Chapter 4 - Celeste’s Secret
Celeste’s hands shook.
Renata repeated the question.
“Why can’t you give me the passwords?”
“I can.”
“Then do it.”
“It’s not that simple.”
Evelyn stepped into the room.
“What is going on?”
Nobody answered.
Celeste looked at Piper.
For the first time in years, there was no contempt in her face.
Only fear.
“I’ve been getting messages.”
Piper’s voice remained calm.
“For how long?”
“Eleven months.”
Marcus stared at her.
“You never said anything.”
“They weren’t threats at first.”
“What were they?”
“Offers.”
Renata pulled a chair into the corner.
“Sit down and start from the beginning.”
Celeste obeyed.
She looked smaller without the confidence she wore online.
“Last September, an account contacted me about a sponsorship. Luxury travel, jewelry, private events. They paid in advance.”
“How much?” Renata asked.
“Twenty thousand for the first campaign.”
Marcus swore under his breath.
“The money came through a media company,” Celeste continued. “Everything looked legal. They sent contracts. They knew my engagement numbers, my audience, everything.”
“What did they ask you to promote?”
“At first, normal things. A resort. A skincare company. A charity auction.”
Piper watched her sister carefully.
“When did it change?”
“Three months later. They started asking questions about you.”
Evelyn looked at Piper.
“What questions?”
“Where she lived. Whether she came to family events. Whether she was seeing anyone. Whether she still worked in medicine.”
Piper’s voice cooled.
“And you answered?”
Celeste began to cry.
“I thought they were doing a profile.”
“You told strangers where I lived?”
“I didn’t give them your address.”
“What did you give them?”
“Your neighborhood. Your work schedule when I knew it. Pictures from holidays.”
Marcus stepped toward her.
“You sold our family information?”
“I didn’t know.”
“You took money.”
“I didn’t know what they wanted.”
Piper interrupted.
“Did they ask about Noah?”
Celeste could not meet her eyes.
“Once.”
Lauren stood.
“What did you tell them?”
“They asked who in the family Piper loved most.”
Silence.
Celeste wiped her face.
“I said Noah.”
Lauren turned away, pressing a hand to her mouth.
Marcus’s face became dangerous.
“You gave them my son.”
“No. I answered a question.”
“You gave them my son.”
He lunged.
Adrian and Renata stopped him before he reached Celeste.
Noah began crying again.
Piper moved between Marcus and the bed.
“Not here.”
Marcus fought against Adrian’s grip.
“She did this.”
“The man who pushed Noah did this.”
“She helped him.”
“Maybe. But if you lose control now, your son watches his father attack his aunt.”
Marcus stopped struggling.
Renata released him slowly.
Piper turned to Celeste.
“What happened after the questions?”
“The account asked me to post things about you.”
“What things?”
“Jokes. Old family stories. The nursing-school story.”
Piper’s expression tightened.
The nursing-school story had never been true.
At nineteen, she had entered a combined medical program on scholarship. Evelyn had refused to believe she could handle it. When Piper left after their argument, Evelyn told relatives she had dropped out of nursing school.
Piper had never corrected the lie because she no longer cared what extended family believed.
But someone had used it to build a public image of her as an impostor.
“You were paid to humiliate me?” Piper asked.
Celeste whispered, “Yes.”
Evelyn sat down heavily.
“Why?”
“Because the posts performed well. People liked the family drama. Every time I mentioned the sister who pretended to be important, the comments exploded.”
Piper felt something inside her close.
Not break.
That had happened years ago.
This was different.
A door shutting.
“Who ran the account?” Renata asked.
“I never knew. We communicated through encrypted messages.”
“Did you meet anyone?”
“Once.”
Piper looked at her sharply.
“When?”
“Four months ago. Chicago.”
“Where?”
“A private dining room at the Halcyon Hotel.”
“Who came?”
“A woman.”
“Name?”
“She called herself Mara.”
“What did she look like?”
Celeste described a woman in her forties with black hair, gray eyes, and a narrow scar beneath her left ear.
Piper recognized her.
Dr. Mara Vane.
Malcolm Vane’s daughter.
The hospital lawyer who had led the internal investigation into Isabel’s death.
Adrian saw the recognition.
“You know her.”
“Yes.”
Celeste looked between them.
“She asked me to sign a confidentiality agreement. She said Piper was dangerous and unstable. She showed me documents from the medical board.”
“Documents can be altered,” Piper said.
“She showed me a death certificate.”
“Whose?”
“Daniel Voss.”
Piper’s stomach turned.
Daniel’s body had never been found.
“Did you keep a copy?”
“No.”
“What did Mara want?”
“She wanted me to convince Mom to organize the family reunion at the lake house.”
Everyone stared at Celeste.
The reunion had been Evelyn’s idea.
At least, that was what she had claimed.
Evelyn’s face collapsed.
“I received a donation.”
Renata turned.
“What donation?”
“For the family foundation. Fifty thousand dollars from an anonymous sponsor. They suggested a lakeside safety campaign and offered to cover the reunion.”
Marcus laughed once in disbelief.
“You both took money from strangers and brought us to that lake?”
Evelyn stiffened.
“I didn’t know anyone was in danger.”
“You never asked why they cared?”
“They said they supported family unity.”
Piper looked at her mother.
“And that was enough?”
Evelyn’s eyes flashed.
“Don’t speak to me like I’m stupid.”
“A man removed Noah’s life jacket and pushed him into deep water. I think we’ve moved beyond protecting your pride.”
Evelyn fell silent.
Renata collected Celeste’s phone.
“From this point forward, no one leaves without police clearance.”
Marcus looked toward Noah.
“What about my son?”
“A uniformed officer stays at his door.”
Lauren sat beside the bed and stroked Noah’s hair.
Piper walked into the corridor.
Adrian followed.
“You were right,” he said.
“About what?”
“This is connected to Chicago.”
“That doesn’t make me feel better.”
“What now?”
“We find Mara.”
Renata emerged behind them.
“That may be difficult.”
She held Celeste’s phone.
“The account just sent a message.”
Piper read it.
A photograph showed the Hale lake house from across the water.
In an upstairs window stood a figure holding something against the glass.
A small red life jacket.
May you like
Below the photograph were four words.
COME HOME, DR. HALE.
