Chapter 21
Fuck! The shit had just hit the fan.
Benjamin was less concerned about his father’s anger than the more important issue: the Prestons had a security tape of Catalina trying to break into their safe.
How could he have missed this detail? He knew that there were cameras around the house, but somehow, he hadn’t thought that they would actually have a security camera in their bedroom.
Who did that? Although the camera angle hadn’t encompassed the bed, it was still odd.
Was the camera running all the time, or did they only switch it on when they had guests in the house?
In any case, it didn’t really matter. It had happened.
They’d caught Catalina trying to break into the safe.
His only luck was that there was no audio, so at least nobody knew what he and Catalina had been talking about.
The Prestons couldn’t know that they knew each other.
The only reason his father had guessed that they were intimate was because his mother had blabbed about their encounter the day before the party.
Not that he could blame his mother. His parents had an incredibly close relationship and didn’t keep secrets from each other, making it impossible to hide anything.
He and his twin had learned that early on.
If one of them knew, the other one did too.
Even though his mother hadn’t said anything aloud, she probably had told his father telepathically that she’d seen how he’d interacted with Catalina.
He’d spent enough time with his parents to recognize when they communicated without speaking.
But enough of this. He couldn’t change what had happened.
He could only hope that the Prestons hadn’t recognized Catalina.
He was sure they knew what she looked like.
They would have seen her in court, supporting her brother.
He was glad that she’d donned a wig and glasses, but if his mother had recognized her from the security video, the Prestons might too at some point.
That meant he didn’t have as much time to look into Santiago’s case as he’d thought.
Because once they knew who Catalina was, and what she had been trying to do, they would be on their guard, and if there was anything to be found that could prove Santiago’s innocence, it would disappear forever.
Benjamin hurried back to his office, logged into his computer, and clicked on the video link Anita had sent him.
When the video began to play moments later, he realized why it had been such a damning piece of evidence at the trial: the security video was recorded by the same camera that had recorded him and Catalina in the master bedroom.
It clearly showed Santiago opening the safe in the Prestons’ walk-in closet and removing a necklace from inside.
He zoomed in on the item in question, and from his recollection of the photos he’d seen in the police file, he knew that the item in Santiago’s hands was indeed the priceless piece of jewelry the papers had reported on.
He watched the video twice to make sure he didn’t miss anything.
Was it possible that it had been doctored?
Was it a deepfake? The technology certainly existed today.
But how could he be certain? No, not just certain—he needed to prove that the video was a fake.
He downloaded it onto a tablet and left his office once more.
He needed somebody with extensive technical and IT knowledge to go over the video with a fine-tooth comb and see if there were any oddities in it that would suggest that the video had been altered with the use of AI.
Again on the top floor of the building, he walked to Eddie’s office and knocked. Both Eddie and Thomas were busy on their computers.
“Hey, what’s up?” Eddie asked, without looking up.
Benjamin placed the tablet in front of him and tapped on the video. “I need to figure out if this video is real or a fake. Can you help me?”
Eddie glanced at the video, then exchanged a look with Thomas. “Wish I could, but we’re a bit under time pressure right now. It’s not gonna happen today.”
“It’s urgent,” Benjamin added.
“Try Sebastian,” Thomas suggested. “He’s really good at that particular type of stuff. He should be in the building.”
Disappointed, but not trying to show it, Benjamin nodded. “Alright then.”
He was about to take the tablet back when Thomas glanced at it and leaned over it.
“What?” Benjamin asked.
“Same security camera,” Thomas said to Eddie, who nodded.
Eddie looked up and stared at him. “Amaury was in here a while ago showing us a similar video, only that it showed you and that girl whose car registration you asked me about a few days ago.”
His pulse accelerated. “What did he want you to do with the video?”
“Nothing, but he wanted to know who the girl was. I recognized her despite the different hairdo.” Eddie shrugged. “Well, he actually knew her first name. He asked me for her address.”
“And you gave it to him?”
“Sure, why not?” Eddie furrowed his brow.
“Fuck!”
He knew exactly why his father was trying to find out who she was and where she lived: so he could go and talk to her. Probably scare her off, intimidate her. Damn it! He should have known what his father was planning. No wonder he’d ended the confrontation so quickly.
Benjamin cast a quick glance at the window. The sun was just setting. His father would be able to leave the security of this building and his car with its UV-impenetrable windows to enter Catalina’s apartment building.
He charged toward the door.
“Your tablet,” Eddie called after him, but he didn’t stop.
Time was of the essence. He had to get to Catalina before his father did.