Chapter 10 - THE SECRET IN CELESTE'S BLOOD
Z
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Violet heard the grandfather clock ticking.
Beckett finally spoke.
"What marker?"
Eleanor reached toward a drawer.
Her hands shook as she removed an old medical file.
"James had a hereditary metabolic disorder. Rare. Treatable now in many cases."
"Now?"
"Not thirty years ago."
Violet felt sick.
"Does Celeste have it?"
"No."
The answer came quickly.
Eleanor looked at Violet.
"She carries the genetic marker. That isn't the same as having the disease."
Violet exhaled.
Beckett did not.
"How do you know about her screening?"
Eleanor froze.
There it was.
The mistake.
Beckett stood.
"How do you know?"
"Beckett—"
"Medical records are confidential."
"I received a call."
"From whom?"
Eleanor looked defeated.
"Dr. Harrison."
Beckett's personal physician.
Suddenly the wrong floor made sense.
The scheduling change.
The strange receptionist.
The fifteenth floor.
Beckett's voice became deadly quiet.
"Did Harrison send me to the NICU deliberately?"
Eleanor closed her eyes.
"Yes."
Violet stared.
"He knew?"
"Not that Celeste was Beckett's daughter. Not at first."
Eleanor explained.
When Celeste's newborn screening had revealed a rare hereditary marker, the hospital genetics department began mapping potential family histories with Violet's consent.
Violet had listed Beckett privately as the biological father.
A genetic counselor noticed that Beckett's family medical history contained a sealed notation connected to Westfield.
Dr. Harrison was consulted because he had treated the Valiants for decades.
He recognized the pattern.
"He called me," Eleanor whispered.
"Why not me?" Beckett demanded.
"Because I begged him not to."
"You begged him not to tell me I had a child?"
"I panicked."
"Again."
Eleanor flinched.
"I saw James all over again."
"So you decided to control everyone."
"I wanted to know whether Celeste was healthy before—"
"Before what?"
His voice cracked.
"Before I loved her?"
Silence.
Eleanor began crying.
Violet had never seen her cry.
"Your father didn't let me hold James after he died."
Beckett's anger faltered.
Eleanor stared at her hands.
"He said there was no point."
Violet's eyes filled.
"I spent thirty years wondering whether I should have fought harder."
She looked at her son.
"When I learned Violet was pregnant, every terrible memory came back."
Beckett sat down slowly.
"Did you tell Violet about James?"
"No."
"Did you tell her about the marker?"
"No."
"Did you tell Amelia to block her calls?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I thought if you never knew, you would never suffer what I suffered."
Beckett laughed once.
Broken.
"So you protected me by taking away my choice."
Eleanor nodded.
"I was wrong."
Violet watched mother and son.
Two people shaped by the same dead child in completely different ways.
Beckett turned toward her.
"Did anyone explain the marker to you?"
"Only that Celeste carries it."
"Are there risks?"
"Dr. Brennan said they'll monitor her, but she doesn't have the disorder."
Eleanor added quietly, "Beckett should be tested too."
He looked at her.
"I don't care about me."
"You should."
"I care about Celeste."
"And if you carry the same variant, future children—"
Silence.
Future children.
Violet looked away.
Beckett noticed.
For the first time since the hospital, the possibility existed in the room.
Not Celeste.
Another child.
Another future.
Beckett spoke quietly.
"I'll get tested."
Eleanor nodded.
"And you're giving me every record concerning James."
"Yes."
"Everything."
"Yes."
He stood.
Then stopped.
"Who sent the envelope?"
Eleanor's expression changed.
"I don't know."
"You recognized it."
"My husband used red stationery for private family correspondence."
Beckett frowned.
"Father is dead."
"I know."
Violet felt a chill.
"Who else had access?"
Eleanor hesitated.
"His attorney."
"Name."
"Charles Pierce."
Beckett's eyes narrowed.
Valiant & Pierce.
The same law firm behind the custody notice.
Eleanor looked ashamed.
"Charles drafted the settlement offering Violet twenty-five million dollars."
Beckett's face hardened.
"And he still represents the company."
"Yes."
"Not anymore."
The next morning, Beckett fired Charles Pierce.
By afternoon, Pierce had disappeared.
His office was empty.
His phone disconnected.
And buried inside the files his secretary left behind was an invoice that changed everything.
PRIVATE INVESTIGATIVE SERVICES — MARCUS PELL.
The man following Violet.
Pierce had hired him.
May you like
But the invoice was only six weeks old.
Meaning Charles Pierce had started watching Violet before Beckett even knew Celeste existed.
