Chapter 14 - The Church
Police found Celeste in Grace’s favorite church.
She sat alone in the last pew.
Grace’s old silver heels were beside her.
Vincent arrived with Detective Price.
Celeste looked up.
“I knew you’d come.”
“Why were you near the school?”
“I wanted to see if Mia was there.”
“Why?”
“Grant said if I didn’t get the drive, he would take her.”
“So you planned to take her first?”
“To move her.”
Vincent’s voice hardened.
“You don’t get to call it protection.”
Price placed a recorder between them.
“Tell us about the garage.”
Celeste’s shoulders shook.
“Grant made me authorize the payment.”
“He threatened you,” Vincent said. “You still signed it.”
“Yes.”
“And then Grace crashed.”
Celeste cried.
“Yes.”
“Then you entered my life.”
“Grant told me to get close to you.”
“And you stayed.”
Celeste looked at him.
“I did love you.”
“Not enough to stop hurting my daughter.”
She lowered her head.
Price asked about Grace’s final call.
Celeste went still.
“My phone rang at 4:41.”
Three minutes after the crash.
“I saw Grace’s name.”
“Why didn’t you answer?”
“Grant was beside me.”
Vincent’s eyes burned.
“What happened?”
“I watched it ring.”
“And then?”
“I deleted the voicemail.”
His stomach turned.
“There was a voicemail?”
Celeste pulled a cloud-storage token from her pocket.
“I restored it months later.”
At the station, police recovered the file.
Grace’s voice came through weakly.
“Celeste… tell Vincent I love him. Tell Mia none of this is her fault.”
A breath.
Then:
“Grant cut the brakes. Daniel didn’t know he would do it.”
Vincent closed his eyes.
Grace whispered one last sentence.
“Tell Vincent to come home.”
The recording ended.
Price looked at Vincent.
“That is enough to bury Grant.”
Then another detective entered.
“We found his financial archive.”
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“Where?”
The detective answered, “Daniel Hale turned it over.”
