Chapter 5 - THE WOMAN IN THE WHITE CHAIR
Celeste asked to speak with me privately.
My father refused.
I insisted.
So that afternoon, two federal agents stood outside my hospital room while Celeste Monroe sat in a chair near the window.
Without diamonds, champagne, and Nathan beside her, she looked strangely ordinary.
She wore plain clothes provided by investigators.
Her makeup was gone.
Her hands trembled.
I studied the woman who had watched Nathan punish me as entertainment.
“You counted.”
Celeste looked down.
“What?”
“The lashes.”
Her face tightened.
“You counted to one hundred ninety-eight.”
She said nothing.
“And then you asked for two more.”
“I know.”
“Why?”
She closed her eyes.
For several seconds, I thought she would lie.
Instead, she whispered.
“Because I hated you.”
I had expected excuses.
Nathan manipulated me.
I was afraid.
I didn’t understand.
But Celeste gave me none.
“I hated the way he looked at you,” she continued.
I almost laughed.
“He hurt me.”
“I know.”
“He cheated with you.”
“I know.”
“He spent years humiliating me.”
“And he still cared whether you approved of him.”
That surprised me.
Celeste looked at the floor.
“Nathan could buy me anything.”
“Jewelry.”
“Cars.”
“A condo in Manhattan.”
“But whenever you entered a room, he changed.”
I remembered Nathan criticizing my clothes before events.
Telling me not to embarrass him.
Watching constantly to see whether I looked impressed when people praised him.
“He didn’t love me,” I said.
“No.”
Celeste looked at me.
“But he needed to defeat you.”
That sounded more accurate.
“So you helped him.”
“Yes.”
“And now you want immunity.”
“Yes.”
“At least you’re finally honest.”
She flinched.
I leaned back carefully.
“Tell me about Martin.”
Celeste hesitated.
“Martin handled Black Meridian before I joined.”
“Was he loyal to Nathan?”
“For years.”
“What changed?”
“Three months ago, Martin discovered someone was diverting money from the Black Meridian accounts.”
“Nathan?”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“Someone above Nathan.”
I stared at her.
“Above him?”
Celeste nodded.
“Nathan wasn’t the top.”
The room seemed colder.
“Who was?”
“I never learned the name.”
“Then how do you know?”
“Because Nathan was afraid of him.”
That was nearly impossible to imagine.
Nathan feared losing money.
He feared humiliation.
He feared being ordinary.
But I had never seen him fear another person.
Celeste reached into the pocket of her borrowed sweater.
The agent near the door stepped forward.
She slowly removed a folded piece of paper.
“I found this inside Nathan’s safe three weeks ago.”
She gave it to me.
There were only four words.
MIDNIGHT CROWN KNOWS EVERYTHING.
Underneath was a date.
Tomorrow.
“What happens tomorrow?” I asked.
Celeste shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
Then she looked me directly in the eyes.
“But Nathan believed that if Midnight Crown failed, every person connected to Black Meridian would be killed financially.”
“Killed financially?”
“Banks frozen.”
“Companies collapsed.”
“Identities exposed.”
I thought of my father’s network.
Then of Nathan’s reaction to the name Port Langston.
“Why give this to me?”
May you like
Celeste’s voice dropped.
“Because I think Midnight Crown is connected to your father.”
