Chapter 6 - THE WOMAN IN THE CHAMPAGNE DRESS
Celeste arrived at the estate that afternoon.
She did not call first.
She walked into the main hall as if she owned it, carrying a white shopping bag and wearing a pale gold coat.
“Adrian?”
He came down the staircase.
“What are you doing here?”
Her smile faltered.
“I came to see Elena. I brought her a present.”
“She doesn't need anything from you.”
Celeste blinked.
“That's a strange thing to say.”
“It's a simple one.”
She looked past him and saw Maren standing near the sitting room.
“Oh. The new favorite.”
Adrian's expression hardened.
“Don't.”
Celeste lowered her voice.
“I know what you're doing. You're letting a housemaid interfere with medical decisions.”
“An independent specialist is reviewing Elena's treatment.”
“Dr. Reed has treated her for months.”
“Dr. Reed is no longer her only physician.”
Celeste's fingers tightened around the shopping bag.
“Why?”
“Because the records don't match.”
For a second, fear flashed across her face.
Then she laughed.
“Medical records are complicated. You know that.”
“Not complicated enough to explain why someone changed my daughter's prescriptions without my approval.”
Celeste took a step closer.
“Adrian, you're exhausted. You've been grieving for months. You can't let every accusation become a crisis.”
He looked at her.
“Who told you about the prescriptions?”
Her lips parted.
“I—”
“Who?”
She recovered quickly.
“Dr. Reed mentioned that the new doctor might review them.”
Adrian said nothing.
Maren watched Celeste's expression.
It was not the face of a woman surprised by bad news.
It was the face of a woman trying to calculate how much the other person knew.
Celeste placed the shopping bag on a table.
“I'm going to see Elena.”
“No.”
“Adrian, I'm practically her stepmother.”
“You are not her mother.”
The words landed hard.
Celeste's face went pale.
“After everything I've done for you?”
“What have you done for Elena?”
“I've stood by you.”
“That wasn't my question.”
Celeste looked at Maren.
“You think you can replace me?”
Maren remained quiet.
Celeste moved closer.
“You don't know what happened in this family. You don't know what Adrian is capable of when he feels betrayed.”
Adrian stepped between them.
“Leave.”
Celeste stared at him.
Then she picked up the shopping bag.
“You'll regret humiliating me.”
“Not as much as I'll regret letting you stay.”
She walked out.
That evening, Victor brought Adrian a visitor log from St. Catherine's.
Celeste had entered the clinic on seven separate nights after Elena's regular therapy hours. Her name was listed as a family representative, though no authorization had ever been signed.
There was another discovery.
The clinic's medication supplier was a company partly owned by Celeste's father.
Adrian read the report twice.
“Get the contracts.”
Victor hesitated.
“Boss, if the records are authentic, this could involve more than the clinic.”
“Then we follow the records.”
Maren stood near the window.
“There's something else.”
Adrian looked at her.
“Tess said Celeste asked when Elena would be considered permanently disabled.”
He nodded.
“Why would she care?”
May you like
Maren thought of the way Celeste had looked at the little girl.
“She didn't look at Elena like a child. She looked at her like a problem that needed to stay exactly where it was.”
