Cathy Benjamin (Reckless)

Cathy Benjamin (Sunny Mabrey) is the hidden villainess of "Parting Shots", episode 1.02 of Reckless (airdate July 6, 2014). She was the estranged ex-wife of Cole Benjamin and, by the episode's events, was in a custody battle with Cole over their son, Marshall, with Cole seeking full custody of their son. Cathy was first shown speaking to the press with her sister, revealing that she had stepped down from her job heading the board at a children's hospital to focus on raising her son.
During the trial, however, Cole highlighted Cathy's past struggles with alcohol and sleeping pills, stating them as the reason he believed Marshall would be better living with him. Desperate to maintain custody of her son, Cathy plotted to fake an attempt on her life, hiring Van Larson to fire shots at her house while she was there alone. The evil Cathy made the arrangement using the cell phone of Erica Tanner, Cole's former secretary/mistress and current girlfriend, and hired Van due to him living in Burgin, Kentucky (Erica's home town).
Cathy's plot succeeded, with Erica being arrested under suspicion of orchestrating the murder attempt and her arrest in turn jeopardizing Cole's bid for custody. But ultimately, Cole's lawyer Roy Rayder discovered security footage of Cathy at a Burgin gas station three weeks prior, confronting Cathy with the evidence when she took the stand. Roy also revealed how Van had been instructed to start firing at Cathy when a lamp in the parlor window was turned on, exposing how Cathy had been the true mastermind behind the shooting. After Roy accused Cathy of orchestrating the plot to get revenge on Erica, Cathy confessed, bemoaning the pressure she felt to present her life as being perfect and stating that she'd just wanted her family back. As a result, custody of Marshall was rewarded to Cole, with Cathy's lawyer Jamie Sawyer informing Cathy that she would have to find a different attorney before she was taken under arrest.
==Trivia==
*Sunny Mabrey also appeared on The Librarians as the evil Fortuna, 2005's xXx: State of the Union as villainess Charlie Mayweather, 2013's The Trainer as the psychotic Rachel Sullivan, and the 2017 short film Ding Dong Ditch as an unnamed vengeful villainess.
==Quotes==
*"You don't understand. You don't know what it's like, in a town like this, with all these people looking at you and thinking that you're perfect. And then, it all disappears, and you're all by yourself, and you've just got this little boy looking at you, wondering why his daddy isn't living at home anymore! I just....wanted my family back. I just wanted my life back." (Cathy revealing her motivation for staging the murder attempt against herself and framing Erica Tanner)
==Gallery==
Cathy Benjamin villainous reveal.png|Cathy during her villainous reveal
Category:2010s
Category:Blonde
Category:Conspirator
Category:Deceiver
Category:Hero's Lover
Category:Live Action Villainess
Category:Mother
Category:Villainous Reveal
Category:Fate: Arrested