“Please, miss, don’t make baseless accusations. Our security company always follows proper protocols.”
One of the guards, perfectly composed, produced a photo. “Sir, your car was parked illegally in our estate’s private driveway. You’re not on the guest list, so we’ve already called the traffic authorities to tow your vehicle. Please leave the property, pay the fine, and reclaim your car. If you continue to disturb our residents, we’ll have no choice but to call the police.”
The photo showed the car Philip had just driven, parked squarely at the entrance to
the estate.
These guards were certainly good at making up excuses!
He saw that Celeste was determined not to see him. Cradling his injured hand, Philip pressed his pale lips together and nodded.
“I’ll leave right now.‘
“Thank you for your cooperation.”
The security team didn’t leave until they’d escorted Philip and Viola well outside the grounds of Celeste’s home.
Once back in the car, Viola hovered anxiously, her eyes filled with concern as she looked at Philip’s injured hand.
“Philip, maybe we should go back to Silvercrest,” she urged quietly. “Staying here will only make Celeste even angrier.”
“I still need to be in Asterwynn for a while. I have business to finish here. If you don’t want to stay, I’ll arrange someone to take you back.”
Philip drove on, his jaw clenched against the pain, not sparing Viola so much as a glance.
Viola’s frustration simmered beneath her calm expression.
“I just don’t feel comfortable leaving you here alone. Why don’t I stay and keep vou company?”
“Do as you like.”
Philip never wasted energy arguing with Viola over trivialities. He pulled out his phone and contacted his assistant, instructing him to purchase two properties in
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Asterwynn.
One needed to be close to Celeste’s neighborhood, Moonwater Grove.
The other had no particular requirements.
The moment Viola overheard this, her discontent showed. She put on her most pitiful face, eyes glistening with unshed tears.
“Philip, what if I get sick all alone in some strange place? I don’t know anyone here in Asterwynn…”
Philip frowned slightly.
As they waited at a red light, he glanced over at Viola, who looked on the verge of tears. For a moment, his heart softened–he couldn’t just leave her to fend for
herself.
“Fine. You can stay with me for now.”
Viola immediately brightened, her voice sweet and cloying. “You’re always so good to me, Philip-”
But behind her wide eyes, a flash of cold calculation: she would never let Philip slip away from her grasp.
***
Back at the house, Celeste was so exhausted she just wanted to collapse for a moment’s peace.
But her phone buzzed–Herbert calling.
“Where are you? You burned the family chapel to the ground and then disappeared. Now the elders are so furious they’ve fallen ill! Get back here and apologize–now!”
“I already told you I didn’t set that fire. Are you all deaf, or just refusing to listen?”
Celeste pressed her fingers to her temples, headache throbbing.
Herbert’s response was a shrill, furious outburst. “I had the place investigated. The fire started inside, and you were the only one there! If you didn’t start it, then your mother’s memorial is cursed! Why else would the chapel catch fire for no son? Get back here this instant. If you don’t, not only will your mother’s memorial be barred from the chapel, but her name will be erased from the family records!”
Click. The call ended abruptly.
Rage flashed in Celeste’s weary eyes. So that was their plan–to erase her mother
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as if she’d never existed?
Not a chance.
Without hesitation, she grabbed her things and called a cab. She was going to the
Chapter 48
The entire Duncan family had gathered in the grand hall. When Celeste entered, a dozen pairs of resentful eyes turned on her, and a low tide of muttering swept
through the room.
“Knew it–she’s nothing but bad luck. That chapel’s been standing for over a century, and now look, burned to a crisp for the first time.”
“It’s a disgrace to the family. Why did we ever take in that woman and her daughter? They’ve brought nothing but trouble to the Duncans.”
Celeste walked straight–backed through the sea of accusations, stopping before Herbert.
He stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his eyes sharp and cold as ice, fixed on her.
“Well? Was it you who set the fire? If it wasn’t, then maybe it’s a sign from God himself–he couldn’t bear to see your mother’s memorial brought into the chapel, so he sent down a disaster!”
Celeste met his gaze, calm and steady. “I didn’t set the fire. Someone else did.”
She glanced over to the corner where Amanda stood lurking.
Amanda’s lips curled into a mocking smile, her eyes full of challenge.
At that, one of Amanda’s close relatives stepped forward, self–assured and righteous. “Who else could it be? You were the only one in the chapel. Either you did it, or it’s God’s will. Don’t try to talk your way out of this. We already had someone look into it–your mother’s memorial is a bad omen. The day it entered the chapel, disaster struck!”
He jabbed a finger at Celeste, voice rising. “The Duncan Memorial Chapel is ruined, all thanks to you and your mother!”
Herbert nodded in agreement. “Exactly. The whole family has discussed this. It’s your stubbornness that brought this about, so you’ll be the one paying for tho repairs–all two million dollars.”
Two million dollars wasn’t a trivial sum.
Celeste could afford it, but she saw no reason to be played for a fool.
Amanda had set the fire.
Why should she pay?
Celeste’s eyes bored into Amanda, her tone icy. “If I didn’t start the fire, why should foot the bill?”
“And whose idea was it to ask for two million? Funny how that just happens to match the amount of my dowry. Seems to me someone’s using the fire as an excuse to claw back what I brought into this family.”
She let her gaze linger on Amanda, full of meaning.
Others in the room followed her eyes, some faces dawning with realization.
Celeste’s mother had died young, and Amanda, her stepmother, had personally arranged her marriage to Alfred. Amanda knew exactly how much Celeste’s dowry was. The sum the elders demanded–two million–had Amanda’s fingerprints all
over it.
The Duncans weren’t fools. Someone muttered under their breath, “What a coincidence. Two million, not a cent more or less–must be fate, huh?”
Amanda, suddenly the focus of attention, stiffened. She hurried from the shadows into the center of the hall, clinging to Herbert’s arm in a show of wounded innocence.
“That money would go to restore the chapel–what does it matter if it matches her dowry?” she sniffed. “Besides, Herbert, Celeste is still young, and she’s already lost the company a fortune. I doubt she even has two million on hand. Tell you what… I’ll get a million from the Lawrences myself, just to help make up the difference for Celeste.”
As she spoke, Amanda let two perfect tears slip down her cheeks. “After all, I am her stepmother. It’s my duty to help.”
Herbert was quick to draw her into a comforting embrace. “Amanda, you’re too good–unlike my ungrateful daughter. She’s run the company into the ground, cost this family a fortune, and now you, her stepmother, have to beg your own family for help. She’s a traitor, through and through!”
A few others chimed in, eager to pile on. “Look at that–her stepmother’s willing to pitch in, but she won’t hand over a dime. Selfish, if you ask me.”
Celeste just laughed, the sound sharp and cold. “If my dear stepmother is so generous, why not pay the whole sum yourself?”
“What-?”
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Celeste caught Amanda’s look of shock and pressed on. “My mother was Alfred’s mother too. Since you’re so eager to help, why not pay the full two million? Think of the other million as a contribution from the Hopkins family. When Alfred comes home, you’ll have earned yourself a little extra goodwill, don’t you think?”
Duncan family estate herself.
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