Chapter 12 — The Witness Who Lied
Daniel denied accepting the contract.
He admitted Arthur approached him, but claimed he had taken the money to prevent another assassin from being hired.
Vivian believed him.
Celeste did not.
The trial began under extraordinary security.
Arthur Vale entered the federal courthouse surrounded by attorneys. He faced conspiracy, fraud, obstruction, attempted murder, defense-contract violations, and charges connected to Evelyn’s death.
Celeste sat behind the prosecution.
The gallery was filled with survivors from the Resolute.
Nathan Cole sat in the front row with his daughter.
Admiral Reed entered in civilian clothes. Although cleared of the harbor attack, he remained suspended pending review.
Arthur smiled when he saw him.
During opening statements, the prosecution described a thirty-year criminal enterprise built beneath one of America’s largest maritime companies.
Then Arthur’s attorneys called their surprise witness.
Daniel Mercer.
Vivian turned white.
Daniel took the stand and swore that Celeste had pressured him to fabricate evidence against Arthur.
He claimed she had threatened Vivian and planned to seize control of Vale Maritime.
The defense displayed messages from Celeste’s phone.
They appeared to show her ordering Daniel to destroy the harbor server.
Celeste knew the messages were false.
But the metadata was authentic.
Someone had used her encrypted military credentials.
The same credentials that had framed Reed.
Daniel looked toward Vivian.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
She rose from her seat.
“You promised me.”
The judge ordered her to sit down.
Celeste studied Daniel’s face.
He was lying, but not comfortably. His eyes kept moving toward the courthouse entrance.
Someone had leverage over him.
During recess, Vivian received a photograph on her phone.
It showed her six-year-old son asleep in his boarding-school room.
A message appeared beneath it.
Daniel tells the truth we give him, or the boy disappears.
Arthur had arranged the kidnapping threat before his arrest.
Vivian showed the message to Celeste.
“What do we do?” she whispered.
Celeste looked through the courtroom doors at her father.
Arthur was speaking calmly with his attorneys.
He believed he still controlled the board.
The witnesses.
His children.
Celeste took Vivian’s phone.
“We let Daniel finish lying.”
Vivian stared at her.
“Why?”
“Because whoever sent this thinks we’re desperate.”
“Aren’t we?”
Celeste looked toward Moreno.
“No.”
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She had finally understood where Arthur’s remaining power came from.
And she knew exactly how to make him spend all of it at once.
