Chapter 7 - Celina's Confession
Celina had been nineteen.
Lucille had told her Elena was a thief.
Celina believed her.
Worse, she repeated it.
To cousins.
Friends.
Employees.
By the time Elena left, everyone had already convicted her socially.
“I never asked for proof,” Celina admitted.
“Why laugh at Emmett?”
Shame covered her face.
“Because when I saw the cobbler, I panicked.”
“So you humiliated a child?”
“I laughed because Lucille was laughing.”
“That doesn't make it better.”
“I know.”
Celina cried.
“I've spent my entire life doing whatever keeps Lucille from turning on me.”
Rafael stared at her.
“And now?”
“Now I heard Emmett crying.”
She wiped her eyes.
“And I realized I was nineteen again, watching everyone destroy someone because Lucille gave us permission.”
Celina knew the safe combination.
More importantly, she knew what was inside.
The original Montaro ledger.
And letters from Elena.
“Why would Lucille keep evidence?”
“Because she doesn't see it as evidence.”
“What does she see?”
“Insurance.”
The ledger contained information about many relatives.
Debts.
Affairs.
Financial mistakes.
Secret payments.
Lucille had maintained control because everyone feared what she could reveal.
Rafael didn't want the whole safe.
He wanted Elena's truth.
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But retrieving it would require returning to the estate.
And Lucille was waiting.
