Chapter 9 - The Car That Wasn't Alone
“YOUR WIFE DIDN'T LOSE CONTROL BECAUSE SHE WAS CARELESS. SOMEONE WAS FOLLOWING HER.”
The anonymous message contained no name.
Only a photograph, a date, and a sentence.
Gabriel stared at his phone.
The image showed Nora's silver sedan beside a damaged roadside barrier.
Behind it, partially visible near the edge of the photograph, was a dark SUV.
Gabriel had never seen that vehicle in the photographs included with the original accident report.
He immediately forwarded the message to Rebecca.
She called him within minutes.
“Don't respond to the sender yet.”
“Do you think it's real?”
“I don't know. We need to establish where the photograph came from.”
Gabriel looked at Nora's car.
For three years, he had tried not to imagine her final moments.
Now the image brought everything back.
The police officer at his front door.
The hospital corridor.
The unbearable task of telling Amelia that Mommy wasn't coming home.
He had spent years blaming the rain.
But what if the rain had only been part of the story?
Rebecca contacted the appropriate authorities and requested a review of the available accident records.
She also arranged for an independent accident reconstruction specialist to examine the evidence.
The specialist, Michael Torres, had spent twenty years investigating serious collisions.
After reviewing the photograph, he was cautious.
“A second vehicle at the scene doesn't prove wrongdoing,” he explained.
Gabriel nodded.
“But it could mean someone witnessed what happened.”
“Exactly.”
Michael examined the original photographs and roadway diagram.
He noticed a detail Gabriel had overlooked.
There were tire marks near the shoulder that did not clearly correspond to Nora's sedan.
The original report had mentioned them but had not established their source.
“Could someone have forced her off the road?” Gabriel asked.
“It's possible, but we cannot conclude that from these images.”
Gabriel looked disappointed.
Michael continued.
“What we can do is identify whether additional witnesses, traffic footage, or vehicle records exist.”
For the first time, Gabriel felt grateful for someone who refused to give him the answer he wanted without evidence.
He had spent too many years trusting certainty that had never been earned.
Now he wanted the truth, even if it was complicated.
Meanwhile, Amelia attended her first session with Dr. Ellis.
Gabriel waited outside the office.
He didn't ask what his daughter said.
He didn't demand details.
When Amelia emerged, she looked thoughtful.
“How was it?” he asked.
“Okay.”
“Do you want to go back?”
She nodded.
“Dr. Ellis says feelings aren't bad.”
Gabriel smiled.
“She's right.”
Amelia looked up.
“Even angry feelings?”
“Even angry feelings.”
“Even when I'm angry at Grandma?”
Gabriel knelt beside her.
“Especially then. You can feel angry and still choose what you want to do with that feeling.”
Amelia considered this.
Then she asked, “Are you angry at Grandma?”
Gabriel answered carefully.
“Yes.”
“Do you still love her?”
He paused.
“I have memories of loving her very much. But right now, I need distance because of what she's done.”
Amelia looked relieved.
“Dr. Ellis said I don't have to hug someone just because they're family.”
Gabriel nodded.
“That's right.”
She slipped her hand into his.
“Can we get ice cream?”
He smiled.
“Absolutely.”
For one precious hour, they were simply a father and daughter enjoying chocolate ice cream on a sunny afternoon.
No lawyers.
No court filings.
No accusations.
Just Amelia laughing when a drop of ice cream landed on Gabriel's shirt.
He wished Nora could have seen it.
That evening, Michael Torres called.
He had located an old witness statement that had not been included in the materials Gabriel originally received.
A delivery driver reported seeing a dark SUV following Nora's car shortly before the crash.
The driver could not identify the occupants.
But he remembered the SUV making a sudden lane change near the exit.
The statement had been recorded, but investigators had been unable to establish a connection to the collision.
Gabriel asked whether the SUV could be identified.
Michael hesitated.
“There may be a way.”
The driver had described a distinctive damaged rear bumper.
And an insurance record from that period showed a vehicle matching the description.
Gabriel felt his heart pounding.
“Who owned it?”
Michael paused.
“The registration was associated with Northstar Consulting Group.”
Calvin Price's company.
Gabriel closed his eyes.
He immediately called Rebecca.
She told him not to confront Calvin and forwarded the information to investigators.
But before the call ended, another message arrived from the anonymous sender.
You're getting closer.
A second message followed.
Ask Calvin why he changed his story about where he was that morning.
Gabriel stared at the screen.
Then a third message appeared.
May you like
And ask your father why he paid for the repairs.
Cliffhanger: The next morning, Everett appeared at Gabriel's door carrying an old insurance receipt. His first words were, “Son, I know who was driving that SUV.”
