Chapter 15 - Corinne's First Honest Sentence
Corinne spent six days avoiding mirrors.
It wasn't vanity.
She simply couldn't stand looking at herself.
She had rented a small apartment through her attorney, who advised her to keep a low profile and refrain from discussing the case.
For the first time in years, no staff members brought her breakfast.
Nobody arranged her appointments.
Nobody asked whether she wanted fresh flowers.
She washed her own coffee cup.
She listened to the refrigerator hum.
She thought about Junie.
Not constantly.
That would have been unbearable.
Instead, the memory returned in pieces.
The child's yellow dress.
Her puzzled face.
The force of Corinne's hands.
And the moment after the fall when Junie had looked up, expecting help.
Corinne had stepped backward.
That was the part she couldn't forgive herself for.
Her attorney, Daniel Price, arrived on Thursday afternoon.
He was fifty-eight, patient, and blunt in a way Corinne found deeply irritating.
“Detective Sloan wants another interview.”
Corinne stared at him.
“I've already talked to her.”
“She has additional questions.”
“About what?”
“The yacht's safety configuration. Your communications with Graham. The photographs you sent Junie.”
Corinne looked down.
Daniel watched her.
“You understand that sending that package was a terrible decision.”
“I wanted to apologize.”
“Then an apology through counsel would've been appropriate. A photograph of the place where she almost died was not.”
“I didn't think.”
“That seems to be a recurring problem.”
Corinne glared.
“Are you always this comforting?”
“No. Sometimes I charge extra.”
Despite herself, she almost smiled.
Daniel sat opposite her.
“We need to talk about what happened on the bow.”
“I've told you.”
“You told me you tried to stop her from falling.”
“Yes.”
He looked at her.
“Corinne.”
She stared at the floor.
Daniel waited.
It was a long silence.
Then she whispered, “I pushed her.”
He didn't react dramatically.
“Tell me what happened.”
Corinne's hands trembled.
“I was angry. She kept asking about her father. I said something awful.”
“What?”
She swallowed.
“I called her a bastard.”
Daniel closed his eyes briefly.
“Go on.”
“She looked scared. She said she wanted Adrian.”
“And?”
“I pushed her.”
“Did you intend to send her over the edge?”
Corinne began crying.
“I don't know.”
He leaned forward.
“It's important that you tell me exactly what you remember, including what you were thinking at the time.”
“I wanted her away from me. I wanted her to stop looking at me.”
“Did you know the edge was behind her?”
Corinne couldn't answer.
Daniel waited.
Finally, she nodded.
“Yes.”
The room became very quiet.
He took a breath.
“And after she fell?”
“I heard her scream.”
“Did you try to help?”
Corinne shook her head.
“Why not?”
She covered her mouth.
“Because I was afraid.”
“Afraid of falling yourself?”
“No.”
Daniel waited.
Corinne's voice broke.
“Afraid she'd tell Adrian.”
Her attorney sat back.
He did not tell her everything would be fine.
He did not tell her she was a good person who'd made a mistake.
He simply said, “That is a very serious admission.”
“I know.”
“You have the right not to make statements to investigators. We need to discuss your options, and you must not destroy or alter any evidence.”
Corinne wiped her face.
“Graham has a video.”
Daniel looked up.
“What video?”
“From two weeks before the party.”
She told him about the meeting on the bow.
How Graham had insisted they inspect the location for a promotional photograph.
How Nathan had argued about removing the safety stanchions.
How Corinne had asked why the guests needed to stay at the stern.
Daniel listened without interrupting.
When she finished, he asked, “Did Graham tell you to push Junie?”
“No.”
“Did he tell you to hurt her?”
“No.”
“Then why were you discussing the bow?”
Corinne hesitated.
“Because he said Adrian needed to be distracted while the company transaction went through.”
Daniel frowned.
“Distracted how?”
Corinne stared at him.
“That was the part he never explained.”
She looked down at her hands.
“I thought he meant a scandal. Something embarrassing. Something Adrian would spend days cleaning up.”
“And you agreed?”
“I was supposed to start an argument. Nathan would photograph it. Graham said he could use it to pressure Adrian into signing a settlement that would make the family trusts easier to restructure.”
Daniel's face tightened.
“What settlement?”
Corinne shook her head.
“I never saw one.”
She looked toward the window.
“Then I lost my temper. And Junie went over.”
Daniel sat silently for several seconds.
Finally, he asked, “Does anyone else know about that meeting?”
“Graham. Nathan. Me.”
“And the video?”
“Graham recorded it.”
Daniel rose.
“We need to preserve what you have and determine how to approach investigators through the proper channels.”
Corinne stared at him.
“Are you going to tell me I'm going to prison?”
“I'm going to tell you that a child could have died.”
She began crying again.
Daniel picked up his briefcase.
“And I'm going to ask you something you should've asked yourself on that boat.”
Corinne looked up.
“What's that?”
“If Junie hadn't screamed for her father, what would you have done?”
Corinne opened her mouth.
May you like
No words came.
For the first time, she didn't have a lie ready.
