Before she could reach him, Richard Whitmore and Celeste confronted her.
They offered her money.
When she refused, she was accused of stealing from the foundation herself.
Her employment records disappeared. Her bank account was frozen, and anonymous complaints were sent to every company where she applied for work.
Within months, Hannah lost her apartment.
The scandal was buried before Nathaniel ever learned it had existed.
He continued reading.
Celeste stood completely still.
The letter said Hannah had hidden the original financial ledger before she was dismissed. The brass key opened a private deposit box registered under Margaret’s name.
Nathaniel looked toward the housekeeper.
Margaret lowered her eyes.
“She came to me the night they threatened her,” she admitted. “I helped her rent the box. I wanted to tell your father, but Mr. Whitmore said my son would lose his medical treatment if I spoke.”
Richard laughed without humour.
“This is a collection of accusations written by a desperate woman.”
Ellie lifted the wooden music box.
“My mother said the proof is inside.”
Richard’s confidence disappeared.
Celeste stepped down from the altar.
“Ellie, give that to me.”
The child backed away.
Nathaniel moved in front of her.
“Why do you want it?”
“I don’t. I only think a fragile object should not be handled here.”
Ellie held the box against her chest.
“My mother told me never to let you touch it.”
Celeste’s face tightened.
“That woman poisoned you against me.”
“My mother was afraid of you.”
The words struck with more force than a shout.
Ellie placed the music box in Nathaniel’s hands.
It was decorated with faded painted stars. One side of the wooden case had cracked, and the winding key was missing.
Nathaniel turned it over.
The brass key from Hannah’s envelope fit a tiny lock hidden beneath the base.
When he opened it, he found a memory card wrapped in cloth.
Celeste’s father moved suddenly.
Nathaniel closed his hand around the card before Richard could reach him.
“Security,” Nathaniel said.
Both guards straightened.
“Close the doors. No one leaves.”
Richard stared at him.
“You are making a serious mistake.”
“Then you should have no difficulty proving it.”
Nathaniel handed the memory card to his chief of staff, Daniel Brooks.
“Find a laptop that is not connected to the manor’s network.”
Celeste grabbed Nathaniel’s arm.
“Listen to me. Even if these records are real, they are old. My father may have made mistakes, but that has nothing to do with us.”
Nathaniel looked at her hand until she released him.
“The girl said you were there.”
“She is nine years old.”
“She remembers you visiting her mother.”
Celeste’s eyes flashed toward Ellie.
That glance answered more than any confession could have done.
Nathaniel saw it.
So did Margaret.
“What did you do to Hannah?” he asked.
“Nothing.”
“Look at me and say it.”
Celeste looked at him.
“I did nothing to that woman.”
Ellie opened the envelope again.
“There’s another letter.”
She removed a smaller folded page.
“This one is for Miss Whitmore.”
Celeste made a desperate movement toward it, but Margaret stepped between her and the child.
Ellie read the name written on the front.
Celeste Whitmore.
Nathaniel took the page and unfolded it.
Unlike the first letter, it contained only a few sentences.
Celeste,
You told me poor people disappear because nobody important notices when they are gone.
My daughter noticed.
And one day, she will make sure Nathaniel notices too.
He slowly raised his head.
Celeste was no longer pretending to be calm.
“You don’t understand,” she said. “My father said the foundation would collapse if the missing money became public. Thousands of people would lose their jobs. Your family’s reputation would be destroyed.”
“So you destroyed Hannah instead?”
“I protected what we built.”
“We had not even met when this happened.”
Celeste’s silence made Nathaniel’s expression harden.
The truth was suddenly clear.
Their meeting three years earlier had not been an accident.
She had entered his life because she was afraid of what might happen if someone else gained influence over him.
Marriage would have given her access to his private accounts, his properties, and several of the foundation’s protected archives.
“You never came into my life because you loved me,” he said.
Celeste’s eyes filled with tears.
“At first, no. But that changed.”
The guests reacted with horrified whispers.
Nathaniel barely heard them.
“At first?”
“My father needed someone close to you. Someone you trusted. I was supposed to make certain the old accounts were never reopened.”
Richard seized his daughter’s wrist.
“Stop talking.”
She pulled away.
“You said Hannah had destroyed everything!”
“She would have, if I had not acted.”