Page 113 of All for her Forgiveness

"What you just told me . . . does it mean the lawyers will get the Prosecutor's Office to drop the charges?"

"You can bet on it."

"Can I watch the video?"

I nod, because I was sure she would ask me. "It's not pretty. It's actually very bad."

"I can imagine, because I remember the state her body was in and that there was a cut on her throat, but I need to see it because I hope it helps me remember."

There's nothing I can do to prevent her from reliving that nightmare, although I wish I had that power.

I will never forget the part of the recording where Kennedy asked Pam to leave her alone and she replied that she’d promised Ryan he could "play" with my wife.

I grab my notebook, and after preparing the video, I hand it to her.

Kennedy watches everything three times. The first time, she has to stop to cry.

I don't try to console her. I know she needs space to work through her own emotions. Kennedy knows I'm here, by her side, to support her, but this dive into the darkest day of her life needs to be done alone.

I can't imagine what she feels witnessing her own fear and knowing what happened afterward.

In the end, she closes the notebook and covers her face with both hands. "Even so, I can't remember everything. But it helped a lot. I think my memory has been coming back through triggers."

"What do you mean?"

"I remembered my childhood at Riny's house, then our story together from the moment we met at the casino, but only after you came to see me and stayed with me at the hospital in New Orleans. Every memory that has returned happened because something triggered it. Now, for example, I remember some scenes that happened at the beach house, but I think I’m only able to recall because I watched the video. However, my memory only goes up to the moment I first fled from Ryan that night."

"Thefirsttime?"

"Yes, from what I understood from the recording, it was more than once, but from what I remember, when it happened, it wasn't after I hit Pam with the statue. I don't even remember hitting her, to be honest, but of course I did because the audio made that very clear." She sounds distressed.

"You don't need to rush to tell me what you remember, Kennedy. I just wanted you to know that we will be able to put an end to this nightmare."

"I prefer to talk about it now. I'm afraid of forgetting again. After watching this video, as I said earlier, I remembered several scenes, but not what led to her death. It was clear to me that I witnessed the murder because I was terrified in the audio, but I don't even remember hiding in this secret closet, let alone seeing Pam being killed."

"But the expert thinks you saw it, and that . . .”

"What?"

"Remo thinks you saw Pam being killed and that's why you hid. He believes you only survived because you found the secret room. Ryan wouldn't have left a witness. You knew he was there. Now, tell me what you remember."

"Both of us arriving at the house and how upset I was when I noticed Ryan was going to stay with us. He had already tried to give me drugs at Pam's party, and it only took me one second to realize that the man was no good. I didn't have a normal adolescence. I didn't go to parties or enjoy life, because I had other obligations, like putting food on the table, but I dealt with playboys at the casino, and guys like Ryan could be found in every corner of that place. Spoiled and disrespectful jerks. So when Pam tried to push me toward him at the club, I said no."

"Pam was his friend."

"I don't know if ‘friend’ is the right term for it. They had already hooked up because she told me so herself. Maybe more than hooking up, because she told me she had 'tried him out,' or something like that. I think she wanted me out of the way, Hades. As you believe yourself, she considered me a possible rival, even before suspecting that we had made love in your grandfather's library, so at the club, she tried to get me interested in Ryan. I have no doubt that even before that nightmare at the beach house, they already had some kind of 'thing.'"

"Do you know her life story?"

"I do. Mrs. Vina told me a bit about it. Very sad, but Pam didn't like her grandmother bringing it up, which is understandable."

"Because of that, I thought she would choose a partner more wisely. In fact, I encouraged her to find a nice guy, and Ryan definitely didn't fit that concept."

"Not at all, but to be honest, I think Pam pretended all the time, like someone with a split personality, you know? She behaved according to what you and her grandmother expected of her, but deep down, she was far from being a good girl. Anyway, that night at the beach house, I locked myself in the room. As you heard in the recording, I was very upset, but when I got hungry, I had to go downstairs."

She squints as if trying to remember.

"If you want to take a break . . .”

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