Chapter 16 - The Last Vote
Celeste’s disappearance made the final confrontation unavoidable.
She still owned twenty-six percent of Vale Glass & Gardens.
Her lawyers insisted she intended to participate remotely in the shareholder meeting.
The board could not simply cancel her rights without a legal basis.
Federal investigators wanted her located.
Detective Chen wanted an arrest warrant finalized.
Naomi wanted Edward nowhere near her.
Edward wanted one thing.
Sophie safe.
Rosecliff went into private security lockdown.
Maria slept in Sophie’s room.
The greenhouse remained sealed.
Edward sat at Anna’s old piano with the porcelain rabbit in front of him.
Sophie joined him.
“Are you scared?”
“Yes.”
She looked surprised.
“You say that a lot now.”
“I used to think admitting it made fear stronger.”
“Does it?”
“No.”
“What makes it stronger?”
“Pretending it isn’t there.”
Sophie thought about that.
“Mommy was scared.”
“Yes.”
“She still did things.”
“Yes.”
Sophie placed the rabbit on the piano.
“She said brave means scared but moving.”
Edward smiled.
“That sounds like her.”
At midnight, Naomi called.
The arrest warrant had been signed.
Charges included attempted malicious wounding, child endangerment, fraud, obstruction and conspiracy-related counts.
Federal charges would follow separately.
Celeste was officially a fugitive.
At 7:00 a.m., the company meeting began at Vale headquarters.
Edward attended in person.
Security stood at every entrance.
Sentinel had suspended its acquisition offer after Marcus began cooperating.
Without Sentinel, Celeste’s plan should have collapsed.
Yet her attorney appeared.
Kessler connected a remote screen.
Celeste appeared.
Unknown location.
Edward stared.
Her face looked exhausted.
“Dad.”
“Where are you?”
Kessler objected immediately.
“This is a corporate meeting.”
Edward laughed.
“My daughter is wanted by police.”
Celeste ignored him.
She addressed the board.
“Vale Glass & Gardens will enter insolvency within days unless shareholders approve an alternative transaction.”
Helen Brooks frowned.
“What alternative?”
A new buyer.
Harbor Crest Holdings.
Offer: $104 million.
Even lower than Sentinel.
Fast close.
Debt assumed.
Celeste claimed it could save the company.
Naomi’s team searched ownership in real time.
Harbor Crest had been formed six weeks earlier.
Its capital partner was offshore.
The board recessed.
Naomi came to Edward.
“It’s another vehicle.”
“For Celeste?”
“We can’t prove ownership yet.”
“Then why offer it?”
“She needs a transaction before the audit freezes everything.”
Edward looked at the screen where Celeste waited.
Then his phone buzzed.
Sophie.
Maria was calling from Rosecliff.
Edward answered.
“Grandpa?”
“Sophie?”
“I found Mommy’s letter.”
His heart stopped.
“What letter?”
“The one in the box.”
“What box?”
“The envelope from the archive.”
Edward remembered the sealed envelope addressed to Sophie from lockbox 113.
He had never opened it because it belonged to her.
Sophie had apparently asked Maria to help.
“What does it say?”
Maria came on.
“She says you should hear one part.”
Paper rustled.
Maria read Anna’s words.
“Dad, if Celeste offers another buyer after Sentinel fails, check the name Harbor Crest. Marcus told her about it years ago. It belongs to the lawyers who helped hide Verdant.”
Edward closed his eyes.
Anna had anticipated even the fallback vehicle.
Maria continued.
“There’s documentation attached.”
Naomi whispered, “Get photographs now.”
Within minutes, Maria sent them.
Harbor Crest’s original draft ownership agreement.
Beneficial interest allocated to a trust controlled by Celeste.
The new buyer was Celeste.
Again.
Edward returned to the meeting.
Celeste appeared on-screen.
He held up Anna’s letter.
“Harbor Crest is yours.”
The board erupted.
Celeste’s face drained.
Edward continued.
“Anna knew.”
For the first time, Celeste lost control completely.
“She is dead!”
Silence.
Celeste stared into the camera.
“She has been dead for eighteen months, and you are still letting her decide everything!”
Edward stood.
“No.”
He looked around the boardroom.
“Anna gave us evidence.”
Then back at Celeste.
“We are deciding what to do with it.”
Her image froze.
Then vanished.
Connection terminated.
Two minutes later, Detective Chen called.
They had traced the video connection before it disconnected.
Celeste was less than twelve miles away.
At Rosecliff.
Edward stopped breathing.
He called Maria.
No answer.
He called Sophie’s security detail.
No answer.
Then the estate alarm appeared on his phone.
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Edward ran.
