Chapter 3 - THE SECURITY FOOTAGE
By midnight, the video of Celeste's presentation had spread across financial social media.
Someone had recorded the speech.
Within hours, strangers were debating whether she was brave, vindictive, or both.
Celeste turned off her phone.
She had spent enough of her marriage being evaluated by people who knew only the version of events the Harmons wanted them to see.
Naomi met her at a quiet hotel downtown.
“You did what we discussed,” she said. “You limited the presentation to documented financial discrepancies.”
Celeste nodded.
“Did I make things worse?”
“For whom?”
Celeste gave a tired laugh.
Naomi continued.
“The firm's counsel has requested access to the records. We will cooperate through proper channels. But don't speak to reporters about conclusions the investigation hasn't established.”
Celeste nodded.
“What about the footage?”
“The hotel has preserved the relevant corridor and lounge-entry recordings. They establish movements and timing, not what happened behind a closed door.”
Celeste stared at the carpet.
She had expected the footage to feel like victory.
Instead, it felt like proof of how long she had been willing to ignore what was happening.
At one in the morning, Allison called.
She didn't answer.
Then Margaret.
Then Dana.
Finally, a text from Allison.
You destroyed twenty-five years of work in eight minutes.
Celeste stared at it.
She typed:
I showed eight minutes of records. The decisions behind them took years.
She sent it.
The next morning, Naomi called with news.
“Harmon Capital has announced an independent investigation.”
Celeste sat up.
“And Allison?”
“He's taking a temporary leave of absence.”
“Margaret?”
“She remains on the board for now.”
Celeste closed her eyes.
Naomi continued.
“There's another issue. Your name appears on some vendor approvals.”
Celeste froze.
“What?”
“Electronic signatures.”
“I never approved Dana's contracts.”
“I believe you. We need to establish how those approvals were generated.”
Celeste looked toward the window.
The affair had destroyed her marriage.
The invoices might threaten everything she'd built outside it.
She called her younger sister, Lydia, who worked in cybersecurity.
Lydia arrived that afternoon carrying a laptop and two coffees.
“Tell me what happened,” she said.
Celeste explained.
Lydia listened.
Then asked, “Did anyone have access to your old work account?”
“Everyone used the shared planning drive.”
“Passwords?”
Celeste hesitated.
“Allison knew mine.”
Lydia sighed.
“Of course he did.”
Over the next several days, the investigation uncovered a troubling pattern.
Several disputed approvals had been generated during hours when Celeste was attending nonprofit meetings elsewhere.
One originated from an office computer assigned to Dana's team.
Another used a saved signature file.
The evidence didn't establish who had clicked every button.
But it undermined the claim that Celeste personally authorized the transactions.
Then the hotel provided the preserved security footage to the authorized investigators.
It showed Dana entering a private executive lounge at 9:06 p.m.
Allison followed at 9:10.
At 9:18, he emerged adjusting his jacket.
Dana followed moments later.
The recording did not prove an affair by itself.
But it contradicted Allison's statement that he had left the ballroom for a telephone call in the lobby.
Celeste watched the footage once.
Then asked Naomi to close it.
She didn't need to see it again.
That evening, a woman called her.
“Mrs. Harmon?”
“Yes?”
“My name is Rebecca Stone. I used to work for Dana Price.”
Celeste sat upright.
May you like
Rebecca's voice trembled.
“I think you need to know what happened to the original contracts.”
