Chapter 3
Damien did not confront Celestine immediately.
Arthur advised against it.
“Why?”
“Because you don’t know what she took.”
“She assaulted my mother.”
“That can be handled separately.”
“She was evaluating property she doesn’t own.”
“That is exactly why you should stop giving her information.”
Damien hated legal patience.
He followed the advice.
Greta reconstructed Celestine’s movements over the previous two months.
The pattern was strange.
First, Agnes stopped attending dinners.
Then Celestine began bringing contractors through the west wing.
A surveyor.
An appraiser.
A structural engineer.
She described them as planning renovations.
No renovation budget had been approved.
Next came two private meetings with bankers.
Damien had been in New York during both.
“Why didn’t anyone tell me?”
His estate manager looked uncomfortable.
“Mrs. Celestine said the meetings involved Vincent’s estate.”
Vincent Rourke had been Damien’s older brother.
Celestine’s husband.
He had died almost three years earlier after a heart attack.
Afterward, Celestine remained at the mansion.
Nobody questioned it.
She was family.
She managed charitable events.
Hosted dinners.
Represented the Rourkes publicly.
Damien never asked exactly what legal rights she retained because asking a grieving widow when she planned to leave felt cruel.
Now that kindness looked dangerously similar to negligence.
Arthur reviewed Vincent’s estate.
Most of his personal assets passed to Celestine.
Investments.
Cash.
A condominium in Manhattan.
Two vacation properties.
But not the Rourke mansion.
Not controlling interests in Damien’s legitimate businesses.
Not Agnes’s land.
“So what was she appraising?” Damien asked.
“That’s what we need to find.”
Another document surfaced.
A proposed residential transition agreement for Agnes.
It described moving her permanently to a private senior residence near Lake Forest.
Luxury care.
Private suite.
Driver.
Nurse.
Everything expensive.
Everything arranged.
Agnes had never requested it.
The proposed move date was next month.
Damien read the signature line.
Agnes E. Rourke — Property Owner / Grantor
Blank.
Beside it:
Celestine Rourke — Family Representative
Already signed.
Damien looked at his mother.
“Did you know about this?”
“I knew she wanted me gone.”
“That isn’t the same question.”
Agnes sighed.
“She brought me brochures.”
“What did you say?”
“That I would move when someone carried me out.”
Greta quietly added:
“Mrs. Celestine told staff the move was already approved.”
Damien looked back at the agreement.
The first clue was now undeniable.
May you like
Celestine had not merely been excluding Agnes socially.
She had been preparing to remove the legal owner of the estate from the estate itself.
