Chapter 5
The documents revealed that Evelyn had been involved in a dispute with Westbridge Automotive long before the crash.
Not about her own vehicle.
About a fleet contract.
One of the Montelli family's legitimate transportation companies had leased luxury vehicles for executive travel.
Westbridge maintained part of that fleet.
Evelyn had served on the company's safety committee.
She was meticulous.
She questioned invoices.
She asked why inspections were signed off without complete test records.
She pushed for outside reviews when maintenance reports appeared inconsistent.
Six months before her death, a company driver reported intermittent brake-assistance warnings in one vehicle.
Westbridge cleared it for service.
Two weeks later, another driver reported a similar warning.
Evelyn requested the underlying diagnostic records.
Westbridge supplied summaries.
She asked for the raw records.
They delayed.
Then she learned that several vehicles had been released after inspections recorded under a technician's credentials while that technician was on leave.
That was a serious problem.
It could indicate sloppy administration.
Or falsified safety work.
Evelyn refused to ignore it.
She contacted an outside consultant.
Vale Risk Advisory.
The consultant assigned to the matter was Corinne's brother, Nathan Vale.
Rebecca found his name on the engagement letter.
Nathan had been retained to review the fleet's maintenance compliance.
Instead, Evelyn began suspecting that he was protecting Westbridge.
In an email to Rebecca, Evelyn wrote:
Nathan keeps treating the missing records as clerical errors. I don't believe he has reviewed the original diagnostic files.
A week later, she terminated Vale Risk Advisory's engagement.
Nathan disputed the termination.
He claimed Evelyn was making unsupported accusations that could damage Westbridge's business.
Then came the charity luncheon.
The same luncheon where Daphne had seen Evelyn speaking with Corinne.
A calendar entry showed that Corinne attended as Nathan's guest.
Alistair looked at the date.
Three months before Evelyn died.
“What did Corinne want?”
Rebecca found a note Evelyn had written after the event.
Nathan sent his sister to ask me to stop. She said the family would regret turning a technical dispute into a public scandal.
Alistair's face hardened.
Corinne had known Evelyn.
She had confronted her.
And she had concealed both facts while building a relationship with Evelyn's widower.
But Rebecca stopped him before he reached for his phone.
“Knowing her is not proof she caused the crash.”
“I know.”
“We need to keep those questions separate.”
Alistair nodded.
Then he asked:
“Why would she marry me if she knew all this?”
May you like
Rebecca looked at the documents.
“That may be the most important question we haven't answered.”
