Chapter 5
Northstar had real employees.
That initially complicated the theory.
It supplied staff to hotels, restaurants, and several private estates.
The company was not fictional.
The Castellano account was the problem.
Daniel Mercer, Rebecca’s forensic accountant, compared invoices with gate logs and payroll records.
On major gala nights, Northstar billed for twenty-six workers.
Security cameras showed sixteen.
On quieter nights, it billed for six.
Often only two appeared.
Sometimes none.
Invoices included background checks on people who had never entered the estate.
Vehicle reimbursements for nonexistent drivers.
Overtime for workers who did not exist in employment databases.
The estimated overbilling exceeded $1.1 million.
Vincent looked at Brandon’s authorization stamp on the invoices.
“Where did the money go?”
Daniel traced Northstar’s ownership structure.
The company itself retained a legitimate margin.
But the Castellano account paid a special “executive coordination fee” to a consulting company.
That company belonged to Brandon.
The total:
$423,000.
Another stream moved to Celeste through an event-planning company she controlled.
$188,000.
Not enough to ruin Vincent.
Enough to establish personal benefit.
Celeste’s lawyer immediately argued the payments were legitimate compensation.
She had organized galas.
Brandon had managed complex household staffing.
Rebecca asked the obvious question.
“Did Vincent approve the compensation?”
No.
“Was it disclosed?”
No.
“Was it documented as related-party payment?”
No.
Still, hidden compensation alone did not prove fraud.
Maybe Brandon believed he was entitled.
Maybe Celeste did too.
Then Daniel discovered the ghost-worker component.
At least fourteen names used on Castellano invoices had false Social Security information or belonged to people who denied ever working for Northstar.
Someone was creating labor that did not exist.
Vincent understood Emma’s danger now.
A housekeeper who noticed fictional employees could unravel the account.
Rebecca looked at the timeline.
Emma confronted Celeste.
Two days later Emma’s schedule changed.
Within a week, Celeste filed the first concern report about Leo.
Within three weeks, Celeste contacted his preschool about an “overwhelmed young caregiver.”
The sequence was hard to dismiss.
But Rebecca still wanted more.
“What exactly was supposed to happen to Emma?”
They found the answer in an email between Brandon and a private employment attorney.
He asked generally how an estate employer should respond if a live-in or trusted domestic worker were suspected of physically disciplining a minor.
The attorney gave ordinary advice.
Immediate separation from child.
Preserve evidence.
Investigate.
Potential mandatory reporting.
Possible termination for cause.
Brandon replied:
If terminated for cause involving a child, can she challenge unpaid severance or confidentiality terms?
The attorney answered that any contractual rights would depend on facts.
Rebecca looked at Emma.
“They were researching how to remove you.”
Emma went quiet.
Vincent asked:
“Did you have a severance agreement?”
“Yes.”
A substantial one.
Gabriella—Vincent’s late wife—had insisted trusted household employees receive proper contracts after several staff scandals years earlier.
If Emma was fired without cause, she received six months’ pay and could discuss workplace misconduct with counsel.
If terminated for serious misconduct involving a child, those protections narrowed considerably.
That gave the frame-up another function.
Destroy Emma’s credibility.
Remove her quickly.
May you like
Reduce the chance she would challenge her termination.
And keep her away from the household records she had begun questioning.
