The Truth About My Father's Death
Chapter 17 - The Truth About My Father's Death
The question of Gabriel's death remained the hardest part of the investigation.
The original crash had been ruled an accident.
Years had passed.
Physical evidence was limited.
But the preserved documents and newly discovered correspondence raised serious questions about what Gabriel knew before he died.
Investigators reviewed the records and interviewed surviving witnesses.
A former mechanic reported that Gabriel had expressed concerns about his vehicle shortly before the crash.
Another witness remembered an argument between Gabriel and Charles.
Neither account, alone, proved that Charles had caused his brother's death.
I hated that uncertainty.
I wanted one document that explained everything.
One confession.
One undeniable answer.
But Rebecca reminded me that truth had to be established through evidence, not anger.
One evening, I sat with Catherine looking through Gabriel's photographs.
She showed me a picture of him holding me as a baby.
He was laughing.
I had one tiny hand wrapped around his finger.
I stared at it.
"Do you think he knew what was going to happen?"
Catherine shook her head.
"I don't know."
I touched the photograph.
"I wish I could've protected him."
She looked at me.
"You were a child."
I swallowed.
"I know."
She took my hand.
"Gabriel wouldn't want you spending your life carrying guilt for things adults did."
I nodded.
Then she smiled.
"He'd want you to live."
I looked at her.
"How do you know?"
"Because he told me that the night you were born."
She wiped a tear away.
"He said, 'Whatever happens to us, I want our boy to have a big, beautiful life.'"
I closed my eyes.
For the first time, I began to understand that honoring my father didn't mean living inside the mystery of his death forever.
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It meant building something good with the life he'd helped give me.
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