Chapter 6: Celeste Runs
Chapter 6: Celeste Runs
The first person who tried to escape wasn't Nathan.
It was Celeste.
She had always been practical.
When things went well, she stayed close to powerful men.
When they fell...
She disappeared before the wreckage buried her.
The moment the federal agents entered Blackthorn Manor, she quietly slipped away from the grand hall.
No one seemed to notice.
At least, that's what she believed.
She hurried upstairs to the guest suite Nathan had prepared for her months earlier.
Her hands trembled as she locked the bedroom door.
For the first time in years, she looked into the mirror without recognizing the woman staring back.
Mascara streaked down her cheeks.
Her expensive silk robe was wrinkled.
The confident consultant who had manipulated executives and charmed billionaires was gone.
Only fear remained.
She rushed toward the hidden safe behind a painting.
The code.
Five.
Nine.
Two.
Eight.
The door clicked open.
Inside sat stacks of cash.
Several passports.
Luxury watches.
A velvet jewelry box.
And a small encrypted flash drive.
Her emergency exit.
She stuffed everything into a designer travel bag.
"Think," she whispered.
"Think."
There was still time.
Private jet.
The Cayman Islands.
No extradition.
She could disappear before sunrise.
She had done enough favors for enough dangerous people.
Someone would help her.
Someone always did.
Downstairs, Marcus Hale looked up from his tablet.
A tiny blue dot moved across the digital floor plan of Blackthorn Manor.
He smiled faintly.
"There she goes."
Richard Ashcroft glanced at the screen.
"How long?"
Marcus checked the timer.
"Forty-three seconds until she reaches the garage."
Richard nodded.
"Let her."
Nathan overheard them.
"You know she's running?"
"Yes."
"And you're doing nothing?"
Marcus looked at him calmly.
"Sometimes..."
"The easiest way to catch someone..."
"...is to let them believe they're free."
Celeste reached the underground garage.
Rows of luxury cars waited beneath bright white lights.
She ignored Nathan's collection of sports cars.
Too obvious.
Instead, she grabbed the keys to a black Range Rover.
She started the engine.
The security gate opened automatically.
Relief flooded through her.
"They're too late."
She accelerated toward the estate entrance.
Halfway down the private road...
The gate remained open.
No guards.
No checkpoints.
No police.
She laughed.
"They really are fools."
The SUV sped through the front gates.
Freedom was only minutes away.
Three miles later...
Every dream ended.
The highway entrance was blocked.
Six black SUVs formed a perfect barricade.
Men in dark suits stood silently beside them.
No flashing lights.
No weapons drawn.
No shouting.
Just waiting.
Celeste slammed on the brakes.
Her heart pounded.
She threw the SUV into reverse.
Another convoy had quietly appeared behind her.
Trapped.
The driver's window buzzed.
Someone tapped lightly on the glass.
Marcus.
He smiled politely.
"Good morning, Miss Monroe."
She refused to lower the window.
Marcus spoke through the closed glass.
"I wouldn't recommend driving through us."
She grabbed her phone.
No signal.
She looked again.
NETWORK RESTRICTED
"No..."
Marcus held up another phone.
"Looking for this?"
It was her backup satellite phone.
She froze.
"How—"
"Our people searched your room."
"The moment you left it."
Celeste stepped out of the SUV.
"You have no warrant."
Marcus nodded.
"Actually..."
He handed her several documents.
"Three."
She scanned them.
Federal seizure.
Financial fraud.
Evidence preservation.
Travel restriction.
Every page carried official seals.
Her breathing became shallow.
"This..."
"This can't happen."
Marcus remained expressionless.
"It already has."
Back at Blackthorn Manor, Nathan paced nervously.
Richard watched him in silence.
"You don't seem surprised."
Richard answered,
"I've spent forty years negotiating with governments."
"I learned long ago..."
"People reveal themselves when escape appears possible."
Nathan looked away.
"You set a trap."
"No."
Richard shook his head.
"She walked into one."
Twenty minutes later...
Celeste was escorted back into the mansion.
Gone were the confident smiles.
Gone were the expensive sunglasses she had put on before leaving.
Her wrists weren't handcuffed.
She wasn't resisting.
She simply looked defeated.
The travel bag was placed on the evidence table.
Marcus unzipped it.
Cash.
Jewelry.
Three passports.
Two encrypted hard drives.
One flash drive.
Richard looked toward her.
"Planning a vacation?"
Celeste remained silent.
Marcus plugged the flash drive into a secure forensic computer.
Within seconds...
Hundreds of files appeared.
Nathan frowned.
"What is that?"
The forensic analyst looked up.
"Accounting records."
Another folder.
"Offshore transactions."
Another.
"Internal emails."
Nathan's eyes widened.
Celeste slowly closed hers.
She understood.
The drive she had intended to use as insurance...
Had become another weapon against them.
Richard turned toward Nathan.
"Did you know she kept copies?"
Nathan stared at Celeste.
"You told me you destroyed everything."
Celeste's voice cracked.
"I lied."
Nathan laughed bitterly.
"You lied?"
"You've been lying to me for years."
She looked back at him.
"And you've been cheating on your wife for years."
The room fell silent.
Nathan had no reply.
A federal financial investigator approached the evidence table.
"We've completed the preliminary review."
Richard nodded.
"What did you find?"
The investigator adjusted his glasses.
"The flash drive contains complete transaction histories."
"It also contains correspondence between Miss Monroe and several offshore banking intermediaries."
He paused.
"And one additional folder."
Marcus looked at the screen.
The folder title read:
IF NATHAN BETRAYS ME
Nathan frowned.
"What?"
Marcus opened it.
Inside were scanned contracts.
Secret recordings.
Private emails.
And a handwritten note.
If you're reading this, Nathan turned on me first.
Don't believe anything he says.
He approved every transfer.
I kept copies because I knew he'd sacrifice me one day.
Nathan stared at Celeste as though he had never seen her before.
"You were preparing to betray me..."
She laughed through tears.
"I learned from the best."
The words hung in the air.
For years they had trusted no one but each other.
Now...
Even that illusion had collapsed.
Richard walked slowly toward the window.
Outside, reporters continued gathering beyond the gates.
Television helicopters circled overhead.
The world was beginning to ask questions.
Soon...
The answers would belong to everyone.
Marcus's earpiece crackled.
He listened carefully before turning toward Richard.
"The federal prosecutors have finished reviewing the evidence."
Richard asked quietly,
"And?"
Marcus's expression hardened.
"They're expanding the investigation."
Nathan frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Marcus looked directly at him.
"It means this case..."
"...is no longer just about money laundering."
Nathan felt the blood drain from his face.
"What else did you find?"
Marcus closed the folder labeled IF NATHAN BETRAYS ME.
Then he spoke seven words that changed everything.
"We found evidence of an unexplained death."
The room fell completely silent.
Even Evelyn looked up from the hospital bed.
An unexplained death?
Nathan's lips parted.
For the first time since the nightmare began...
He looked genuinely terrified.
Because he knew exactly whose death Marcus was talking about.
May you like
And he prayed...
No one else ever would.
