Chapter 9 - What Celeste KnewDaniel contacted the police before he contacted Celeste.
A Richmond detective named Aaron Bell examined the threatening message and photograph.
"Do you know who sent it?" Bell asked.
"No."
"Has anyone made threats against the child before?"
"Not directly."
Daniel hesitated.
"Her mother received an anonymous warning in 2019."
"Do you still have it?"
"We may have an old voicemail."
Bell made a note.
"Preserve the original device and the message. Don't try to identify the sender yourself."
Daniel nodded.
The detective also asked about Saturday's violence at the wedding.
Daniel gave a complete account.
Including the strike against Celeste.
Bell studied him.
"You understand that's a separate matter."
"Yes."
"We'll be reviewing the available footage and witness statements."
"I'll cooperate."
After the detective left, Daniel called Ruth.
She answered immediately.
"Where's Lucy?"
"At home. With me."
"Please keep her inside until the police can advise us about the photograph."
Ruth went silent.
"What happened?"
Daniel explained.
For several seconds, he heard only her breathing.
Then she said, "This is what Hannah was afraid of."
"I know."
"No, Daniel. You don't."
Her voice broke.
"You've had two days to be frightened for that child. Hannah has been frightened for her every day for six years."
Celeste arrived at Daniel's apartment that evening.
He had agreed to meet only after obtaining advice from his attorney, Rebecca Sloan, who arranged for a neutral witness to be present in an adjacent office.
The apartment overlooked the James River.
Celeste had chosen its furniture, curtains, and artwork.
Now it felt like a carefully decorated stranger's home.
She wore a black coat and little makeup.
A faint bruise marked her cheek.
Daniel looked at it.
"I'm sorry I struck you."
Celeste laughed bitterly.
"Is that all you have to say?"
"No. But it's the first thing I need to say."
She sat on the sofa.
"Your lawyer told mine you're accepting responsibility for what happened."
"I am."
"That doesn't erase it."
"I know."
She looked at him.
For a moment, genuine grief crossed her face.
"We were supposed to be married."
Daniel remained standing.
"Did you intercept Hannah's letters?"
Celeste's expression hardened.
"Of course that's what you want to talk about."
"Answer me."
"She was trying to manipulate you."
"She was pregnant."
Celeste looked toward the window.
Daniel stepped closer, then stopped.
"Did you know about Lucy?"
Celeste's eyes filled.
"Yes."
The word seemed to empty the room.
"Since when?"
"January 2020."
Daniel's voice shook.
"You knew for almost seven years."
"I knew Hannah claimed she was pregnant."
"And you signed for her letter."
"Yes."
"Why didn't you give it to me?"
Celeste stood.
"Because you were falling apart!"
Daniel stared at her.
"After Hannah left, you stopped sleeping. You barely ate. Your father was pressuring you about the company. Robert was telling everyone Hannah had betrayed Mercer Renewal."
"And you thought hiding my daughter would help?"
"I thought she was using a pregnancy to get money."
"Did you believe that?"
Celeste began crying.
"I wanted to."
The answer was worse than a lie.
Daniel sat opposite her.
"Did you ever ask Hannah for evidence?"
Celeste shook her head.
"Did you ever tell me she was pregnant?"
"No."
"Then you made the decision for me."
"I was trying to protect what we had."
"We didn't have a relationship in January 2020."
Celeste flinched.
They had not begun dating until late that summer.
Before then, she had been his friend.
His confidante.
The person who helped him survive losing Hannah.
Daniel looked at her with new understanding.
"You didn't protect our relationship," he said. "You created the conditions for it."
Celeste wiped her face.
"That's not fair."
"Was any of it fair to Lucy?"
She said nothing.
Daniel showed her the threatening photograph.
Celeste stared at the screen.
"What is this?"
"Someone sent it to me."
"Are you accusing me?"
"I'm asking whether you recognize it."
"No."
He watched her carefully.
Her fear seemed genuine.
"Does your father know where Lucy goes to school?"
Celeste looked down.
"I don't know."
"Celeste."
"I said I don't know."
Then she looked up.
"Daniel, you have no idea what my father is capable of when someone threatens his business."
Daniel felt the room grow colder.
"What business?"
She pressed her lips together.
He waited.
Finally she whispered, "South Quay isn't what you think."
"Then tell me."
Celeste shook her head.
"If I tell you everything, he'll destroy me."
Daniel remembered Hannah saying almost the same thing seven years earlier.
The difference was that this time, he listened.
"Then get your own lawyer," he said. "Someone who doesn't answer to Robert."
Celeste looked at him.
"Would you help me?"
"I'll help you tell the truth safely. I won't help you hide what you did."
She stood.
At the door, she turned.
"There's one thing you need to know."
Daniel waited.
"My father didn't decide to remove Hannah because of the pregnancy."
"Then why?"
Celeste's voice trembled.
"Because she found out where the renovation money was going."
"Where?"
Celeste stared at the floor.
"To a company he used to control property that was never supposed to belong to him."
She reached for the door.
"Ask Warren about Marsh Point Holdings."
Then she left.
Daniel stood alone in the apartment.
May you like
The name meant nothing to him.
But he would soon discover that Marsh Point Holdings was the reason an entire neighborhood had been placed in danger—and why his father had remained silent for seven years.
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