Chapter 11 - THE TRUTH ABOUT CATHERINE'S LAST NIGHT
The breakthrough came from an old security system.
Investigators recovered archived footage from a nearby commercial building.
The cameras had captured part of the parking structure entrance on the night Catherine died.
The footage was grainy.
But clear enough.
Catherine's car entered at 10:12 p.m.
Anthony Bell's vehicle arrived six minutes later.
Marco Romano appeared shortly afterward.
Vincent watched the footage beside Ortega.
His hands were clenched.
At 10:31, Catherine's car left the structure.
Bell was driving.
Catherine was in the passenger seat.
Luca was in the back.
Vincent stared.
“She wasn't driving.”
Ortega nodded.
“No.”
The footage continued.
A second vehicle followed.
Marco's.
Additional records helped investigators reconstruct the events.
Catherine had confronted Bell and Marco about the stolen money.
She had threatened to expose their operation.
They attempted to intimidate her.
When she refused to cooperate, they forced her into the car.
The fire occurred later, near the abandoned warehouse.
Investigators found evidence inconsistent with the original accident report.
Vincent sat motionless.
For two years, he'd believed his wife lost control of her vehicle.
Now he knew the story had been fabricated.
Ortega looked at him.
“We're preparing charges.”
Vincent nodded.
His voice was barely audible.
“Do it.”
That night, Vincent entered Catherine's study.
He sat at her desk.
And cried.
Not quietly.
Not carefully.
He cried with the grief of a man who had spent two years blaming fate for something human beings had chosen to do.
When he finally looked up, Luca stood in the doorway.
Vincent wiped his face.
“Hey, buddy.”
Luca approached.
He climbed into his father's lap.
Then whispered:
“Mommy loved us.”
Vincent held him.
“Yes.”
May you like
His voice broke.
“She loved us more than anything.”
