Chapter 16 - Opal Came Back for the One Thing She Still Thought She Could DestroyPolice found Opal’s abandoned car near the Arizona border.
For twelve hours, nobody knew where she was.
Then Celeste’s security system sent an alert.
Motion detected.
Nolan’s office.
Celeste stared at the live feed.
The house was supposed to be empty.
Police had moved the family.
Only authorized investigators had access.
A figure crossed the room.
Gray hair under a cap.
Opal.
Celeste’s pulse spiked.
“She went back.”
Keene was already calling units.
“Do not contact her.”
But Celeste watched.
Opal knew the cameras had been upgraded.
She moved carefully.
First, she cut power to the room.
The feed remained active.
Backup battery.
Then she unplugged the visible camera.
The feed remained active.
A second hidden unit.
Opal didn’t know.
Celeste almost heard Tessa’s voice.
Camera helped.
Opal searched Nolan’s desk.
Bookshelves.
Wall panels.
Then she found the blue tape underneath the desk.
The old clue.
TESSA’S OLD DIAPER BAG.
Opal froze.
She ran toward the guest room.
The bag was gone.
Police had removed it during evidence review.
Opal screamed.
A raw sound.
Not the controlled woman Celeste knew.
She returned to the office.
Pulled books from shelves.
Opened drawers.
Then her phone rang.
Graham.
Police had arranged the call as part of his cooperation.
Opal answered.
“You idiot.”
Graham sounded frightened.
“Where are you?”
“You told them about the condo.”
“They already knew.”
“You gave them Harlan.”
“She gave herself.”
Opal slammed a drawer.
“They have the ledger.”
“I know.”
“And the box.”
Silence.
Opal stopped.
“What box?”
Graham had been instructed to say it.
“The deposit box.”
Opal’s face emptied.
“They found it?”
“Yes.”
“What was inside?”
“The recording.”
Opal closed her eyes.
For a moment, she looked defeated.
Then anger returned.
“That doesn’t prove the baby.”
Graham hesitated.
“What?”
“The bottle.”
Celeste leaned toward the screen.
Graham followed the script Keene prepared.
“They tested it.”
“Testing doesn’t prove I gave it to him.”
“The video does.”
“Tessa turned the camera on at the end.”
“Not the kitchen camera.”
Opal froze.
“What?”
There wasn’t another camera.
But Graham was baiting her.
“Come on, Opal.”
Silence.
“The one you didn’t know Nolan installed.”
Opal’s face drained.
“Where?”
Graham said nothing.
Opal began pacing.
“I checked.”
“Apparently not.”
“I checked every camera.”
“You missed one.”
Opal laughed nervously.
“You’re lying.”
Graham remained quiet.
Opal filled the silence.
As always.
“I never gave him enough to hurt him.”
Celeste stopped breathing.
Direct admission.
Opal continued.
“He needed to sleep.”
Graham asked:
“Why?”
“So she’d take him to doctors.”
“Celeste?”
“Who else?”
“Why make him sick?”
“I didn’t make him sick.”
“You put medication in his bottle.”
“I made him drowsy.”
“You hit him too.”
“That child screamed for an hour.”
Celeste’s hands curled.
Opal continued.
“I was trying to keep his weight up so nobody would start asking the wrong medical questions.”
Keene looked sharply at Celeste.
There.
Even more calculated than they knew.
Opal knew prolonged symptoms could trigger tests.
She force-fed Kai partly to mask weight loss.
She needed him just sick enough.
Not enough to expose the cause.
Graham asked:
“What about Celeste’s medicine?”
Opal sighed.
“She was easier to manage when anxious.”
Celeste felt physically cold.
“Did you switch it?”
“Sometimes.”
“How long?”
“Not long.”
“Why?”
“Because she kept asking about Nolan’s office.”
Every answer closed another door.
Opal had trapped herself.
Then Graham asked:
“Where are you going?”
“Somewhere you can’t follow.”
“You need money.”
“I have money.”
“Not anymore.”
Opal’s expression changed.
Federal freezes had hit the accounts.
She knew.
Graham continued:
“Turn yourself in.”
Opal laughed.
“After what you told them?”
“You’re already caught.”
Opal looked around Nolan’s office.
Then directly toward the visible dead camera.
“No.”
She smiled faintly.
“They still don’t know where the originals are.”
“What originals?”
“The vendor contracts.”
Celeste looked at Keene.
Opal had one last cache of evidence.
Evidence that could implicate other people.
Or be used for blackmail.
Graham asked:
“Where?”
Opal’s smile widened.
“You think I trust you?”
Sirens approached outside.
Opal heard them.
Her face changed.
She ran.
Police entered through the front.
She reached the garage.
Locked.
Back hallway.
Blocked.
Then she rushed toward the kitchen.
The same kitchen where she had slapped Kai.
The small camera above the counter blinked.
Opal stopped.
She looked at it.
For one second, Celeste saw recognition.
The camera she thought she had turned off.
The camera that started everything.
Police entered behind her.
“Hands where we can see them!”
Opal slowly raised her hands.
Then looked directly into the lens.
“You think this proves you’re a good mother?”
Celeste heard it live.
The insult no longer landed.
She pressed the microphone icon.
“No.”
Opal froze at Celeste’s voice.
Celeste continued:
“It proves Tessa told the truth.”
Opal’s face hardened.
Police handcuffed her.
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As they led her away, the camera kept recording.
This time, nobody turned it off.
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