“That’s enough! Both you girls are beyond spoiled,” Gregory growls, crossing his arms. “Maybe a stint of honest, hard work, where you actually have to earn your own way, will jolt you back to reality.”
“I had a feeling I might need this.” I sigh and pull my hand free of Beth’s tight grip. Opening the high school yearbook I found on a shelf in Celeste’s room, I set it on Gregory’s desk and point to the senior picture of me. “That’s me, Cassandra Rockwell.” Thumbing to the front of the alphabet, I point to Celeste. “And that is Celeste Carver.”
Beth leans over my shoulder and flips back and forth between the two pages, then skims a shocked gaze over my face. “My God…it’s uncanny how much you look like her. That certainly explains a lot about last night. You definitely seemed…off.”
Exhaling a long breath, I nod. “Our resemblance was the whole point. Celeste knew how important last night’s party was for your career, Mr. Carver, so she asked me to ‘be her’ while she kept an appointment she couldn’t miss.”
“What appointment?” Beth and her father demand at the same time.
“She didn’t say.” I shrug and slide a sidelong glance Phillip’s way. He’s staring at me with anger and shrewd wariness now. I’m sure he’s replaying all the threatening, authoritative comments he’d said to “Celeste” last night through his mind. They were vague enough that only Celeste would truly understand the subtext, but they definitely revealed a strange power-struggle dynamic between them.
Phillip adjusts his expensive tie as he stands to glance over the yearbook photos. Sliding his finger along the page with Celeste’s photo, he says, “You really have no idea where she is?”
“No,” I answer honestly, keeping my expression perfectly composed.
“If you’re close enough to my sister to take her place, then why has she never mentioned you?” Beth asks, crossing her arms.
I slowly shut the book. “Celeste and I weren’t that close in school, but she knew I could pass for her and that’s all she needed.”
“Celeste is obviously off pouting somewhere, but what I want to know is…what did you get out of this stand-in game you two played?” Phillip cross-examines me like I’m in a courtroom. Setting the portfolio on the corner of the desk, he continues his suspicious line of questioning. “Why would Celeste let a complete stranger into her home and allow her to mingle with her family?”
I start to speak, but he overrides me, his voice darkening to a menacing rumble. “Whatever you’re holding over her, I will bury you if you try to disclose anything personal you’ve learned about the Carver family to the public.”
“Hold that thought, Phillip…” Gregory interjects, furrowing his brow. “Rockwell sounds familiar.” Opening a folder sitting on his desk, he turns the letter inside with Celeste’s signature on it toward me. “Do you know a Jason Rockwell?”
I straighten my spine. “He’s my father. And yes, that was my agreement with Celeste. In exchange for me being her for an evening, Celeste offered to try to help my father get his development plan in front of the right people with the city.” I wave my hand. “But none of that matters right now. What does matter is that your daughter never came home. I wanted to say something last night while the police were here, but Celeste was adamant that I not tell anyone about our switch. The last thing I wanted to do was cause a scandal. She’d pushed our time to meet back until midnight, and as far as I knew, I had her real ID, so the other one the police found couldn’t have been hers. But now that it has been over eight hours since she was supposed to reconnect with me, I think it’s time to call the police.”
Gregory shakes his head and gestures to Phillip, who’s typing something on his phone. “I agree with Phillip. I’m sure this is Celeste acting out. She’s done this before.”
“What? Run away?” Beth cuts in, her voice tense. “That was when she was fourteen, Father.”
“Phillip found her then. I trust him to find her now,” Gregory says with confidence.
Beth throws her hands out, her voice elevating. “What if something really has happened to her? Are all of you forgetting they found blood along with that ID? We can’t ignore the possibility!”
“I agree with Beth,” I quickly add. “You need to—”
“Let’s go with your theory that something has happened to Celeste, Miss Rockwell, shall we?” I don’t like Phillip patronizing me, but I need them to believe me so I wait for him to continue. “How do we know you didn’t have something to do with Celeste’s disappearance, and the police caught you off guard and that’s why you delayed until today to come clean?”
My stomach plummets at his unexpected attack. “I would never hurt another person—”
“But if you really believed something happened to her, you would’ve sounded the alarm last night,” Phillip cuts me off as he slides his phone into his pocket.
“I just told you why I didn’t say anything last nigh—”
“Unless…” his gaze hardens, anger firing in the hazel depths. “You’re insisting we call the police to throw suspicion off you?”
I gulp back my shock at his aggressive conjecture about my motives. “Are you serious? I could’ve just walked out and resumed my life without saying a word to any of you. I didn’t have to get involved, explain a thing, or even tell you my name. I really hope I’m wrong about this. Truly I do.”
“I know Celeste wasn’t thrilled by the idea of the engagement, but she understood the commitment when she took over as Carver Enterprises’ CEO,” Gregory says, seguing back to his original theory as to where Celeste might be.
I glance his way, thankful he isn’t accusing me, but still worried he’s holding onto the belief that Celeste is pouting. She didn’t sound that way to me. She seemed to accept she would have a marriage in name only.
“No more fake concern, Miss Rockwell.” Phillip waves his hand dismissively. “We’ve let you spin your tall tale, but you and Celeste are done with this game. Where is she?”
Pressing my lips together to keep from screaming at the arrogant man, I slip my hands into my slacks pockets and exhale a calming breath. “You’re choosing not to hear me, so I’ll say this one more time to be perfectly clear. This is no game. I had nothing to do with where Celeste went, but she never returned.” Pulling my hand out of my pocket, I set the phone Celeste gave me on the desk. “The police’s tech people can start with this. Celeste cloned her phone onto this one and gave it to me to use for the evening. Hopefully it’ll give them a way to trace back to her original phone and locate her. At the very least it should help them follow where she went yesterday.”
When the lines around Phillip’s mouth deepen, Gregory’s salt and pepper brows pull together and Celeste’s father shakes his head, clearly at a loss. Phillip sees Gregory’s reaction, then speaks to me in a calmer tone. “Miss Rockwell, would you mind stepping outside so I can discuss this with Gregory?” The lawyer’s mask is back, cool and collected.
I sigh, done with this whole crazy situation. “Look, I’m not here to argue with you. I honestly hope Celeste is having a bit of fun at your expense. No one should have to marry someone they don’t love.” When both men frown at my comment, I shrug. It felt good to get that off my chest. “I’ll just call a cab. Before I go, I will leave my contact information with Beth if the police do need to get involved and want to talk to me.”
As I start to leave, Phillip commands, “Please wait outside, Miss Rockwell. You too, Beth.”
Beth lets out an annoyed huff, then turns and opens the door. Stepping out with us, Phillip calls Marco and Anthony over from their positions by the staircase. “Mr. Carver and I have something to discuss. Please make sure the ladies remain here until we’re done.”
Once he closes the door, I mutter to Beth, “So much for them listening.”
“Did you really think they would believe a fraud?” she says under her breath so the guards can’t hear. “Just because you look like her doesn’t mean you deserve our trust.”
When Beth turns her back on me, it hurts more than it should. My chest actually aches. And, yet again, I’m being treated like I’m less than nothing. I didn’t expect the conversation with her family to go over well, nor did I expect to be treated like a guilty party, but Beth is acting like I’m a lowlife who actively and willingly betrayed her.
Blowing out a breath, I lean against the wall and try not to freak out at the thought Phillip will act on his earlier accusation. What if Phillip was playing me and he’s actually in there right now convincing Gregory to call the police to question me in suspicion of Celeste’s disappearance? God, how did this turn into such a screwed up, tangled mess?
After several minutes, the escalating angst and worry over what’s being discussed behind that closed door makes me realize that calling a cab is my best course of action regardless what her family decides to do. They have Celeste’s cloned phone. That should give them a head start. Ugh, which means now I don’t have a way to call for a cab while standing here. Leaning close to Beth, I ask, “Would you mind if I borrow your phone?”
Her only answer is to glare at me over her shoulder.
A couple more minutes tick by and my stomach churns tighter. As my heart rate elevates with the continued rumble of voices in the other room, my wrists begin to sting uncontrollably. I can’t make out what they’re saying, which only amps my nerves.
I try to fold my arms to assuage the need to scratch, but when nausea washes over me in rolling waves of heat, I instantly start for the bathroom. Marco steps in my path, his mouth curled in a determined smirk. “You were told to wait here.”
Swallowing several times to settle my angst, I move back to my position against the wall and cross my arms.
I jump when the door finally opens. Gregory dismisses the men and waves us in. Shutting the door behind us, he addresses Beth first. “Most likely your sister is doing this to prove her displeasure with me, but we’re not going to wait for her to return on her own; we’ll treat this as if she’s gone missing.”
Beth’s shoulders relax and she nods, then Gregory turns to me. “In the meantime, Miss Rockwell, I’d like you to continue standing in for my daughter until we locate her. In return, I’ll make sure that the paperwork Celeste put together on your father’s behalf is given to the right people.”
My eyes widen. At first I can’t speak…I’m so shocked by his dismissal of my concerns for Celeste and his apparent disregard for the signs she seemed to be under some kind of stress. I shake my head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea—”
“I appreciate your discretion with this,” he talks over me as he smoothes his tie. “Until we have more facts, we need to keep this contained for now. I have a lot of people depending on me—”
“Are you kidding me?” Beth shoots a furious gaze between both men. “You’re not going to call the police?”
Phillip turns to Beth, the cloned cell phone in his hand. “We’ve got this covered, Beth. This phone is a great place to start. And I have a friend on the force who can quietly test a sample of Celeste’s hair against the blood they found in that car to rule her out. But even expedited DNA testing can take a couple of days, so in the meantime—”
“She could be lying on the side of the road somewhere,” Beth says, her voice elevating.
“In the meantime,” Phillip repeats as if she didn’t interrupt him with her outburst. “I’m hiring people to start looking for Celeste right away. Behind the scenes we’ll be doing everything we can to find her, but we’re going to keep this information quiet for now. Until we hear back from my contact or my people come up with more information as to her last known location, there’s no need to sound the alarm just yet—”
“She’s the daughter of a U.S. Senator.” Beth flings her arms wide. “By default that makes her a target. Are you both forgetting that she claimed she was being followed? And that she felt strongly enough about it to ask for a new guard?”
“Calm down, Beth.”
“Lower your voice,” Phillip commands on top of Gregory’s attempt to soothe his daughter.
“She has every right to be upset,” I say before I can stop myself.
As Phillip cuts a “stay the hell out of this” look my way, Gregory steps forward and clasps his youngest daughter’s shoulders. “Marco and Anthony do their jobs. Their presence has prevented more annoyances than you and your sister know about. That said, you shouldn’t have ditched them last night—”
“Don’t you dare try to pin the blame on us!” Beth shakes free of his hold and takes a step back, pressing her lips together. “This room is littered with all kinds of agendas except the one that matters: finding Celeste. Talk about screwed up priorities. I’m out of here.”
When she reaches for the doorknob, her father’s tone turns harsh. “Do not tell your mother about this. She’s too fragile right now. She went to her sister’s to recuperate after last night’s event took its toll. We will find Celeste, but for now no one outside of this room can learn that Miss Rockwell isn’t Celeste. Is that understood, Beth?”
“You’re not going to tell Celeste’s fiancé?” Beth snorts then looks at Phillip. “Shouldn’t your son be informed his wife-to-be is a no-show?”
“That’s enough, Beth.” Gregory bristles at her sarcasm, but Phillip answers anyway.
“Not even Ben and Jake,” Phillip states in a firm tone. “There’s no reason to worry Ben right now.”
Shooting both men a fed-up look, Beth starts to leave, but her father stops her once more. “Beth, I expect you to inform Miss Rockwell what attire is expected for the upcoming events.”
Huffing her annoyance, Beth leaves, shutting the door behind her with a sharp click.
Celeste and Ben’s engagement might just be a business arrangement, but from what I gathered last night, Ben is secretly in love with Celeste. He would be genuinely upset if he thought something happened to her and would want to know. A tug-of-war wages in my heart. I want to speak up on Ben’s behalf, but if one brother knows, then the other would too. I can’t chance Jake finding out that I played Celeste at the event last night, so I brush my damp hands against my slacks and swallow the words sticking in my throat. Not that my internal turmoil changes my answer one bit. “I’m sorry, Mr. Carver, but I can’t in good conscience continue on as Celeste.”
While Gregory visibly tenses, Phillip runs his finger along the cell phone’s dark screen, his gaze laser focused on me. “It’s in your best interest to make it easier for us to find Celeste, Miss Rockwell. All we have is your word that she asked you to do this. Trust me, you don’t want us going to the police with your story. If we can’t locate Celeste, who do you think the police will look at first?”
I instantly tense, my chest tightening. I don’t have any tangible proof, no texts or emails, to show that Celeste actually recruited me. The fact the phone’s passcode happens to spell my name could be passed off as sheer coincidence. But the texts between Celeste and me on the phone should contain enough back and forth to corroborate the rest of my story. If I tip Phillip off to that fact—and he or someone in the Carver family circle had anything to do with Celeste’s disappearance—he could delete those texts before the phone ever makes it to the police. I should’ve emailed our text conversations to myself to cover my ass, but I never once thought I would be considered a suspect. An innocent person’s mind just doesn’t go there. “It’s not a story.”
My elevated heart rate makes me lightheaded. Phillip’s ruthlessness is sharply convincing. I have no doubt he’s prepared to paint the worst scenario possible with me at the center of Celeste’s disappearance if I don’t agree. In this moment, I can see the source of Jake’s rotten genes. Like father like son has never been so true.
“Miss Rockwell…Cassandra.” Gregory steps close and clasps one of my hands, ever the suave politician. “My political rivals are already circling like sharks to chum by the news that the police showed up here last night. I have an interview here at the house at four that’s been s
et up for weeks. Celeste asked you to be here to keep up appearances. All we’re asking is for you to continue on just a little longer. Give us the time to quietly locate my daughter so that the upcoming social events over the next couple of days don’t go sideways with rumors of scandal.”
Gregory might be trying to sugarcoat Phillip’s threat, but not being given a choice highlights a very simple truth. I’m the only one I can depend on to untangle me from this mess. And the best way to do that is to find Celeste. By continuing as her, I’ll at least have access to her things. Maybe I can dig deeper into the information I saw on her laptop. While I waited for Beth, I took a quick glance at her laptop and saw that her last search was for “women’s clinics in New Jersey, eighty miles or less.” But just in case I’m unable to find Celeste, I have to do everything I can to preserve the texting history between Celeste and me.
Sliding my hand from Gregory’s, I address Phillip. “I’ll need the phone Celeste gave me.”
The lawyer’s tense expression eases, but he shakes his head. “I’ll get you another one. As you pointed out, this phone could be key in helping track her down.”
Well shit! I need to get the evidence that Celeste was in full agreement with this arrangement off that phone. “Celeste is supposed to contact me on that one. She may try to call.”
He slides his hands casually into his pockets, tucking the phone away. “I’ll have it cloned on another phone for you.”
Real panic squeezes my lungs, making it hard to breathe. Holding my hand out, I try to keep the anxiety out of my voice. “Would you mind letting me borrow it? If I’m going to be here for a couple more days, I’ll need to make a quick call. My family will be worried if I don’t return to the Hamptons today.”
Phillip looks like he’s about to refuse when Gregory gestures toward me, blustering, “Take off your lawyer hat for once, Phillip. Give the girl the phone so she can call her family.”
The tightness in my chest lifts with Phillip’s resigned sigh. Once I get the phone, I’ll pretend I’m having trouble dialing out, then I’ll quickly send the copy of the texts between Celeste and me to my email account before I dial my parents.
Steel Rush (In the Shadows#5) Page 2
