Chapter 5 - THE ACCIDENT HE HAD PREPARED
Matthew continued insisting he never intended to kill me.
According to his first formal statement, he locked me inside only to frighten me and forgot the remote starter was active.
That story failed because Nora saw him press the button.
He then said he started the car to warm the garage during an argument.
It had been fifty-eight degrees outside.
Next, he claimed I entered the sedan myself and must have started it.
The car’s remote log showed the engine had been activated from the handheld unit in his possession.
The garage system also stored opening and closing records. Matthew shut the door after the engine started and disabled the wall controls through the exterior panel.
He had planned details.
Not perfectly.
But enough.
A forensic examination of his laptop found searches made over several weeks:
How long vehicle exhaust takes to cause unconsciousness.
Carbon monoxide accidents in attached garages.
Whether life insurance pays after accidental poisoning.
How long security-camera footage remains on residential systems.
Can an unconscious person restart a car.
He had also removed the garage camera two days earlier, telling me it had malfunctioned.
The device was later found in a trash bin behind one of Derek’s renovation properties.
Matthew wanted the scene to show:
A distressed wife preparing to leave.
An accidentally running vehicle.
A packed bag.
A goodbye letter.
A grieving husband who found her too late.
When Nora intervened before I died, he shifted immediately.
He opened the garage.
Dragged me outside.
Tried to force me into his version.
The kicks came because I was conscious enough to speak.
The bag in his pickup was not proof I planned to leave.
It was a prop he needed to control.
If I died in the garage, he could place it wherever the story required.
If I survived but became confused from the fumes, he could remove the evidence and claim I had harmed myself.
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He had built two endings.
Both depended on me being unable to contradict him.
