Page 86 of Benjamin and the Thief

“But the insurance company would have never insured it if it was a fake,” he protested.

“True, that’s why I looked back into the Prestons’ finances. I found a large amount of money coming into their accounts two years ago. I was able to trace the source, and it turns out it came from a private sale of jewelry to somebody in Europe. I spoke with the buyer’s agent, and they confirmed that their client purchased the necklace from the Prestons. The Prestons never canceled the insurance policy, and before they sold it, they obviously had a replica made. I’m still trying to find out who made the fake. But the case is clear: they couldn’t sell the necklace a second time. So, they decided to stage a theft and frame Santiago for it.”

“Oh my God,” Benjamin exclaimed. “We got them. Santiago is innocent. And we can prove it.”

“Yes,” Amaury said. “We handed all the evidence to the D.A. and the judge this morning. Donnelly is looped in. He got the governor to fast-track his release. Santiago is being released tonight.”

“Catalina will be happy to hear that,” Benjamin said. “I’ll pick him up from San Bruno myself. Is everything set for the funeral tomorrow morning?”

“Yes,” Amaury said. “With Donnelly’s help, we got the death certificate for Catalina signed. So, in the eyes of the world, she’s dead.”

“Does Santiago know yet?” Benjamin asked.

“We believe so. News like that travels fast. Even in jail,” Amaury confirmed.

Benjamin rubbed his neck and sighed. “I wish we could tell him that Catalina isn’t dead. But we can’t. Not before the funeral. He wears his emotions on his sleeve. The press will be there.”

“You sure?” Delilah asked. “That poor boy.”

“I know it’s gonna be hard on him, but we can’t risk anybody suspecting that Catalina didn’t die of the gunshot wound.”

“Because you want the Prestons to go down for murder?” Amaury asked.

Benjamin clenched his jaw. “Anything less wouldn’t be justice. They will rot in prison for what they did to Santiago and Catalina. They took her life. They forced me to turn her into a vampire.”

His chest heaved, and he could feel the anger rising again.

“Anita, Delilah, why don’t you leave us?” Amaury asked.

The two women left the office and closed the door behind them.

Amaury rose from behind his desk and walked around it.

“What’s wrong, son?”

“Everything is wrong! I should have kept her safe! I failed.”

“Are you saying that you can’t accept that your future mate is a vampire and not a human? You wanted a human wife, didn’t you?”

He shook his head. “No, Dad! That’s not it. You have no idea. Dad, she bit me; she drank my blood just now. And I can’t even describe what that felt like. It was better than I’d ever imagined. When she sucked on my vein, I felt complete. It was more than happiness. More than physical pleasure. It was everything I ever wanted. I just never knew that I wanted this. Her biting me.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“What if I chose to turn her because, deep down, I wanted her to be a vampire? What if my subconscious tricked me into thinking that it was too late to heal her, and my only choice was to turn her? What if it wasn’t too late to save her human life?”

It was finally out, the thought that had been plaguing him ever since Catalina had been shot.

“Oh, son,” Amaury said and pulled him into a hug. “You didn’t have a choice.”

“How would you know?”

Amaury released him, then cupped his shoulders with his hands.

“Because Ryder was there. She was dying; he saw it too. If you hadn’t turned her, she would be gone forever. This way, she has a chance at a new life. And we’ll do everything to welcome her into our family.”

“What if she can’t adjust to what she is?”

Amaury smiled. “She bit you. She drank your blood. That means she knows what it feels like, how pleasurable a bite can be. She’ll come around. Just be patient. Don’t rush her. It has to be her decision. She loved you before; that love doesn’t disappear just because of what she is now. Trust me.”