Chapter 6
Vincent met Celeste with attorneys present.
She denied everything except striking Emma at the gala.
“I lost my temper.”
“You raised your hand at Leo.”
“I was pointing.”
“He crouched.”
“Because Emma taught him to fear me.”
Vincent stared at her.
“You filed reports about his fear.”
“Because I saw it.”
“You told preschool an overwhelmed employee might be responsible.”
“I believed that.”
“Who?”
Celeste looked toward her attorney.
Vincent answered for her.
“Emma.”
Celeste said nothing.
Rebecca placed the schedule printouts on the table.
“Why did you assign Emma sole evening responsibility on nights you visited?”
Celeste looked at them.
“I helped with coverage.”
“Why do the care notes omit your presence?”
“I wasn’t caregiving.”
“You were in the child’s room.”
“Family visits are not staff coverage.”
Legally meaningless.
Psychologically revealing.
Rebecca moved on.
“Why did you contact an employment attorney about firing someone suspected of physically disciplining a child?”
Celeste’s eyes moved toward Vincent.
“Brandon did that.”
“Did you know?”
“No.”
Vincent almost laughed.
“Your brother asks how to fire my son’s housekeeper for abuse while you’re writing reports suggesting she abuses him, but you knew nothing.”
Celeste’s voice sharpened.
“You think Emma is innocent because Leo likes her.”
“I think my son said you hit him.”
“He’s three.”
Vincent’s expression changed.
Celeste realized too late.
She had used the same logic abusive adults often depended on.
Young enough to hurt.
Too young to be believed.
Rebecca asked:
“Did you strike Leo at night?”
“No.”
Emma’s direct accusation versus Celeste’s denial.
No confession.
No recording.
No convenient hidden camera.
They would need corroboration.
Then Celeste made a mistake.
She said:
“If I had been hitting him nightly, Emma would have seen it.”
Rebecca looked at her.
“Interesting.”
Celeste stopped.
Rebecca continued.
“Because we never said Emma claimed she personally witnessed every incident.”
Celeste’s attorney ended the interview.
Afterward Vincent looked at Rebecca.
“Enough?”
“For what?”
“To know she did it.”
Rebecca shook her head.
“Enough to know she knows more than she’s admitting.”
Vincent hated the difference.
Then the child psychologist called.
During play, Leo had arranged three figures.
A small child.
A woman in a dress.
A man.
He placed the child behind a toy chair.
The woman struck the table with a toy block.
The man moved the housekeeper figure out of the toy room.
The psychologist asked:
“What is he doing?”
Leo answered:
“Brandon gives Emma jobs.”
Then:
“Celeste gets mad.”
No further prompting.
The psychologist stopped.
That disclosure aligned with the schedule evidence.
Brandon removed Emma.
May you like
Celeste punished Leo.
The two actions were part of the same routine.
