CHAPTER 7: The Cameras Above the Chandelier

Celeste made one final mistake.
She pointed toward Charles with a trembling finger and said, “He is confused. All of this is manipulation.”
Lena looked up at the chandelier.
So did the security director.
Tiny black lenses sat inside the ceiling molding, hidden among old plasterwork. Her father had installed them after a donor scandal years ago and forgotten to mention them to his new wife.
Lena had not forgotten.
“Pull the foyer footage,” she said.
Celeste’s confidence collapsed in one breath.
Mason looked at the ceiling as if it had betrayed him personally.
The security director opened a tablet without showing the screen to anyone else.
His jaw tightened.
“We have the full incident,” he said.
No one asked him to describe it.
Charles shut his eyes.
Lena stepped in front of him, blocking Celeste’s view.
“You wanted him on the floor because you thought it would break him,” Lena said. “All it did was give us a timestamp.”
The attorneys began writing.