Chapter 12 - THE THREE PEOPLE RESPONSIBLE
Valerie’s defense collapsed after police recovered Raymond’s letter.
Martin had created the fake phone message.
Valerie provided Marissa’s route and schedule.
Raymond damaged the brake line.
None of them physically forced Marissa’s car off the road.
Together, they created the death.
Raymond accepted a plea deal and agreed to testify.
Martin refused.
He insisted he never intended for Marissa to die.
Valerie claimed she believed Raymond would only frighten her.
Alejandro listened to every excuse during the preliminary hearings.
Each person described a small action.
No one wanted responsibility for the full result.
Rosa sat beside him.
“They divided the crime so they could divide the guilt.”
Alejandro nodded.
“But Marissa still died once.”
Sophie returned home after five days in the hospital.
Her lungs were improving.
Dr. Park expected a complete recovery.
The bedroom was cleaned before she arrived.
The medicine cabinet was removed from the wall.
The pillow containing the pin remained in police evidence.
Valerie’s clothes had been packed and placed in storage.
Sophie stood at the bedroom doorway.
“Is she coming back?”
“No.”
“Ever?”
“No.”
Alejandro knelt in front of her.
“I should have listened sooner.”
Sophie looked down.
“I tried to tell you.”
“I know.”
“You said Valerie loved me.”
“I was wrong.”
“Will you be wrong again?”
The question carried no cruelty.
It carried fear.
Alejandro answered honestly.
“Yes.”
“I will be wrong about things.”
“But I will listen when you say you are afraid.”
“I will check.”
“I will not tell you that an adult is right just because they are an adult.”
Sophie considered the answer.
Then she handed him the sewing pin in a small evidence bag.
Detective Brooks had allowed her to keep it temporarily for the conversation.
“I want this gone.”
Alejandro gave it back to the detective.
That evening, Rosa checked every door and window before Sophie slept.
She placed the tablet beside the bed.
Sophie shook her head.
“I don’t want it watching me anymore.”
Rosa turned off the automatic recording feature.
The tablet had protected her.
It had also captured weeks of fear.
Sophie deserved a room that did not need to collect evidence.
Before leaving, Rosa opened the medicine drawer.
A folded photograph lay behind the empty shelf.
It showed Valerie standing beside Dr. Claudia Harris ten years earlier.
May you like
On the back, someone had written,
Claudia knows Daniel’s death was not natural.
