Chapter 4 - The Woman in the Red Dress
Celeste arrived at Daniel’s house the morning after Maya’s death carrying two suitcases.
The neighbors saw her enter through the garage.
By evening, she had moved Maya’s clothes out of the main bedroom and placed them in black storage bags.
Lena learned this from Mrs. Porter, the elderly woman who lived across the street.
“She didn’t even wait for the funeral,” Mrs. Porter said. “And Daniel helped her.”
Lena stood on the sidewalk, looking at Maya’s bedroom window.
“Did you see anything else?”
Mrs. Porter hesitated.
“The night before Maya died, Celeste came to the house. They argued in the driveway.”
“Who argued?”
“Maya and Celeste.”
“Could you hear them?”
“Only part of it. Celeste said, ‘After Friday, everything belongs to us.’ Maya told her to leave.”
Friday had been the date Daniel planned to file the forged documents transferring Maya’s company shares.
Maya had founded Hartwell Home Design before marrying Daniel. The business had grown from a small studio into a company worth millions. Daniel joined as financial director two years after their marriage.
Celeste became an outside consultant the following year.
Together, they had quietly created false vendor accounts, approved fake contracts, and transferred company money into private accounts.
Maya discovered the missing funds during the final month of her pregnancy.
She contacted an accountant but told no one except Lena.
Daniel realized she knew.
The investigators obtained hotel security footage from the day Maya died. It showed Daniel and Celeste entering a suite together at 1:38 p.m.
At 2:16, seconds after Daniel read Maya’s request for help, he showed the message to Celeste.
They argued briefly.
Then Celeste took his phone and placed it facedown on a table.
Neither of them left the hotel.
They ordered champagne at 2:24.
Daniel finally called for help only after receiving a notification that Maya’s neighbor had approached the house.
When questioned, Daniel said he had not understood the seriousness of Maya’s message.
May you like
The hotel footage showed him reading it repeatedly.
It also showed him searching for information about when a power of attorney became invalid.
