CHAPTER 4
By six o'clock the following morning, the medical team at Swedish Medical Center had successfully removed my ventilator, allowing me to take deep, unassisted breaths of fresh air.
My vocal cords were raspy and raw, but the sharp, stabbing pain in my chest had subsided into a manageable ache under the watchful care of the trauma staff.
Mother sat in the vinyl armchair beside my bed, holding a warm cup of herbal tea while reviewing legal updates on her tablet.
"The federal prosecutor filed formal charges an hour ago," Mother reported, showing me the digital document bearing the seal of the United States District Court. "Attempted murder in the first degree, corporate fraud, wire tampering, and conspiracy to commit murder for hire."
"And Daniel?" I rasped out, my voice barely above a whisper as I looked into Mother's eyes.
Mother took a quiet breath, her expression softening into a mixture of lingering grief and profound love as she squeezed my hand.
"The private investigator found the remote ignition log from Daniel's boat," Mother explained softly. "Celeste disabled the automated fire suppression system before triggering a localized engine explosion near the fuel lines."
"She thought she erased every trace of her existence," I said, feeling a cold chill run through my body as I remembered my brother's warm smile.
"She forgot that your brother was a brilliant engineer who built redundant cloud backups into every vessel he ever owned," Mother added with a proud, bitter smile. "The moment the explosion occurred, his smartwatch transmitted the cabin audio directly to his private server in Delaware."
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The audio file contained Celeste's voice arguing with Daniel over his refusal to sell Hartwell Biotech to an offshore investment firm, followed by the sound of the deliberate detonation.
For six long months, Celeste had believed she had committed the perfect crime, unaware that every step she took was leading her directly into a federal trap.
