Chapter 6 - The Engagement Was a Trap
The address Celeste gave them was not a warehouse.
It was the rooftop restaurant of a luxury hotel.
Music played softly.
Candles burned across linen tables.
At the center stood Celeste in a black evening gown.
Marin whispered, “What is this?”
Rafael knew immediately.
“A performance.”
Celeste smiled.
“Welcome.”
Guests began appearing from a private ballroom.
Reporters.
Socialites.
Two photographers.
Marin froze.
Celeste had arranged an audience.
Rafael walked forward.
“What are you doing?”
Celeste lifted a champagne glass.
“Fixing what you broke.”
“You threatened Marin’s mother.”
“I photographed her mother.”
“That distinction won’t help you.”
Celeste smiled toward the cameras.
Then loudly said, “Rafael, darling, I’m so glad you came.”
People turned.
She approached him.
“Our disagreement has gotten terribly exaggerated.”
Rafael glanced around.
“You invited reporters.”
“To celebrate our reconciliation.”
“There isn’t one.”
Whispers spread.
Celeste’s smile tightened.
“Think carefully.”
“I already did.”
She lowered her voice.
“You end this publicly and I release everything I have.”
“What exactly do you have?”
“Financial records. Photographs. Names.”
“Stolen?”
“Copied.”
Marin watched Rafael.
He didn’t seem frightened.
That frightened Celeste.
“What?” she demanded.
Rafael took out his phone.
“Abel.”
The ballroom doors opened.
Abel entered with two attorneys and three police detectives.
Celeste’s face changed.
Rafael said quietly, “Leo confessed three hours ago.”
“You called the police?”
“You stole from my employees.”
Celeste stared at him.
“You don’t call police.”
“That’s the story people tell about me.”
“You’ll destroy yourself.”
Rafael stepped closer.
“No. I’m tired of letting people use my family’s reputation as an excuse to behave like criminals around me.”
One detective approached.
“Celeste Whitlock?”
Celeste stepped back.
“No.”
“We need to ask you several questions regarding extortion, theft, and assault.”
She looked desperately toward the reporters.
“This is insane! He’s doing this because he’s sleeping with her!”
Every head turned toward Marin.
Marin’s mouth fell open.
Rafael’s expression darkened.
Celeste pointed.
“That waitress manipulated him!”
Marin stepped forward before Rafael could answer.
“I barely knew him before yesterday.”
“You lying little—”
Celeste lunged.
The detectives intercepted her.
Cameras flashed.
Celeste screamed over their shoulders.
“You ruined my life!”
Marin stared at her.
“No.”
The room went still.
“You did that every time you hurt somebody because you thought nobody important was watching.”
Celeste’s expression twisted.
Marin continued.
“The dishwasher was important. Naomi was important. Bernadette was important.”
She touched the bruises on her neck.
“And I was important before Rafael Santoro ever learned my name.”
Even Rafael looked at her differently after that.
Celeste was escorted away.
The reporters erupted with questions.
“Mr. Santoro!”
“Was your fiancée stealing from the restaurant?”
“Is the wedding canceled?”
“Are you romantically involved with the waitress?”
Rafael raised one hand.
The room quieted.
“The wedding is canceled.”
More flashes.
“Several employees were mistreated in a business carrying my name. I failed to see it soon enough.”
Marin looked at him.
Rafael continued.
“That failure is mine.”
No excuses.
No blame.
He pointed toward his attorney.
“Every employee whose gratuities were taken will be reimbursed in full, with an additional payment from company funds.”
A reporter shouted, “What about Miss Hollis?”
Rafael looked at Marin.
“She is the reason I finally saw what was happening.”
Marin immediately shook her head.
“No.”
Rafael raised an eyebrow.
She stepped toward the microphones.
“Bernadette is.”
The older head waitress stood at the ballroom entrance.
Everyone turned.
Marin continued.
“She tried to tell him before any of us did.”
Bernadette’s eyes filled with tears.
Rafael nodded.
“She’s right.”
He looked at the reporters.
“Make sure you print her name correctly.”
Bernadette laughed through her tears.
“You always were a difficult boy.”
For the first time that night, Rafael smiled.
---
Hours later, Rafael drove Marin to Saint Agnes himself.
Her mother was safe.
Celeste had never touched her.
Marin sat beside her sleeping mother for almost an hour before stepping into the hallway.
Rafael waited by the vending machines.
“You stayed?”
“You came in my car.”
“I could get a taxi.”
“At three in the morning?”
“They exist.”
“So do I.”
Marin folded her arms.
“Is that a Santoro argument?”
“Yes.”
“It’s not very good.”
“Usually people stop arguing before I have to improve.”
She smiled despite herself.
Then her expression softened.
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“My mother.”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“You believed me.”
Rafael shook his head.
“No.”
She looked surprised.
“I investigated.”
Marin laughed quietly.
“That might be the least romantic thing anyone’s ever said.”
Rafael looked at her.
“Who said I was being romantic?”
Their eyes met.
Marin looked away first.
“That’s probably a good answer.”
“Probably.”
Something had changed.
Neither of them named it.
May you like
Not yet.
---
