It showed her at twenty-three, standing beside a man in a hospital corridor. He was pale and exhausted, his arm wrapped in a sling.
His name was Thomas Ward.
Her younger brother.
He had died three months after the photograph was taken.
The official report called it an accidental overdose.
Celeste had never believed that explanation.
Thomas had worked as a junior accountant for Marcus's father. Before he died, he had told Celeste that the Hale family's charitable foundation was being used to move money for people who did not want their names attached to it.
He had promised to bring her proof.
Two days later, he was dead.
Celeste had spent years trying to discover what had happened. Victor Shaw had offered answers, influence, and a way to punish the family she believed had destroyed her brother.
She had told herself that seducing Marcus was a necessary step.
She had told herself that taking control of the foundation would expose the truth.
She had not expected to fall in love with the version of Marcus who occasionally appeared when nobody was watching.
But she had never told him about Thomas.
And now the woman Marcus had thrown out of his house was the only person who might possess the evidence Celeste needed.
Her phone buzzed.
A message from Victor.
The children are the next pressure point. Make sure Marcus understands that.
Celeste stared at the words.
Then she typed a reply.
Leave the children out of this.
May you like
Victor responded immediately.
You don't get to decide that anymore.
