Chapter 6 - THE MISTRESS’S PRICE
Celeste was escorted into the penthouse dining room.
She sat at the same table where I had once planned our anniversary trips with Julian.
Now she folded her arms and tried to bargain for her future.
“I want immunity,” she said.
Margaret remained standing.
“You are not speaking to prosecutors.”
“I want protection from Julian.”
“You arrived tonight wearing stolen property.”
“Julian gave it to me.”
“That does not establish innocence.”
Celeste looked at me.
“You know what he is like.”
“I know what he became.”
“He told me you were unstable.”
“That was convenient.”
“He said you had stopped contributing to the company.”
I almost laughed.
Instead, I opened a folder containing design approvals, operational plans, and handwritten notes covering nine years.
“My work is in every room of this building.”
Celeste’s gaze dropped.
“I did not know about the trust.”
“Neither did Julian.”
“He thought you owned something.”
That caught my attention.
“What did he think I owned?”
“A minority inheritance.”
“How much?”
“Enough that he needed your signature.”
Margaret leaned forward.
“What signature?”
Celeste hesitated.
I recognized the calculation in her eyes.
She wanted something before giving us the answer.
“We can ensure you leave this property safely,” Margaret said.
“That is all I can promise.”
Celeste looked toward the dark windows.
“Julian planned to announce your resignation tonight.”
“I never resigned.”
“He had a statement prepared.”
“Based on what authority?”
“He said the board would accept it after seeing the medical report.”
My stomach tightened.
“What medical report?”
Celeste’s face turned pale.
“A psychiatric evaluation.”
“I have never had one.”
“I know.”
The room became silent.
Julian had created a false document describing me as paranoid, emotionally unstable, and unfit to exercise executive authority.
He planned to claim that my objections to his financial decisions were symptoms of illness.
He planned to use concern as a weapon.
Margaret’s expression hardened.
“Who produced the report?”
“A doctor in Nevada.”
“Name.”
Celeste provided it.
The forensic specialist wrote everything down.
“Was the resignation forged?” I asked.
Celeste nodded.
“Julian practiced your signature for weeks.”
The betrayal was so deliberate that it felt almost impersonal.
This had not been a reckless affair.
It had been a planned removal.
“Why tonight?” I asked.
“Because he believed the ten-year conversion happened next month.”
My father’s condition.
Julian had somehow learned that his compensation units might become equity after ten years.
He did not know the conversion required my voluntary approval.
He believed that removing me before the review would give him control.
Celeste looked at me with something close to fear.
“He said once the board accepted your resignation, he would place the assets into a new company.”
“One he controlled,” Margaret said.
Celeste nodded.
“And you?” I asked.
“He promised me ten percent.”
I studied her.
“You helped him destroy my reputation for ten percent?”
Her eyes filled with tears, but I felt no sympathy.
“I thought he owned everything.”
“That was his favorite mistake.”
A crash sounded from the hallway.
Julian had forced his way past one of the guards.
He stood in the doorway, soaked from the rain and furious.
“You stupid woman,” he said to Celeste.
She rose so quickly that her chair fell backward.
May you like
Julian’s expression told me the night had changed again.
The financial fraud was not the only secret he feared she might reveal.
