Chapter 15 - Celeste Tells the Whole Truth
Celeste’s proffer lasted six hours.
Her criminal attorney sat beside her.
Federal prosecutors sat across.
David was not allowed inside.
Rebecca received only limited information afterward.
But Celeste asked to speak to David when it ended.
They met in a secure conference room.
She looked smaller somehow.
“What did you tell them?” he asked.
“Everything.”
“That word has never meant the same thing to you and me.”
Celeste nodded.
“Northstar. Ethan’s trust. Grant. Marcus. Evelyn. Jonathan. Laura’s false account. The monitoring.”
“And the assault?”
“Yes.”
David paused.
“You admitted hitting Ethan?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Her eyes filled.
“Because I did.”
No excuse.
No “panic.”
No “protection.”
Just fact.
David sat.
Celeste continued.
“I told them Thomas trained Grant to hide internal misconduct.”
“Did Dad know Grant was corrupt?”
“Dad made him corrupt.”
“What else?”
“Thomas did not accuse Marcus of stealing because money was missing.”
David frowned.
“Then why?”
“Marcus threatened to reveal the airfield partnership register.”
“So Father framed him.”
“Yes.”
“And the watch?”
“Margaret gave it to Marcus the night before he resigned.”
David stared.
“I thought Dad gave it to him.”
“So did I for years.”
Another family myth collapsing.
“Mother knew?”
“She knew almost everything.”
“Why didn’t she tell me?”
Celeste looked at him.
“For the same reason Laura didn’t.”
David hated the answer before hearing it.
“She thought you would defend Father.”
He looked away.
Would he have?
At twenty-nine, working desperately for Thomas’s approval?
Possibly.
That possibility mattered.
Celeste continued.
“Margaret wanted Marcus to preserve the watch because it identified the escrow.”
“And the compass?”
“She gave it to Laura years later.”
David looked sharply at her.
“When?”
“Before Margaret died.”
David stared.
“Laura knew about this for twelve years?”
“Not all of it. Margaret told her the compass would matter if Thomas ever tried to alter Ethan’s inheritance.”
“Why Laura?”
“Because Margaret did not trust me.”
Celeste’s mouth trembled.
“And she was right.”
David thought of his mother choosing his wife over her daughter.
That wound must have lived inside Celeste for years.
“That is why you hated Laura.”
“I didn’t hate her at first.”
“What changed?”
“She kept finding things Mother had hidden from me.”
“The trust.”
“The letters. The compass. The partnership records.”
Celeste laughed bitterly.
“I spent my whole life believing I was Father’s responsible child. Laura kept proving I had been his useful child.”
David said nothing.
“That distinction destroyed me.”
“No.”
Celeste looked at him.
“You destroyed yourself after learning it.”
She nodded slowly.
“Yes.”
David appreciated that she accepted the correction.
“What is Grant planning tomorrow?”
“He has Laura somewhere near headquarters.”
“How do you know?”
“He told Evelyn to keep her close as insurance.”
“Inside Bennett property?”
“Probably.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know.”
“Think.”
Celeste closed her eyes.
“Hangar Five has an old secure executive suite.”
David stood.
“Grant renovated it three years ago.”
They informed Agent Reed.
Surveillance began immediately.
Thermal scans showed likely occupancy.
But entering too soon might cause Grant to move Laura or trigger whatever contingency he had prepared.
The board meeting remained scheduled.
A controlled operation formed around it.
Marcus agreed to attend carrying the watch.
David would carry the compass.
Evelyn believed the asset-sale vote would proceed.
Grant believed Celeste still intended to cooperate with him.
For once, the family’s habit of secrets would be used against the people exploiting it.
That night David sat outside Ethan’s bedroom.
“I said something wrong yesterday.”
The door opened slightly.
Ethan looked at him.
“I said your mom’s investigation cost her everything.”
“It did.”
“No. Other people’s choices hurt her. Her mistakes mattered too, but I made it sound like asking questions caused the danger.”
Ethan opened the door wider.
David continued.
“That is what Celeste wanted you to believe.”
Ethan looked at him.
“Is Mom alive?”
“Yes.”
“You know?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“We think she is nearby.”
“Can I come?”
“No.”
Ethan’s face tightened.
David did not change his answer.
“You deserve the truth. You do not belong in the confrontation.”
“Why?”
“Because you are eight.”
“That never stopped them.”
The sentence cut deeply.
“No,” David said. “But it stops me.”
Ethan stared at him.
Then slowly nodded.
Before David left, Ethan gave him the compass.
“Bring it back.”
“I will.”
“And Mom.”
David swallowed.
“I’ll do everything I can.”
“No promises?”
“No promises.”
Ethan hugged him.
David held on.
Tomorrow could cost him Bennett Aero.
It could cost Celeste her freedom.
It could expose Thomas Bennett’s entire legacy.
None of those things frightened him as much as failing to bring Laura home.
At 11:38 p.m., Agent Reed called.
A surveillance camera had captured Grant Hollis entering Hangar Five.
At 11:41, Evelyn Marsh entered.
At 11:47, Marcus Bennett received a message.
MIDNIGHT CHANGED EVERYTHING. BRING THE WATCH OR LAURA TALKS TO DAVID FIRST.
Marcus showed David.
“That isn’t Grant’s normal style.”
“Meaning?”
May you like
Marcus looked unsettled.
“Someone else is giving orders now.”
