Celia's Red Coat
Chapter 11 - Celia's Red Coat
Celia arrived at her lawyer's office with two suitcases, the same burgundy coat she'd worn on the night in the snow, and a face drained of confidence. Vincent had moved out after the court imposed temporary restrictions and the company suspended his authority. His accounts were under scrutiny. Their marriage had become another casualty of the secrets he carried.
Investigators asked Celia about the night she locked Matteo out.
She admitted that she'd closed the door. She said she intended to frighten him into behaving and believed Vincent would bring him back inside almost immediately. She also acknowledged that she'd misrepresented the incident to Angelo.
Her attorney emphasized that Celia denied intending serious injury. The investigators recorded her account and compared it with the footage, weather conditions, and medical findings.
Angelo did not attend the interview. He had finally understood that he could neither buy justice nor conduct the investigation himself.
Afterward, Celia wrote to Sofia. The letter tried to explain that she had been overwhelmed by the child's grief and Vincent's demands. She described feeling trapped by the Caruso household.
Sofia read it once. Then she placed it in a drawer.
"Are you going to answer?" Angelo asked.
"Not today."
"She says she's sorry."
Sofia looked at him. "Regret doesn't erase what she did to Matteo. I don't want vengeance, but I don't owe her immediate comfort."
Angelo nodded.
Matteo, meanwhile, had begun calling the lakeside house the airplane house because model planes hung from the nursery ceiling. He sometimes woke crying, convinced he heard Celia's heels in the hallway. Sofia and Angelo responded with reassurance and followed his therapist's advice to rebuild a sense of safety through steady routines.
One afternoon he accidentally knocked a mug from the table.
It broke into three pieces.
Matteo covered his ears.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Please don't put me outside."
Sofia knelt a safe distance away.
"You're not going outside as punishment. The cup broke. We can clean it up."
He watched as Angelo brought a broom.
"Nobody's mad?"
"No," Angelo said.
Matteo looked down at the pieces. "Aunt Celia would be."
Angelo set the broom aside. "Here, we don't scare children over broken cups."
The boy nodded, but the fear did not vanish immediately.
Healing would take longer than a new house and a good breakfast.
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That evening, another report arrived: Vincent had attempted to contact the former technician Owen Pike despite instructions not to interfere with witnesses.
The case was moving closer to the truth.
