Chapter 4
Rebecca told Vincent they needed to understand motive before assuming the frame-up was complete.
“Celeste dislikes Emma.”
“Enough to beat my son?”
“That doesn’t explain why Brandon is involved.”
Vincent knew she was right.
Celeste could be cruel.
Brandon could be protective of his sister.
But the scheduling changes, incident reports, and preschool communication required coordination.
Something larger than temper existed underneath it.
They started with household authority.
Brandon had managed estate procurement for three years.
Security subcontractors.
Vehicle maintenance.
Food vendors.
Seasonal staffing.
Event rentals.
He was good at it.
Prices dropped after Vincent gave him control.
Problems disappeared quickly.
Celeste handled charity events and often helped coordinate household staff around large family functions.
Their roles overlapped naturally.
That gave both access to records.
Rebecca asked Emma:
“What else were you trying to tell Vincent?”
Emma hesitated.
Vincent noticed.
“Say it.”
“There are people on the night schedule who don’t exist.”
Silence.
Rebecca leaned forward.
“Explain.”
Emma began with something small.
Several months earlier, she noticed payroll envelopes for two temporary evening housekeepers.
She had never met them.
The estate was large.
That alone meant nothing.
Then another name appeared.
Then another.
She asked the household manager.
He assumed they were event workers Brandon hired directly.
Emma worked several events.
None of the names appeared.
She started paying attention.
The mysterious employees were always assigned late shifts.
Always nights Vincent was away.
Always paid through a temporary staffing company called Northstar Domestic Services.
“How many?” Rebecca asked.
“Maybe eight names.”
“Why did you care?”
“Because some of the shifts overlapped mine.”
Emma looked at Vincent.
“Once I was listed as training a woman I had never met.”
Vincent’s jaw tightened.
“Did you tell anyone?”
“Celeste.”
Rebecca stopped writing.
“When?”
“About seven weeks ago.”
The timing mattered.
Approximately one week before Leo’s late-night abuse pattern began.
Emma continued.
“I told her the records were wrong.”
“What did she say?”
“That Brandon would fix it.”
“Did he?”
“No.”
“Then?”
“Two days later, my evening schedule changed.”
Vincent looked toward Rebecca.
There it was.
Maybe.
The beginning of a motive.
Emma had discovered questionable staffing records.
Then Celeste took control of her schedule.
Then Leo began being hit during shifts that made Emma look solely responsible.
Rebecca cautioned them.
“We still need to prove Northstar is fraudulent.”
Vincent called his controller.
Northstar had received $684,000 from the estate during the previous eighteen months.
Not only wages.
Staffing coordination.
Background checks.
Emergency coverage.
Event support.
That amount was far too large for several invisible cleaners.
Rebecca looked at Vincent.
“Who approved the company?”
“Brandon.”
“Ownership?”
“Find it.”
May you like
By evening they had the answer.
Northstar Domestic Services was owned through a holding company managed by an accountant who had worked for Brandon for eleven years.
