Chapter 7 - The Night She Tried to Leave
Celeste had paid for a private car using a credit card that remained linked to Julian Cross's travel account.
That fact did not tell us whether she was helping him escape or whether he was using her identity.
Detective Navarro warned Adrian against turning the discovery into a public accusation.
"The difference matters," she said.
"And right now we have questions, not a complete answer."
For the first time since the wedding, my brother appeared willing to accept uncertainty without fighting it.
He had learned that money could purchase security systems and lawyers, but it could not force truth to arrive on demand.
Two days after the incident, Celeste was released under conditions set by the court while the investigation continued.
Her attorney contacted Ellen Park and explained that Celeste wanted to arrange a voluntary interview with investigators about a possible threat.
The attorney did not promise that Celeste would admit wrongdoing.
He asked only that she be allowed to speak without cameras or public confrontation.
Isabelle listened quietly as Ellen relayed the message.
"Do you want to see her?" I asked afterward.
"Not yet."
The answer came quickly, then she looked guilty for having said it.
"I keep imagining she will tell me she never meant to do it."
"She might say that," I replied.
"It wouldn't change what happened."
We left Celeste's decision to her attorney and the police.
That evening, Marcus received a report that an unfamiliar car had been parked near Celeste's apartment for several hours.
We passed the information along rather than sending anyone to investigate on our own.
When officers checked, the car was gone.
Nobody knew whether the driver was watching Celeste, waiting for somebody else, or simply visiting the neighborhood.
At eleven, my phone rang from a blocked number.
I answered because I thought it might be Detective Navarro.
For several seconds there was only breathing.
Then a woman whispered, "Tell Isabelle I didn't know he would be there."
The line went dead.
I sat very still.
I recognized Celeste's voice, or believed I did.
Rather than call back or send an accusation, I wrote down the words exactly and called the detective.
She asked whether I had recorded the call.
I had not.
She thanked me for reporting it anyway.
"Do not contact her yourself," she said.
"If she's frightened, an unexpected confrontation could make things worse."
I promised I wouldn't.
But sleep became impossible.
I remembered Celeste kneeling on the marble beside the shattered champagne tower, her gaze darting toward the man by the pool.
I remembered the fear that had overtaken her anger when she noticed the camera.
What frightened her more, I wondered, being caught or being abandoned?
The next morning, the detective called again.
Celeste had approached the police through her attorney late in the night.
She claimed that someone had ordered her to leave town and had threatened a person close to her if she did not comply.
Details were withheld while investigators assessed the claim.
There was no announcement that she had become an innocent witness.
The alleged threat would have to be tested like everything else.
Isabelle heard the update with an unreadable expression.
"I want her to be safe," she said at last.
"I also want her held accountable."
Adrian nodded.
"Both can be true."
Ellen explained that even a person accused of wrongdoing could provide important evidence and could require protection.
The justice system was meant to address both the accused person's conduct and any crimes committed against that person.
I had never thought of those possibilities together before.
They seemed obvious only after someone said them aloud.
In the afternoon, Marcus delivered information about Celeste's financial difficulties.
He had found nothing through private access to her accounts; the details came from publicly available court filings and information Celeste's counsel had voluntarily shared with investigators.
A business venture had failed two years earlier, leaving her exposed to substantial debt.
Her mother's long illness had added pressure.
Julian had offered her consulting work through Briarstone Events during that period.
"She had a reason to need money," Marcus said.
"That doesn't prove why she took it."
Isabelle stared at the floor.
"She told me she was starting over."
It hurt her to realize how many moments she had mistaken for ordinary friendship.
Every shared coffee, every late-night phone call, every offered favor was now being examined for hidden meaning.
I reminded her that she did not have to reinterpret her entire life in one afternoon.
She could grieve the friend she believed she had without inventing certainty about the friend Celeste had become.
That night, I found Adrian alone in the kitchen.
He was holding the small paper card on which he and Isabelle had written their wedding vows.
The ink had smeared slightly when champagne splashed his sleeve during the confrontation.
"She thinks our wedding is ruined," he said.
"Isabelle?"
He nodded.
"I told her I only care that she's alive. She said she knows, but she wanted one day when our families weren't surrounded by lawyers."
I leaned against the counter.
"Then give her a different day."
He looked at me.
"What if she doesn't want to marry me after all this?"
"She wanted to marry you before any of this happened. Don't turn Julian and Celeste into people who get to decide her future."
My brother folded the vow card carefully.
He looked tired enough to seem older than thirty-five.
Yet for the first time, I saw something stronger than rage in him.
He was learning to wait beside someone he loved without demanding that her pain disappear.
Before midnight, Ellen called with another development.
Celeste's attorney had offered investigators a location where Julian had stored records related to the foundation.
The address was a rented office suite in a quiet business park.
Police were assessing the information and seeking the appropriate legal authority before entering.
May you like
It was the first specific lead linking Celeste's fear to the financial trail.
And if the records existed, they might explain why someone had been so desperate to stop Isabelle from speaking at the trustees' meeting.
