Chapter 9
The shoe impressions could not identify Marco eighteen months later.
The photograph lacked enough detail.
But the location mattered.
The second prints began near the passenger side.
Continued toward the road.
Then disappeared.
Someone may have been at the vehicle before emergency crews arrived.
Or the prints could have belonged to a passerby who never came forward.
Domenico refused to call it proof.
Marco’s attorney immediately offered another explanation.
Marco admitted meeting Elena at the overlook.
He said they argued.
Then Elena drove away.
Marco claimed he followed at a distance because he was worried.
According to him, he discovered the crash minutes later.
He got out.
Checked Elena.
Panicked.
And left.
Domenico read the statement twice.
Marco had finally admitted being at the crash.
“Why leave?”
Rachel asked.
Marco’s statement answered that too.
Because Elena had just accused him of stealing from the foundation.
He believed his presence would make him look guilty.
He went home.
Said nothing.
Let Domenico learn his wife was dead from police officers.
The betrayal was staggering even if Marco had not caused the crash.
Camilla read the statement and vomited.
She had believed her husband never reached the accident scene.
Now she learned he had left Elena there.
Domenico asked one question through attorneys.
“Was Elena alive when Marco found her?”
Marco refused to answer outside a formal interview.
The original medical report became crucial.
Elena did not die instantly.
She suffered severe internal injuries and head trauma.
Emergency responders believed she survived for some period after impact.
How long could not be established precisely.
Every minute now mattered.
Investigators obtained Marco’s phone records.
At 10:43 p.m., his phone connected to a cell sector covering the overlook and crash area.
At 10:46, Elena’s phone attempted an emergency call.
It lasted only two seconds.
No voice connection occurred.
At 10:49, Marco’s phone began moving away.
The official emergency call from another motorist came at 10:51.
Domenico stared at the timeline.
Marco had been there while Elena may still have been conscious.
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But why would Elena’s emergency call fail after Marco arrived?
The answer was buried inside the final recording she had hidden.
