Chapter 6
Corinne's attorney denied that she had entered the relationship for any improper purpose.
He acknowledged that she had met Evelyn at the charity luncheon.
He said Corinne barely remembered the conversation.
He also insisted that Nathan's work for Westbridge had nothing to do with Evelyn's death.
Rebecca requested Corinne's communications from the period before she met Alistair.
The first response was limited.
Several messages had been deleted.
Others remained in cloud backups.
Meanwhile, the crash reconstruction specialist completed his preliminary review.
Thomas Avery found no reliable basis to conclude Evelyn's vehicle had been deliberately sabotaged.
He did, however, identify a serious unresolved question.
The original service record contained a diagnostic warning related to the vehicle's electronic stability system.
The final record marked the warning resolved.
There was no supporting test log proving the repair or verification had been completed.
Thomas explained:
“That doesn't mean someone caused the crash intentionally.”
“What does it mean?” Alistair asked.
“It means we cannot confidently say the vehicle was in the condition the final service report claimed.”
Rebecca asked whether the warning could have contributed to the loss of control.
“Potentially. But the crash damage and missing data limit what we can prove.”
Alistair listened.
He had spent four years imagining a reckless driver.
Now he had to consider that Evelyn might have died in a vehicle released without proper verification.
The distinction mattered.
One was tragedy.
The other might involve preventable negligence.
But neither automatically meant murder.
Then Daniel found a second connection.
Corinne had visited the Montelli family estate twice before she officially met Alistair.
Both visits occurred while Evelyn was alive.
She entered as a guest of Nathan during business receptions.
Her name appeared in the visitor logs.
Alistair had no memory of her.
The estate hosted hundreds of people.
Corinne had been one of them.
Daphne remembered seeing her once near Evelyn's office.
She could not say what Corinne had been doing.
Then an old staff member recalled something else.
After Evelyn's death, Nathan contacted the estate asking whether any of Evelyn's business records needed to be returned to Westbridge.
The request was refused.
Months later, Corinne appeared at a charity fundraiser and introduced herself to Alistair.
He had believed it was their first meeting.
For him, it was.
For Corinne, it was not.
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She knew exactly who he was.
And she knew what Evelyn had been investigating.
