Chapter 5 - Vivian Chose the Wrong Side
Vivian called me that evening.
“Dad wants dinner.”
“No.”
“He said it’s important.”
“Everything is important when Arthur is losing control.”
She sighed.
“Can you stop being dramatic for five minutes?”
I almost admired her consistency.
“You ripped my dress open in front of two hundred people.”
“That was a joke.”
“You mocked burn scars.”
“I didn’t know what they were.”
“That makes it better?”
Silence.
Then her voice changed.
“Please come.”
That made me suspicious.
Vivian never said please.
“Where?”
“The family house.”
I arrived at eight.
The mansion looked exactly as I remembered.
Same stone columns.
Same fountain.
Same enormous windows.
But my photographs were still gone.
Arthur waited in the library.
Grant stood near the fireplace.
Vivian sat beside him.
My father poured himself a drink.
“Sit.”
“I’ll stand.”
Arthur smiled faintly.
“You always did enjoy making things difficult.”
“No.”
I looked around the room.
“I just stopped obeying.”
His smile vanished.
He placed a folder on the desk.
“What do you want?”
“The truth.”
“Everyone wants something measurable.”
“I’m not negotiating.”
“You came into my ballroom carrying accusations.”
“Your ballroom?”
I smiled.
“Interesting.”
Arthur’s eyes narrowed.
The Sterling Grand had been financed through one of the shell companies in my mother’s ledger.
He realized immediately that I knew.
“What do you want, Celeste?”
“Who ordered the Meridian shipments?”
Arthur said nothing.
“Who altered the manifests?”
Nothing.
“Who put restricted equipment on a naval vessel?”
Grant shifted.
I turned toward him.
Arthur noticed.
“Leave your brother out of this.”
That was confirmation enough.
Grant looked at our father.
“Dad.”
“Quiet.”
I stared at Grant.
“You signed them?”
His face collapsed.
“Celeste—”
“You signed the manifests?”
“I didn’t know what was inside.”
Arthur slammed his glass onto the desk.
“That’s enough.”
“No.”
Grant stepped forward.
“No, it isn’t.”
Arthur stared at him.
Grant’s voice shook.
“You told me they were communications systems.”
“They were.”
“You told me everything had government authorization.”
“It did.”
“From Pierce?”
Arthur’s expression hardened.
Vivian looked between them.
“What are you talking about?”
Grant continued.
“When the ship caught fire, you said there was no connection.”
“There wasn’t.”
“You knew Celeste was on that ship.”
Silence.
I stopped breathing.
“What?”
Grant looked at me.
His eyes filled with shame.
“He knew.”
I turned toward Arthur.
“You knew I was aboard?”
Arthur’s jaw tightened.
“Grant is confused.”
“No, I’m not.”
Grant reached into his jacket.
He removed a printed email.
“I kept it.”
Arthur’s face changed.
Grant handed it to me.
The message had been sent three days before the fire.
From Arthur.
To Grant.
SUBJECT: DEPLOYMENT.
One sentence.
Confirm C. Vale remains assigned before Meridian transfer proceeds.
My hands went cold.
I looked at my father.
“You checked whether I was on that ship.”
Arthur said nothing.
“You knew.”
Still nothing.
Vivian whispered, “Dad?”
Arthur looked at me.
And then he made the mistake that ended everything.
May you like
He smiled.
“You survived.”
