Chapter 15 - What Corinne Was Supposed to DoCorinne stopped protecting Marcus on a Thursday afternoon.
Not because she suddenly became brave.
Because Marcus threatened her father.
The message arrived through an encrypted app.
Raymond should be careful reopening old matters. People his age don’t handle stress well.
Corinne read it three times.
Then called Vanessa.
“I want to cooperate.”
Vanessa was silent.
“Fully?”
“Yes.”
“That could increase your exposure.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.”
Corinne looked around the house where she had once imagined raising children.
“I pushed Junie. I can’t bargain that into something prettier.”
Vanessa arrived with an investigator.
Detective Ortiz came an hour later.
The interview lasted nearly five hours.
“What was Marcus’s plan?” Ortiz asked.
Corinne rubbed her palms against her jeans.
“He said Adrian needed pressure.”
“What kind?”
“Emotional.”
“Specific.”
“He wanted Adrian convinced his personal life was becoming unstable.”
“For Northstar?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Stories. Arguments. Leaks.”
“Junie?”
Corinne hesitated.
“Marcus wanted me to make Adrian feel like he couldn’t protect everything.”
Ortiz’s voice sharpened.
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t know.”
“Yes, you do.”
Corinne looked at Vanessa.
Vanessa said nothing.
Corinne exhaled.
“He suggested scares.”
“What kind of scares?”
“Junie wandering away at an event. A pool gate being left open.”
Ortiz stared at her.
“You discussed endangering a child.”
“I never did those things.”
“You discussed them.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Corinne’s eyes filled.
“Because every time he said something awful, he said it like a joke first.”
Ortiz remained still.
“That’s your explanation?”
“No.”
“Good.”
Corinne wiped her face.
“The yacht was supposed to be an argument.”
“With Adrian?”
“Yes. Marcus wanted me to provoke him where guests could hear. He wanted photos of us fighting.”
“But Adrian went inside.”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“Junie came over.”
“And?”
“I looked at her and…”
Corinne stopped.
Ortiz waited.
“I hated her.”
“Why?”
“Because she loved him.”
Ortiz’s expression changed slightly.
Corinne continued.
“She had the one thing I couldn’t fake.”
“What?”
“Belonging.”
The word hung there.
“I spent almost two years pretending to be part of Adrian’s family, and that little girl never had to earn it. She just was.”
Ortiz leaned back.
“So you punished her for being loved.”
Corinne cried.
“Yes.”
It was the first completely honest sentence she had spoken about the yacht.
No Marcus.
No forged trust.
No father.
No money.
She had pushed Junie because, in one monstrous second, Junie represented everything Corinne believed had been stolen from her.
“Did you intend for her to go over?”
Corinne swallowed.
“When I put my hands on her, I knew the edge was behind her.”
Vanessa closed her eyes.
Ortiz said quietly, “That matters.”
“I know.”
“Did you think she could die?”
“Yes.”
The room went still.
Corinne’s breathing became ragged.
“I hate that answer.”
Ortiz did not soften.
“But it’s the answer.”
“Yes.”
Later, Corinne surrendered the remaining devices Marcus had given her.
One contained cached authentication tokens.
Another contained a hidden folder.
Inside were partial copies of Brooks Marine documents.
And one audio file.
Corinne had forgotten it existed.
Months earlier, she had tested a phone recorder before meeting Marcus because she feared he would deny promising her payment.
The test had kept running in her purse.
The recording lasted twenty-seven minutes.
Most of it was muffled restaurant noise.
Then Marcus’s voice became clear.
If Brooks gets rattled enough, the board will move.
Corinne replied:
And the trust?
Don’t worry about the trust. If the girl is out of the picture, Adrian controls everything.
What does “out of the picture” mean?
Marcus laughed.
Jesus, Corinne. I’m talking about custody chaos. Don’t be dramatic.
Then, later:
The camera issue is handled. Just make sure Adrian has the worst day of his life.
Not murder.
Not a direct order.
But knowledge.
Preparation.
Manipulation.
Ortiz listened twice.
Then asked, “Why didn’t you give us this before?”
Corinne stared at the table.
“Because it proves I knew the camera would be off.”
“Yes.”
“And because I kept hoping there was a version of this where I wasn’t who I am.”
Ortiz stopped the recording.
“There isn’t.”
Corinne nodded.
She deserved that.
But the detective continued.
“There can still be a version where you stop making it worse.”
May you like
For the first time since the yacht, Corinne did not ask what she could get in return.
She simply said, “Tell me what you need.”
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