Chapter 12
Brandon fought longer.
He admitted the Northstar fraud before he admitted what he had done around Leo.
His attorney tried to separate the issues.
Financial misconduct.
Employment retaliation.
Family conflict.
Child abuse by Celeste.
Rebecca refused the categories.
Security records tied them together.
So did his messages.
So did the false schedules.
So did the draft termination memo he edited.
During deposition, Rebecca asked:
“Why did you repeatedly remove Emma from the family wing?”
“Work assignments.”
“Why always during Celeste’s visits?”
“Coincidence.”
“Why were fake Northstar employees entered into those same shifts?”
“Administrative error.”
“Why did you write, ‘Need one clear reaction from Leo in front of Vincent’?”
Brandon stopped.
His attorney requested a break.
When they returned, Brandon changed strategy.
He claimed he believed Emma was unstable and that Celeste was proving it.
Rebecca asked:
“How?”
Silence.
“By hitting Leo until he flinched?”
“I never told her to hit him.”
“Did you know she was?”
Brandon looked down.
“Yes.”
“When?”
“After the second time.”
“And you stopped her?”
“No.”
“You sent Emma away again?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Brandon finally answered.
“Because we were already in it.”
The sentence summarized everything.
Each bad choice made the next one feel like damage control.
Ghost workers.
Hidden payments.
Emma’s discovery.
Schedule manipulation.
False reports.
Leo’s fear.
By the time Brandon understood Celeste was actually hurting the child, stopping meant exposing the entire chain.
So he did what people like him often called protection.
He continued.
The forensic audit ultimately identified approximately $1.3 million in improper Northstar billing tied to the Castellano estate.
Not all went to Brandon and Celeste.
Some remained with the staffing company.
Some paid taxes and legitimate staff.
But enough flowed to their private interests to establish the scheme.
Brandon’s restaurant investment had been collapsing.
Celeste’s event company carried debt tied to one of his guarantees.
They had been using estate money to delay consequences.
The motive was understandable.
The conduct was not.
Vincent refused to recover the money through private repayment alone.
The affected businesses would face the legal process.
May you like
So would Brandon.
For once, being a Castellano would not reduce accountability to a closed-door family arrangement.
