Chapter 2: The Lazarus Return
The silence was so heavy it felt like a physical weight. Catherine stopped inches from Vanessa. The bride, usually the picture of cold composure, began to shake.
"The car was supposed to be a furnace, Vanessa," Catherine said, her voice sounding like gravel crushed under silk. "You cut the brake lines. You poured the accelerant. But you forgot that I drive that road every day. I knew the shoulder like the back of my hand. I walked out of that wreckage before the engine even ignited."
Julian stared, sobbing quietly, unable to process the resurrection. "Mom? We buried you. We had a service."
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"You buried a casket of scrap metal," Catherine replied, never taking her eyes off the trembling bride. She reached into the pocket of her ruined coat. Her hand emerged clutching a bright blue USB drive, caked in the grime of the crash site. "And while I was hiding, while I was recovering in the shadows, I wasn't just healing. I was watching."
Vanessa tried to snatch the drive, but Catherine blocked her with a speed that defied her injuries.
