CHAPTER 114: The Name

POV: Selene Castellano

She opened the email with her hands not quite steady.

One line.

Catherine. I’m so sorry. It’s Catherine.

Selene read it three times.

She sat perfectly still, surrounded by darkness, the only light coming from the phone in her hand, and a chill began to spread through her chest, settling in like a heavy weight.

Avalon stirred beside her.

“Selene,” he murmured. “ What’s wrong.”

She didn’t answer immediately.

He sat up properly now, alert.

“Selene.”

She turned the phone toward him.

He read it.

Read it again.

“That’s not possible,” he said.

"Selene spoke softly, saying, "Margaret wouldn't send it if she wasn't pretty sure, even if it means she might be wrong.""

“My mother,” Avalon said. “ You’re saying my mother had Robert Laine killed and now Whitmore?”

Selene just shook her head, "I'm not talking, Margaret is."

He was already calling.

Margaret picked up the phone right away, it was like she was expecting the call.

“Tell me everything,” Avalon said. No greeting.

Margaret spoke up, her tone cautious, like she was sharing a secret she'd rather not know. "I've uncovered some financial records," she said. "There's a payment from an account linked to Catherine, and it's been routed through a few shell companies to a security guard who worked at the facility where Whitmore was being held." She paused, collecting her thoughts before continuing. "What's really interesting is that the same account made a smaller payment back in 1987, just a week before Robert Laine's death." The implications were clear, but Margaret didn't spell them out - she just let the information hang in the air, waiting to see how it would be received.

Avalon's voice was barely above a whisper, but it had a flat, emotionless tone to it. "Why would she do something like this?" he asked, the words hanging in the air like a challenge.

"I'm still in the dark about the motive," Margaret admitted, "but I've managed to uncover a trail of money that might lead us to some answers."

"Get to the bottom of it," Avalon said, her voice low and urgent. "See what you can find out, tonight if possible."

“Avalon—”

“Tonight.”

He hung up.

Selene saw him slump down on the bed, his elbows resting on his knees, his head hung low.

"It just doesn't add up," he said, shaking his head. "She went through the whole trial, testified against Whitmore, and gave the prosecution everything they needed. So why would she turn around and kill him before he could even be sentenced? It doesn't make any sense."

"Perhaps she didn't want him to face punishment," Selene said, her words dripping slowly. "Maybe her goal was to keep him quiet, to prevent him from revealing secrets that could harm someone she cared about."

“Whose name would be worth two murders to protect.”

Selene didn’t answer.

She had the same thought as him, it seemed.

“Yours,” she said finally. “ If Whitmore named names at sentencing, who else might have been involved thirty years ago. Who else might have known and said nothing.”

Avalon looked up at her.

“Nene,” he said quietly.

They sat with that for a long moment.

Selene spoke cautiously, "If Whitmore had mentioned Nene as someone who was aware of the situation and chose to remain silent, then Catherine might have seen that as a legacy worth fighting for, no matter the cost."

“Even murder.”

“Even murder.”

Avalon stood. Paced to the window.

"He spoke about her testimony regarding Whitmore, saying it was honest and every word was true. He claimed to have witnessed her doing it and saw the toll it took on her."

"Sometimes things can be true, but that doesn't mean they're the complete story," Selene said.

He looked at her.

Selene's voice was laced with skepticism as she spoke, "Do you really believe she told the truth about what she knew, and then made certain that no one could ever question her further, under oath, about any other information she might have had or who else might have been involved?"

The room was very quiet.

“I need to see her,” Avalon said.

“Tonight.”

“Tonight.”

They drove to Catherine’s house just after midnight.

The lights were on.

Catherine had the door open before they even had a chance to knock, and she was already dressed and ready to go, giving the impression that she had been waiting for them all along.

Her gaze shifted between the two of them, but her face remained completely still, not a hint of emotion crossing her features.

“Margaret called you,” she said. Not a question.

“Is it true,” Avalon said.

Catherine stepped back from the door.

"Come on in," she said softly, motioning for me to take a seat. "Please, sit down. I want to tell you everything - all of it. I've been keeping it inside for far too long, and I should have been honest with you years ago."

Selene and Avalon stepped inside.

Catherine closed the door behind them.

"Catherine's voice was barely above a whisper as she revealed a shocking secret. 'Robert Laine discovered something that I had hoped would remain hidden from Nene,' she said, her words dripping with a sense of foreboding. 'It's about your father's death, and it goes far beyond just Whitmore's involvement. If the truth were to come out, it would be devastating - it would completely destroy our family.'"

“What,” Avalon said.

Catherine looked at him for a long moment.

"Have a seat," she repeated, her voice firm but gentle. "This is going to take some time, so you might as well get comfortable."