Chapter 7 - MY SISTER'S PERFECT LIFE CRACKED FIRST
Vivienne had always been the easiest of us for Father to love.
She understood the rules without needing them explained.
Smile.
Marry well.
Protect the family.
Never ask where the money came from.
Never embarrass Arthur.
Never become more important than Arthur.
Her reward was a perfect life.
A penthouse in Manhattan.
A country estate in Connecticut.
A husband from an old banking family.
Two children photographed at charity events.
A foundation position with no measurable responsibilities.
She had everything.
Until sponsors began canceling.
Within a week of the gala, three major donors suspended funding to the Vale Foundation.
A luxury fashion brand ended its partnership with Vivienne's charity initiative.
Her husband's bank announced an internal review of transactions involving Vale Global.
Then the video of her ripping my dress passed fifty million views.
For the first time in her life, Vivienne could not control how strangers saw her.
She blamed me.
Her call came at 2:08 in the morning.
"You planned this."
I was awake reviewing Thomas Keene's notebook.
"Planned what?"
"The admiral."
"No."
"The cameras."
"It was a ballroom."
"You wanted everyone to see me."
"You tore my dress off."
"You embarrassed me."
I closed the notebook.
"Vivienne, do you hear yourself?"
"You walked in there wearing that dress knowing exactly what would happen."
I almost admired the logic.
In her mind, my existence had provoked her cruelty.
"You grabbed me."
"Because you were provoking Dad."
"I handed him a shareholder notice."
"You threatened everything."
"That's what you're afraid of?"
"Don't act superior."
Her voice cracked.
"You always hated us."
"No."
"Yes, you did."
"I wanted you to choose me once."
Silence.
It surprised both of us.
I had not planned to say it.
Vivienne's breathing changed.
"When?"
"Any time."
I looked at Thomas Keene's handwriting.
"When Dad told everyone I was unstable."
"When Mom stopped taking my calls."
"When reporters asked you about me."
"When I was recovering from burns and you told people I was addicted to medication."
"You were taking medication."
"I had third-degree burns."
She said nothing.
I continued.
"You could have told the truth."
"What truth?"
"That I was injured saving sailors."
"Dad said the details were classified."
"That part was."
"He said you were confused."
"And you believed him?"
Another silence.
Then she whispered, "I believed what I needed to believe."
That was the most honest thing she had ever said.
"Why are you calling?"
Her voice lowered.
"Because I found something."
I sat straighter.
"What?"
"Father's office at the house has a hidden drawer."
I waited.
"How do you know?"
"Because I watched him open it tonight."
"What was inside?"
"Files."
"What kind?"
"I don't know."
"Then why are you telling me?"
"Because one had your name on it."
The muscles in my back tightened.
"What did it say?"
"I only saw the tab."
She hesitated.
"CELESTE - CONTAINMENT."
I stopped breathing.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Do not touch it."
"I already did."
Of course she had.
"What did you see?"
"Medical records."
"Those were leaked."
"I know."
"What else?"
"Surveillance photographs."
My stomach dropped.
"What surveillance?"
"You."
"Where?"
"Your apartment."
"Which apartment?"
"The one in Norfolk."
I had lived there nine years earlier.
"Anything else?"
"Reports from someone named Pike."
My pulse increased.
Arthur had not merely cut me off.
He had monitored me.
For years.
"Vivienne, listen carefully."
She began crying.
"What?"
"Leave the house."
"I can't."
"Yes, you can."
"Father will know."
"Take your children and leave."
"My children are with Charles."
"Then go to him."
"Celeste."
"Go."
Her breathing became shallow.
Then I heard a sound through the phone.
A door opening.
Vivienne went silent.
A man's voice spoke in the distance.
"Who are you talking to?"
Arthur.
Vivienne whispered, "No one."
My father answered calmly.
"Give me the phone."
The call ended.
I immediately contacted investigators.
By the time federal agents reached the Vale estate, Vivienne was gone.
Arthur claimed she had left voluntarily.
Her phone was found on the kitchen counter.
May you like
Her car was still in the garage.
And the hidden drawer in Arthur's office was empty.
