Chapter 7
Celina finally gave a formal interview through counsel.
She did not deny wanting Ellie at Westbridge.
She denied believing the child would be harmed there.
“It’s a good school.”
Rebecca asked:
“For children who need it.”
“She needed structure.”
“According to whom?”
“Me.”
“You are not a clinician.”
“I lived with her.”
“Her father lived with her.”
“Luciano is blind where Ellie is concerned.”
“Her teacher?”
“Sees her during school.”
“Her therapist?”
“Too attached.”
“The independent psychologist?”
“Read paper.”
Rebecca let the silence sit.
Celina was using each disagreement as proof the evaluator was unqualified.
Then Rebecca asked:
“Why did you tell Ellie she was going to an orphanage?”
Celina’s face changed.
“I was angry.”
“Why?”
“She walked into my engagement reception carrying Anna in her hands.”
“A school project.”
“With that woman drawn like she still runs the house.”
“Anna?”
“Yes.”
“Anna is dead.”
“I know.”
The answer came too fast.
Rebecca waited.
Celina started crying.
“Do you know what it is like to be engaged to a man whose dead wife is always the best woman in the room?”
That was honest.
Ugly.
Human.
Luciano later read the transcript without interrupting.
Celina continued.
Anna’s photographs remained in the estate.
Ellie talked about her.
Marianne told stories about her.
Luciano never criticized her.
Celina had entered a family where the dead woman could never make another mistake.
That insecurity was real.
But Rebecca asked:
“How does sending Ellie to Westbridge solve that?”
Celina stopped crying.
“It doesn’t.”
“Then why?”
No answer.
“Why did you falsify parental permission?”
“I didn’t.”
“We have the signature file.”
Silence.
“Why did you order the child’s room emptied?”
“I believed Luciano would agree once he saw the transition moving.”
“Why would motion create consent?”
Celina looked away.
Because that was the logic at the center.
Make the decision feel already made.
Let the wedding create momentum.
Let the honeymoon create distraction.
Let the child’s empty room become a fact Luciano would find emotionally and administratively expensive to reverse.
Rebecca then asked about the proposed Vescari scholarship fund.
Celina insisted it was charitable.
Maybe part of it was.
She genuinely believed Westbridge did good work.
She also admitted Gavin had spent years trying to keep the institution financially stable.
“Did you want Luciano to invest?”
“Donate.”
“After Ellie enrolled?”
“Yes.”
“Why not ask him directly?”
“He would have done due diligence for six months.”
“Because?”
“He doesn’t trust anything attached to family.”
Rebecca almost smiled.
That statement would later become important.
Luciano’s habit of demanding outside review—the exact trait Celina resented—was what prevented her from converting family affection into automatic financial support.
Yet Part 10 still needed one more thing.
The financial records showed Celina benefited indirectly.
The emotional records showed she resented Anna and Marianne.
The placement plan showed she wanted Ellie out.
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But why was Ellie herself so strategically important to Westbridge beyond one tuition account?
The answer came from the institution’s lender.
