Chapter 7
Celeste stopped laughing when I placed the ledger in front of her.
We were in my private suite above the ballroom.
Her father stood beside her.
Erin remained with me because the book belonged to her father before it belonged to my family.
Celeste looked at the page.
“That proves nothing.”
I stared.
“It proves you received money from accounts created for dead families.”
She folded her arms.
“My father manages investments.”
Charles closed his eyes.
Interesting.
He did not want her talking.
I looked at him.
“Tell her.”
Celeste turned.
“What?”
Charles said nothing.
“Dad.”
Still nothing.
I leaned back.
“Your father and Rocco diverted relief money through inactive family accounts.”
Celeste looked at him.
Then at me.
“So?”
Erin flinched.
That one word changed the room.
“So.”
I repeated it.
Celeste shrugged.
“The families still survived.”
There it was.
No shame.
Erin stared at her.
“My sister needed dental work for two years.”
Celeste looked her up and down.
“And?”
I saw Erin’s face collapse slightly.
I stepped between them.
“No.”
Celeste looked at me.
“You don’t get to make poverty sound like a character flaw.”
Her expression hardened.
“I didn’t make her poor.”
“No.”
I tapped the ledger.
“You benefited from the system that kept her poor.”
Silence.
Charles finally spoke.
“Celeste did not know where the money originated.”
His daughter turned.
“I knew enough.”
He looked horrified.
Good.
“What did you know?”
Celeste sighed.
“That Dad had old accounts nobody claimed.”
Erin whispered:
“People claimed them.”
Celeste looked at her.
“What?”
“My mother did.”
Silence.
“I did.”
More silence.
“Three times.”
Celeste’s mouth tightened.
Then she said:
“And you were denied.”
That was not a question.
She knew.
Erin understood too.
“You saw my applications.”
Celeste did not answer.
“You knew Grace needed treatment.”
Nothing.
“You picked me tonight because you knew.”
Celeste smiled faintly.
And I finally saw the real cruelty.
May you like
The ten-thousand-dollar wager had not been random entertainment.
Celeste selected Erin because desperation made her easier to control.
