Chapter 12 - Grant's Confession
Grant requested immunity.
He didn't get it.
But prosecutors listened.
He admitted Celeste had approached him seven years earlier.
Before he met me.
She needed someone close to Dad's daughter.
Someone charming.
Educated.
Patient.
Grant had debt.
Celeste had money.
Their first agreement was simple.
Meet me.
Gain my trust.
Learn about Dad's estate.
Then it became marriage.
“What about the affair?” I asked.
We sat across from each other in an interview room.
His lawyer objected.
I didn't care.
Grant looked at me.
“It started later.”
“Was our marriage ever real?”
He stared at the table.
For several seconds, I hated myself for wanting the answer.
Finally he said, “Sometimes.”
That hurt more than “never.”
Because it meant there had been moments when he could have stopped.
He simply chose not to.
Grant admitted helping forge my psychiatric records.
He admitted drugging my wine.
He admitted moving foundation money.
But when investigators asked about Dad's death, he denied murder.
“Celeste handled Marcus.”
Those three words changed the case.
Celeste had been responsible for Dad's medication.
Grant claimed she wanted him incapacitated long enough to change control of the trust.
But Dad resisted.
Then the dosage increased.
“Did she mean to kill him?”
Grant closed his eyes.
“I don't know.”
I stood.
I had heard enough.
As I reached the door, he said, “Claire.”
I stopped.
“I did love you.”
I didn't turn around.
“Then you should have behaved like someone who did.”
I walked out.
May you like
For the first time in six years, I didn't wonder whether he would follow.
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