Chapter 18 - Celeste’s Last Offer
Evelyn refused to meet Celeste alone. Adrian, Naomi, and Marisol remained in the sitting room while Celeste stood near the doorway, looking exhausted for the first time since Naomi had known her.
“I didn’t want it to go this far,” Celeste said.
Naomi almost laughed. “You had Evelyn taken to a place with no proper doctor, changed her medication, and tried to take control of her trust. How far did you think it would go?”
Celeste ignored her and addressed Adrian. “Pike told me the amendment was legal. Halden said Evelyn’s condition was getting worse. I thought I was protecting the future we were supposed to have.”
“She was never going to accept me. She thought I was after the money from the start.”
Celeste’s eyes filled, but her voice stayed firm. “I wanted security. I wanted to know I couldn’t be thrown away the moment your family changed its mind.”
Adrian shook his head. “You could have asked for a future with me. Instead, you tried to take my mother’s choices away.”
“This has messages between Pike and Halden. I kept copies because I didn’t trust either of them.”
“Because they planned to leave me holding the blame. Pike told me this morning that if the case went public, he’d say I forged everything and acted alone.”
“I signed the false disclosure. I knew the payments were wrong. I told Halden to increase the dose because I wanted Evelyn too tired to fight the assessment. I didn’t think it would hurt her.”
Investigator Ruiz arrived and took Celeste’s statement. Celeste agreed to cooperate, but Marisol made it clear that cooperation did not erase responsibility. The flash drive was sealed as evidence.
That night, Adrian received a call from the prosecutor.
May you like
Mason Reed had agreed to testify.
He said he could prove who changed the medical chart—and who paid him to do it.
