Chapter 6
Grant admitted Celeste paid him.
Not cash.
Position.
He wanted my security chief’s chair.
I had refused twice.
Celeste promised to make the third attempt successful.
“How?”
He looked ashamed.
“By proving current security failed.”
I stared.
“The crystal pyramid.”
“Yes.”
The plan became clear.
A public incident near Lily.
Chaos.
Guests panic.
Security looks incompetent.
Celeste presents Grant as the man who anticipated vulnerabilities.
Then she pushes me to replace my current chief.
Simple.
Ugly.
“What happens to Elena?”
Grant looked at the floor.
“She wasn’t supposed to interfere.”
“But she did.”
“Yes.”
“You still pushed.”
His jaw tightened.
“Yes.”
That mattered.
He could have stopped.
He chose to continue.
“Why Lily?”
“Because every capo watches what happens around your daughter.”
Of course.
A security failure near me would be embarrassing.
Near Lily?
Unforgivable.
Celeste had selected the one target guaranteed to produce organizational consequences.
“You expected her to be hurt?”
“No.”
I stared.
Grant corrected himself.
“I hoped she wouldn’t be.”
Better.
Truthier.
The crystal structure was supposed to collapse just beside her.
Enough noise.
Enough danger.
Enough witnesses.
But safety built on centimeters is not safety.
“What if Elena hadn’t moved?”
Grant said nothing.
I looked at Celeste.
She folded her arms.
“You’re acting like I ordered someone to kill Lily.”
“No.”
My voice stayed low.
“I’m acting like you accepted the possibility she might be hurt because the image would benefit you.”
Her jaw tightened.
That was accurate.
Then Elena spoke quietly.
“She’s done it before.”
Everyone looked at her.
“What?”
Elena swallowed.
“Not the crystal.”
A pause.
“Accidents.”
My body became still.
“How many?”
“Three I know about.”
Celeste went pale.
There it was.
May you like
The gala was not the first manufactured security failure.
Only the first one big enough for me to see.
