Chapter 12 - The Witness Who Remembered
The former supervisor was older and frailer than the man pictured in personnel records, but his testimony supplied details that investigators could compare to fire reports, building plans, and the other surviving accounts.
He described Bellini's men preventing employees from leaving a storage corridor after Isabella had challenged suspicious transactions. The fire spread rapidly. The supervisor escaped; Isabella did not.
I listened to the summary through our victim advocate and then spent an hour walking outside, trying to breathe.
Nico joined me.
“I keep thinking about the life she should have had,” he said.
“Me too.”
“Do we have to spend the rest of ours trying to avenge her?”
I looked at him.
“No. We can ask for justice and still live.”
Investigators also confirmed that the debt used to pressure me had no legitimate basis. Proceedings to set aside the claim moved forward, and Bellini's associates faced scrutiny for their roles in the scheme.
Cedric continued cooperating. His attorney informed Elena that he was prepared to accept consequences for his own actions, including his concealment of relevant records and coercive conduct toward me.
At a preliminary hearing, Bellini entered surrounded by counsel and security. He looked at Nico, then at me, with an expression I couldn't read.
For a moment, I wanted to shout.
Instead, I held Nico's hand.
We no longer needed Bellini to acknowledge us for us to exist.
Outside the courthouse, the press asked whether Cedric was a hero or a criminal.
“He isn't a storybook character,” I said. “He's a person who made choices, and those choices should be examined like anyone else's.”
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That afternoon, the court confirmed that the disputed debt would not be enforced against me while the claim was adjudicated.
For the first time, my financial future wasn't being held hostage.
