Chapter 11 - THE PRICE OF SURVIVAL
Celeste surfaced beyond the pier as the first light of morning broke through the fog.
Reed and the agents climbed onto a federal patrol boat.
Celeste remained in the water long enough to pull Vivian’s coat from the drainage pipe.
The fabric was torn.
A streak of blood marked one sleeve.
There was no body.
“Mercer may have taken her,” Reed said.
“Or Julian did.”
Celeste searched the coat.
Inside the lining, she found a memory card sewn beneath the label.
Vivian had hidden it carefully.
Back aboard the boat, a technician opened the files.
The card contained months of recordings, financial transfers, shipment schedules, and private conversations.
One video had been recorded only six hours earlier.
Julian appeared in his mansion office.
Mercer stood beside him.
Vivian’s voice came from behind the camera.
“What happens after Celeste enters the tunnel?”
“The tide handles her,” Julian replied.
“And my protection?”
“You’ve mistaken temporary usefulness for value.”
The recording shifted violently.
Vivian gasped.
Julian moved closer.
“You humiliated my sister beautifully tonight.”
“But you should understand something.”
“I despise people who enjoy cruelty without understanding its purpose.”
The video ended.
Celeste looked at the blood on the coat.
Vivian had exposed her scars willingly.
She had enjoyed the power.
Yet she had also risked everything to preserve evidence.
People were rarely innocent or monstrous in simple ways.
Sometimes they were both.
The technician opened another file.
It displayed a live tracking signal.
The location was moving toward Warren Tower in downtown Boston.
“Vivian’s phone,” the technician said.
“Or someone wants us to believe it is.”
Reed received a secure call.
His expression changed as he listened.
“What happened?” Celeste asked.
He lowered the phone.
“Julian called an emergency board meeting.”
“For what purpose?”
“He claims Arthur suffered a mental collapse after the gala.”
Reed paused.
“He is asking the board to remove your father and appoint him permanent chief executive.”
Celeste looked toward the city skyline.
Julian was not simply destroying evidence.
He was taking control of the company before anyone could stop him.
Her phone rang.
Arthur’s name appeared.
Celeste answered.
For several seconds, she heard only breathing.
Then Julian spoke.
“Come to Warren Tower alone.”
May you like
A cry of pain sounded in the background.
“You have thirty minutes before our father takes a very long fall.”
