Chapter 15 - STEPHEN’S OFFICE
The entry into my brother Stephen’s office bothered me most.
He was dead.
Could not explain.
His private study at the Grand had been accessed by Dana’s badge five months before his aneurysm.
Celeste admitted that one eventually.
Why?
She believed Stephen was trying to force her off the foundation board.
He was.
Not secretly maliciously.
Governance.
He wanted to separate family members from operational control.
He had drafted a memo.
Celeste entered the office.
Read it.
Then confronted him.
Stephen told no one how she knew.
Why?
My sister Amelia remembered him saying:
“Celeste has a way of knowing what’s in rooms she wasn’t invited into.”
We thought metaphor.
It was not.
Did Stephen discover the badge system?
Possibly.
No proof.
Did his death relate?
Absolutely not.
Aneurysm.
Medical records.
No conspiracy.
Important to say because grief likes connecting dots that should remain separate.
May you like
Celeste’s wrongdoing did not cause every bad thing in our family.
It caused enough.
