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Chapter 346 Seven Ytem obfides
Yéen
Keerycomed in funtheer
Thee senle of the damaged veelude and the poor quality of the old surveillance footage made thee occupants wifficult to washqgwista at først
Daameensstared at the emaggecoocerrarating on the man behind the wheel until his features
oradually became clearer.
Hissenyes were still open wan’s ooreeting about iss face immediately caught Damien’s
aateeniton.
Werneentanged the image futthecaan Doameerwent completely still.
Theeeewaasssomething cistinoty raamiaaaaoout the man.
Theestlane offis face. His feautes Etgenrough the distortion of the footage, the ressentrance was unmistakable.
Jaarnee
Modecorat Tree naan was conssiemolycalec but once Damien saw the resemblance, he
couuntunseen.
Theanissaaternion shifted toward the assseneessaat.
Heragewaspartially obscured, and she appeared unconscious, but enough of her features remnaredwssterton recognition to hihimeggemharder
Marvan
Damensseyess writtened.
Hissheadstamped toward Kendbetore returning nimmediately to the screen.
The manwhitobanummtakable resemblanced doJaime.
The womanwixed strikingly like Maya.
A marriedbaupleithheffotties.
The accident seven years ago,
Damien abruptlypustremseffout of the cham
Arethose.”
“Yes.”
Ken answered before Damien could finish, his expression completely serious
Damien stared at him, momentarily at a loss for words. His mind raced to make sense of what he was seeing and what it could possibly mean. The resemblance was too strong 10 dismiss, but the implication behind it was so staggering that he didn’t know which of the countless questions flooding his mind to ask first
Before he could settle on one, Ken turned his attention back to the screen.
“There’s more.”
Damien’s eyes narrowed, but before he could ask another question, Ken pressed the button again and the footage resumed
Instead of skipping ahead, Ken allowed the footage to continue exactly as it had happened that night.
Cassandra eventually climbed back into her damaged car and moved it closer to the other vehicle, positioning it in a way that partially blocked the wreck from the view of approaching traffic while leaving it visible from the camera’s angle.
Damien’s eyes narrowed.
Minutes passed on the timestamp.
Five.
Ten.
Fifteen.
Nearly twenty.
Vehicles continued passing the scene. Most never stopped, but throughout those agonizing minutes, Damien could still see movement inside the wrecked car.
Two vehicles eventually slowed and pulled over.
Each time, Cassandra approached before anyone could get close enough to inspect car. She smiled, waved them off, and raised the phone in her hand as though reassuring that she had already called for help. At one point, she even gave one of the drivers a thumbs–up.
To anyone passing by, it would have looked as though the situation was already under control, that emergency services had been contacted and there was nothing more for them
it Damien knew better now.
› ambulance came.
› police arrived.
id the two people inside that car continued to move, though their movements gradually came weaker as the minutes passed. What had once been desperate attempts to move id slowed to barely perceptible signs of life as they began slipping in and out of
nsciousness.
mien’s hands curled into fists at his sides.
en two black vehicles appeared in the distance, and Damien immediately recognized them
s entire body tensed as they stopped near Cassandra.
e rear door of the first vehicle opened and Viktor Volkov stepped out.
issandra rushed toward him immediately and threw herself into his arms, sobbing as ktor held her. He appeared to speak to her briefly before guiding her toward one of the hicles and helping her inside.
ktor then turned toward the wreckage, his men gathered behind him as he began issuing ders. He gestured toward different areas of the scene while they listened closely, nodding acknowledgment before moving to carry out his instructions.
imien watched every movement, his fury mounting with each passing second.
st before Viktor returned to his vehicle, however, he suddenly stopped and looked up.
rectly at the surveillance camera.
pointed toward it without a word, then looked at the man standing in front of him. The an followed the direction of his finger and gave a single nod, clearly understanding the
der.
conds later, the screen went black.
imien stared at the empty screen, breathing heavily as the full weight of what he ha tnessed crashed over him. His blood ran cold.
hey were still alive.” His voice came out low and dangerous.
His eyes remained fixed on the dark screen as the realization fialys
“They were fucking alive!”
Damien slammed his fist against the desk.
“She saw them moving. She saw him reaching for her, and she fucking hackeaway!) Has voice rose with every word as seven years of buried anger collided with what head quas witnessed.
“She had almost twenty minutes! She could have called an ambulance: Sheeopold ravee stopped one of those cars and asked for help. She could have done anything
His chest rose sharply as he looked back at the dark screen.
“If she had done the right thing and gotten them help immediately, they could still beave
Ken didn’t interrupt him or attempt to calm him down. He simply remained wheree leewass allowing Damien to release the anger that had been building with every second of it blee footage.
Only when Damien finally fell silent did Ken reach for the folder resting on the desk beside him and place it directly in front of him.
“Everything you need to know is inside that folder.”
Damien’s eyes dropped to it.
Ken’s expression remained grim.
“Opentit.”
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Ongpter 346: Three Versions of the Truth
Damien Sibany 3owered himself back into the chair and pulled the folder toward him
He opened it and began scanning through the documents inside
The fast wass a police report
Damea’s spreession changed.
Hee escognized many of the details because he had spent countless hours going through the
records he had managed to obtain seven years ago.
Cesssandaa had been intoxicated
Thaatibertatesst had been true.
Thee report Dameen had obtained back then stated that Cassandra, impaired by alcohol, had coaissed the colission. It also stated that despite her own injuries and disorientation, she had nnnescaately called for emergency assistance after checking on the occupants of the other
veanccse
BBy the time the couple were transported to the hospital, both had been declared dead on
aarrraal
Iftaadpaneed the picture of a horrific but straightforward drunk–driving accident.
Cassandra had made a reckless, devastating mistake, but afterward, she had supposedly diocree/whatsite.coutd
Daameenkkreew now that almost everything beyond the collision itself had been a fucking lie.
Heerlaadi just watched the truth with his own eyes.
Heturned the page and found the original autopsy reports.
Hissattention immediately settled on Julian’s.
Darmeen eeab quickly at first, but several details soon forced him to slow dow through heath me more carefully.
Juliamhardssuffered multiple injuries in the collision, including fractured ribs and se abdominatume caused by a section of the crushed interior penetrating his lower abdomem Three muy had resulted in extensive internal bleeding.
Buritadinoniled him on impact.
nen werth Guil.
eyes moved over that finding again
anisoturies indicated that he had suurvered the initial impact, his conddion progressively morating as the internalieromondage continued Eventually the uncontroèeblooddoss sesulted in severe hemoragicistickrandacardiac arrest.
footage immediately replayed charareres’s mind.
ovevement inside the wreckage.cfberarmfifting. The hand reaching desperatelydoward
sandra
anahadn’t been reachung gunsomménaletebex.
tadebeer cOUSCIOUS.
tadebeensa sking for help.
asassandrasad stepped away fromnim
mens grip gepersed around the folderesse cocontinued reading, his eyes moving carefully vevetylenesas though he needed to makekatsotutely certain he hadn’t misunderstooddayy
ehteder to aalais report.
ingleses evere deferent
Rasusteferesi significant head trauma durungedosision resulting in intracraniabl tnth an anklekely accounted formen lackcokresponserenes simmediately afterwardd
itbalatssustataened abdominalanjuries shalate dubstantiahintemal bleeding
Mial laadandt elted on impactmen
tabeeren constscious, but she had stiftbeerealaleve.
nés is gegersargenerded around the pages as he continere dreading.
lehre actradeth thesestimated tinses of deathch
28 stoppaded.
leted the ermenelaheheccostision
he esesmanetenesest of death.
Then the hasmtal arrival time
His jaw stawy cencheat.
+25 Ports
There was more than amour between the collision and their eventual arrival at the hospital.
Yet the original medical findings placed both estimated times of death well after the cailision, approximately thirty minutes before they were finally brought to the hospital.
They had survived the crash, and they had remained alive long enough for help to have
reached them.
The footage had already shown him that much, but seeing it documented in black and white made the deception even more horrifying.
The report he had been given seven years ago hadn’t technically lied about one thing.
Juuliam and Malia had been dead.com arrival at the hospital.
What Viktor had buried was everything that happened before they became DOA.
Xaamien turned another page and found an independent medical assessment based on the Dodginal autopsy findings.
Hee read it carefully.
Wulan’s abdominal injuries haut required immediate control of the hemorrhage, blood taasstasions, and emergency surgery Maia had required urgent stabilization of her internal bleeding atong with neurological intervention for the hemorrhage caused by her head trauma.
Veethers surwvat could ever have been quaranteed.
Bible conclusion was clear
Theemanes had been potentially suwwable.
Haakeemengency services beem contacted immediately and both victims received appropriate taaungacearedduring the critical period following the collision, each would have had a ubissaaraachance of survival!
Jaanteeni dovered the report.
hises connacht twisted.
“bosevvery years; he had believed that despite causing the accident, Cassandra h jonat hier lagt thing afterward and immediately called for help.
or seven years, headbetreed the couple’s murres hat sumpteen too severe for anyone
save therm
nd Wiktor had knowweaasd/wwhat he was allowing Damiento believe.
amien continued through fodder until he reached the final page
was a photograph of Mandarine.
Meya was much youngget heestanding beside a little boy, Both were dressed in black,
atching as their parents weerd daid to rest.
amien stared at the photograph.
aimedooked so small and Maywasn’t much more than a childherself Wet she stood ose beside her little brother as though she already understand that from that day forward, newas the only person ne haadéétt.
ormething tightened painfully mis solde Bament’s chest.
Meya had told him about dosingcheeponents/lee knew the version off the deaths she had Down up accepting believingthaaks by been a terrible accident amee afftthe cure! ggedies no one could have predicteckbo porevented.
he had spent seven years believing these was done to blame.
en’s voice finally broke throughsst homes.
At that point,all/Viktor cared about wassctteaming up Cassandra’s mess and making sure othing could be traced back tochis daughter.
arreers slowly lifted his head.
itbotaanotherword, Ken opened one of it inleddesk drawers and pulled out two more foitters placed them side by side in front of Daanteen.
beemrethree versions of what happeneethaanight, hessaid.
arggested toward the folder already opperin Daamers bands.
“And this is the version he wanted the grieving family and the rest of the word to believe
Damien’s eyes settled on it.
“This,” Ken continued, “is the version Maya and Jaime know.”
Damien placed the folder in his hands on the desk and reached for the other one
He opened it.
The deeper he read, the colder his expression became
It was completely different.
According to this version, Julian and Malia had died in an unfortunate traffic accident after a truck lost control and collided with their vehicle.
There was no mention of Cassandra. No intoxicated driver. No Volkov. No indication of criminal wrongdoing or deliberate interference of any kind.
The investigation had supposedly found no evidence of foul play or circumstances warranting further investigation.
Then Damien reached the accompanying autopsy report.
His eyes darkened further.
It bore little resemblance to the one he had just read.
According to the report Maya had been given, both of their parents had sustained catastrophic injuries during the collision and died at the scene. Their deaths were attributed directly to the force of impact and the multiple traumatic injuries they had sustained.
There was nothing about Julian remaining conscious.
Nothing about his prolonged internal bleeding.
Nothing about Malia surviving the initial impact.
Nothing about the estimated times of death showing that both had remained alive
It was a carefully orchestrated lie, built around just enough believable details to make it almost impossible to question.
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