Chapter 6 - THE WIFE WHO WATCHED FROM A DISTANCE
Celeste chose an abandoned greenhouse outside Burlington.
Of course she did.
Nothing in Dwayne’s life could apparently happen in a normal conference room.
He saw her through the glass.
Four years dead.
Three years missing.
Same dark hair.
Same posture.
Older.
Alive.
Dwayne stopped walking.
Addison remained beside him.
“You can go alone.”
“No.”
His voice came out rough.
“I’d rather not.”
That surprised both of them.
Celeste opened the greenhouse door.
“Dwayne.”
He stared.
No hug.
No anger at first.
Just disbelief.
“You let me bury you.”
“Yes.”
“You watched me mourn you.”
“No.”
“What?”
“I left the country.”
“That’s supposed to help?”
“No.”
Good answer.
Celeste looked at Addison.
“You found Nathan.”
“Yes.”
“Thank you.”
Addison’s eyes hardened.
“You kept him from me.”
“I kept him alive.”
“You could have called.”
“I was terrified Simon would track you.”
Addison absorbed that.
Not forgive.
Absorb.
Dwayne stepped forward.
“Elias Rourke.”
Celeste’s expression changed.
“You know.”
“Enough.”
She opened a metal case.
Photographs.
Old prison medical records.
Offshore files.
A recent image showed an elderly man standing outside a cabin.
Silver hair.
Cane.
Same eyes as Dwayne.
“My father.”
“Yes.”
“Alive?”
“Yes.”
Dwayne sat.
“What does he know about me?”
“Everything.”
“And he never came?”
“He thought you were Vincent.”
Dwayne frowned.
“Meaning?”
“Not by blood.”
She touched her chest.
“By character.”
That hurt.
Celeste continued.
“Elias escaped Vincent after twenty years. By then, you were already running Cross Logistics.”
“He thought I chose this life.”
“Yes.”
“I didn’t know any other.”
“I know.”
“Did you?”
She hesitated.
“At first, no.”
“And later?”
“Yes.”
There it was.
Celeste had discovered Dwayne’s real father two months before faking her death.
She tried to convince him to shut down violent operations.
He refused.
Not because he knew the truth.
Because he believed fear was the only inheritance worth keeping.
“So you left.”
“I planned to.”
“Then why fake your death?”
“Simon found out.”
Dwayne’s jaw tightened.
Celeste learned Simon was secretly moving weapons through Cross docks while claiming Vincent’s old loyalists were behind it.
Simon threatened her.
So she staged her death.
Later, Nathan accidentally saw her.
Simon shot him.
Celeste saved him.
“Why not expose Simon then?”
“Because Simon wasn’t the top.”
Dwayne felt cold.
“Who was?”
Celeste looked at him.
“Your mother.”
Silence.
“My mother died when I was eleven.”
“No.”
Dwayne laughed.
“Stop.”
Addison looked at him.
He was no longer amused.
Everyone he buried was apparently alive.
Celeste continued.
“Margaret Vale is alive.”
“Where?”
“New York.”
Dwayne’s face hardened.
“What does she want?”
Celeste answered:
“You.”
Then she looked at Addison.
“And she already knows exactly who Addison is.”
Addison frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Celeste’s expression softened.
“Your brother wasn’t the reason you got hired at Cross Logistics.”
Addison went still.
“I applied.”
“Yes.”
“But your application was moved to Dwayne’s desk deliberately.”
“By who?”
“Margaret.”
Dwayne looked between them.
“Why would my mother care who my secretary is?”
May you like
Celeste answered:
“Because Addison Lynwood isn’t her real name.”
