Chapter 5 - The First Lie Wasn't About FoodNaomi moved the phone away before Celeste could touch it.
"Don't."
Celeste stopped.
Their mother was still crying on the line.
"Naomi? Are you there?"
"I'm here, Mom."
"Please come over."
"I will."
"Don't tell Celeste what I said."
Naomi looked directly at her sister.
"It's too late for that."
Celeste's expression hardened.
"Give me the phone."
"No."
"Mother doesn't understand the financial arrangements."
Vivian heard her.
"Celeste, I understand more than you think."
For the first time that day, Celeste seemed uncertain.
Naomi could not remember the last time their mother had spoken to her eldest daughter in that tone.
"Mom," Naomi said, "I'm going to take Ava home, and then I'll come see you."
"Bring her," Vivian whispered. "I bought her something."
The simplicity of the sentence nearly undid Naomi.
Her mother still thought about presents, birthdays, and small acts of love while the family business was apparently collapsing around them.
"I'll bring her."
She ended the call.
Celeste folded her arms.
"You are making a terrible mistake."
"Maybe."
"Everything I've done has been to keep this property alive."
"Then you should have no problem showing us the records."
Celeste's face went still.
"What records?"
"The lease. The option agreement. The rent payments. And the catering invoices."
"You don't have access to company records."
"Mother has access to documents concerning property she owns. And I have a contract for Ava's party."
"You sound like a lawyer."
"No. I sound like a customer whose daughter was almost served something dangerous."
For a moment, Celeste looked exhausted.
Then she smiled.
It was a small, familiar smile.
The kind she used when she thought she had found a way to regain control.
"Naomi, I know you're upset. Let me refund your two thousand dollars."
Naomi stared at her.
"You think this is about a refund?"
"It's a reasonable first step."
"You knew the food wasn't safe."
"I knew there might have been a problem."
"And you didn't stop the party."
"I stopped Ava."
The words landed between them.
Naomi felt physically sick.
"You stopped Ava," she repeated. "But you let every other child keep eating."
Celeste opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
Naomi walked away.
In the ballroom, Ava was sitting beside Lila, who had found her a bottle of water and a packet of crackers from Naomi's sealed emergency snack bag.
The little girl had stopped crying.
Her cheeks were still wet.
"Mommy."
Naomi knelt.
"Ready to leave?"
Ava nodded.
"Cake?"
Naomi swallowed.
"We'll get you a safe cake, sweetheart. I promise."
Ava studied her carefully.
"Pink?"
"The pinkest cake you have ever seen."
Ava gave a small, uncertain smile.
Naomi helped her into her coat.
As they crossed the ballroom, several parents approached.
One thanked Naomi for stopping the party.
Another asked how they would receive the ingredient information.
Naomi gave them the contact details Mateo had provided and said that emergency responders were handling immediate health concerns.
She did not speculate about who had switched the labels.
She wanted facts.
She wanted records.
Most of all, she wanted Ava home.
At the front entrance, Mateo was waiting.
"Mrs. Ellis."
Naomi stopped.
He held out a folded piece of paper.
"What's this?"
"My personal number. If anyone asks what I saw, I'll tell them."
"Why would anyone ask you not to?"
Mateo looked over his shoulder.
"Because Celeste told Nolan to terminate my contract."
Naomi stared.
"When?"
"Ten minutes ago."
"She fired you for warning people?"
"She said I caused unnecessary alarm."
Naomi looked at the chef's tired face.
"You may have prevented someone from being hurt."
He glanced toward Ava.
"I should have spoken up this morning."
Naomi had no easy answer for that.
He had delayed. It mattered.
But he had also run into the ballroom when it would have been easier to stay quiet.
"Then help me find out what happened," she said.
Mateo nodded.
"I will."
As Naomi opened the car door for Ava, a police cruiser pulled into the driveway.
An officer stepped out and spoke to a staff member.
Naomi gave the officer her name and contact information, briefly explained the suspected food-label problem, and described the boxes Nolan had taken. She agreed to provide her photographs and contract.
The officer made no promises about arrests.
He said the report would be forwarded to the appropriate investigators and public health authorities.
That was enough for now.
Naomi secured Ava's seat belt.
The child held her pink butterfly purse in her lap.
"Mommy?"
"Yes?"
"Aunt Celeste mad?"
Naomi rested one hand against the doorframe.
"Maybe."
"Me?"
"No, baby. Not at you."
Ava thought about this.
Then she reached into her purse and pulled out a small paper birthday invitation.
On the front was a photograph of Willowmere House.
She held it toward her mother.
"Not happy."
Naomi felt her throat close.
"I know."
Ava turned the invitation over.
Naomi noticed something written on the back.
It was a message Celeste had added when delivering the invitations.
At Willowmere, every guest belongs at the table.
Naomi stared at the sentence.
Then she placed the invitation carefully in her own bag.
May you like
Because it had just become another piece of evidence.
And she was beginning to understand that Celeste had built an entire business around promises she never intended to keep.
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