Chapter 11 - WHY THEY HIRED ME
Celeste finally agreed to talk.
Not because she became honest.
Because Victor had abandoned her.
That broke something.
Sheriff Nolan allowed Garrett and me to watch through glass while a detective questioned her.
“Why Laura Beckett?”
Celeste stared at the table.
“My uncle believed Thomas told his family where the evidence was.”
“Did Laura know?”
“We didn’t know.”
“So you hired her?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“I rejected the other applicants.”
My hands curled.
She had selected me.
Not because I was qualified.
Because of my name.
“What was the plan?”
“Watch her.”
“Search her belongings.”
“See whether she contacted anyone.”
The detective asked.
“And if she found the evidence?”
Celeste looked toward the mirror.
“Take it.”
“What about the bracelet?”
Her mouth tightened.
“She became difficult.”
I almost laughed.
“That means she challenged you?”
“Yes.”
“So you planted the bracelet to fire her.”
“I wanted her removed.”
“Why not simply fire her?”
Celeste’s eyes hardened.
“Because Garrett noticed her.”
The detective paused.
“In what way?”
Celeste looked toward the mirror again.
“Enough.”
Garrett stepped away from the glass.
I ignored that part.
It didn’t matter.
Not then.
The detective continued.
“Did Victor order you to assault staff?”
“No.”
“Did he order you to strike Addie?”
“No.”
“To threaten Percy?”
“No.”
“To abuse employees?”
“No.”
Celeste’s jaw tightened.
“That was me.”
For the first time, she owned something without blaming Victor.
It made her worse.
Not better.
Then the detective asked.
“Why?”
Celeste sat back.
“Because people obey faster when they’re afraid.”
There it was.
The whole philosophy of the house.
Victor.
Garrett’s father.
Celeste.
Different generations.
Same poison.
The detective asked.
“Did Victor kill Thomas Beckett?”
My heart stopped.
Celeste looked down.
“I don’t know.”
I moved closer to the glass.
My father died of cancer.
That was what I knew.
But before cancer, there had been an accident.
A truck struck his car the year after he was fired.
He survived.
Barely.
He never fully recovered.
Then his health collapsed.
I had always called it bad luck.
Celeste continued.
“My uncle used to say Thomas should’ve died when he had the chance.”
Garrett turned toward me.
I could barely hear.
The detective asked.
“What chance?”
“The road accident.”
My stomach dropped.
“Did Victor arrange it?”
Celeste whispered.
“I heard him tell someone the driver missed.”
Everything inside me went silent.
My father had not simply been blacklisted.
Someone had tried to kill him.
May you like
And suddenly this story was not only about three dead workers.
It was about the man who tried to make a fourth.
