‘Shut up, Celeste.You don’t know what you're talking about.’
‘NO!You listen to me for a change.’Celeste jabbed at the air in front of Malcolm.‘When you said the farm was going to be Jed’s when you retired, you forgot about your eldest child, Lenora.’
‘Jed is my son.Myonlyson.The paperwork is done, woman.Now sit down and stop embarrassing us.’
‘And what about Lenora, huh?What did she get?’Celeste became eerily calm, yet her voice was full of venom.‘I know you were hoping you’d still have control over Jed to do what you wanted.While you devastated your own daughter for your own selfish pride.When it was Lenora who put our farm ahead of the competition.’
Young Jed looked floored, his jaw opening and closing.‘Mum, I was going to go partners with Lenora.’
Malcolm’s frown was ferocious towards his son.‘Like hell you were.’
‘I had to wait until Dad moved out,’ mumbled Jed, hiding his hands under the table, not even looking at his scowling father.‘I wouldn’t have been able to manage the place, not without Lenora.I know that.’
‘And her own father didn’t see it.’Celeste shook her head at Malcolm.‘I know you handed the farm to Jed because of your old-fashioned tradition of giving everything to the first son.But it was also because you thought he wouldn’t challenge your authority or overshadow your legacy—unlike Lenora, whose clever use of modern technology took the farm beyond your control.You refused to learn how to use a laptop, and still struggle to answer a video call on your phone.’
‘Ease off, woman, this doesn’t concern you.’Malcolm pushed her away.
‘But it does concern me, because it was me who did this.Me.’She stood, jabbing at her chest, with her voice echoing around the room as she shouted at her husband.‘I knew what Griff and Bastion were doing, because I was the one who made the plans.’
‘Youwhat?!’ Malcolm spun in his seat, red-faced and rising.‘No, not a chance in Hades you’d do that.You?You’re too busy doing bloody laundry—’
‘Sit.DOWN.’ Finn’s voice was like raw iron, rough-edged and impossible to ignore.
Mal, who’d looked ready to launch at his wife, stopped cold.
Finn hadn’t moved from his chair.He didn’t have to.His glare alone could’ve dropped cattle.Especially when his inked muscles coiled under rolled sleeves, his inked knuckles resting near the file like they were waiting for a reason to get bloodied.‘You want to go a round with me, Malcolm?Say the word.Otherwise, take a seat and let your wife finish.’
Malcolm’s jaw clenched as muscles twitched, and his face darkened with rage.
But he backed down.Dropping into his chair like a man who’d just remembered the weight of the law.
The room remained still.
Until Finn gave the nod to Celeste to continue.‘You were saying you did the planning?’
Celeste nodded.‘I did.I needed to control the cameras to avoid the night shift security, so I organised the new relay box.Griffin didn’t want to install it at night, said it was too risky playing with electricity like that.So, it was me who gave the paint to Raven to paint bomb the front gate, which…’ She sighed, fidgeting with her fingers.‘It put poor Doug in hospital.’
‘That cost us a fortune in medical fees, woman.’Malcolm snapped, tossing the words like a slap—then cut a quick side-eye toward Finn, as if testing the waters to see how far he could push the cop seated opposite.
Finn didn’t move.He didn’t have to.The weight of his silence pressed hard enough that even Mal shifted in his seat, grumbling under his breath in retreat.
‘You didn’t pay a dime,’ barked out Lenora, standing over her husband.‘We had insurance for that.’
‘You poisoned Doug?’Finn’s voice cut through the couple’s argument.
Celeste swallowed, blinking big eyes at Finn, to sit hard on her chair.‘No, it wasn’t like that.It was never meant to be that bad.’
‘What was it meant to be like?’
‘It wasn’t meant to hurt poor Doug.Believe me, I felt awful over what happened to Doug.It was never meant to be like that.’She pleaded from the other side of the table.‘But I made sure we covered all his medical costs, even giving him a bonus for the time off, visiting him at home every day to make sure Doug and his son were okay.The poor man had no idea I’d set him up as a distraction—he still doesn’t.And he was more worried about losing his job than what actually happened to him… all because of something I set in motion.’
‘So how was this plan supposed to go?’
‘We only wanted to keep Doug busy with Raven doing her usual protesting.The plan was that Doug would contact Mal and those two would drag Raven to the police station, or have Raven repaint the whole fence, keeping them busy at the front, while Griffin put in that relay box in the back.’Shuffling gingerly in her chair, her eyes lifted to meet Stone’s gaze.
‘I don’t believe it, Celeste, not you.’Stone knew how caring Celeste could be.
It was Celeste who’d held his hand when he brought Two-Stroke to the hospital.She’d sat beside him through every police interview, and throughout the coroner’s inquest.Celeste was the one who’d looked after him while he grieved—always checking in, helping with the boys, house-sitting when he needed space.
