Chapter 9 - The Night Corinne Lied About
Corinne had told Ethan she spent that night at her apartment.
Phone records disagreed.
Her phone went offline at 11:21 p.m.
Back online at 12:37 a.m.
Her apartment building camera showed her leaving at 10:58.
Returning at 1:04.
Rebecca brought the records to Ethan.
His stomach turned.
“That’s not proof she touched the car.”
“No.”
Rebecca never let him skip that distinction.
It kept him sane.
They needed evidence.
The hooded person on camera had worn narrow black heels.
Corinne owned dozens.
Meaningless by itself.
Then investigators enhanced the movement pattern.
The person favored the left leg slightly.
Corinne had injured her left ankle months earlier.
Still circumstantial.
Ethan called her.
Rebecca recorded with consent.
Corinne answered angrily.
“You’ve turned my life into an investigation.”
“Where were you the night before Natalie died?”
“At home.”
“That’s not true.”
Silence.
“Your building camera shows you leaving.”
“I went for a drive.”
“Where?”
“I don’t remember.”
“You remember Natalie was unstable. You remember her threatening the family. You remember every reason I shouldn’t trust her—but not where you drove?”
Corinne snapped.
“I went to your house.”
Ethan stopped breathing.
Rebecca’s eyes sharpened.
“Why?”
“I wanted to talk to Natalie.”
“At midnight?”
“She wasn’t answering me.”
“Did you touch her car?”
“No.”
“Did you go near it?”
Silence.
“Corinne?”
“I checked whether she was home.”
“How?”
“I looked at the driveway.”
“Did you enter the property?”
“No.”
Ethan looked at the footage.
The hooded figure had entered through the side gate.
Corinne was lying again.
He changed direction.
“What were you trying to stop Natalie from doing?”
Corinne’s voice became very quiet.
“She was going to ruin everything.”
“Meaning what?”
“She was going to accuse me.”
“Of forgery?”
Pause.
“Among other things.”
Ethan leaned forward.
“What other things?”
Corinne immediately realized the mistake.
“I’m done.”
The call ended.
Rebecca saved the recording.
That evening Maisie refused to sleep alone.
Ethan lay beside her crib until her breathing slowed.
Then he noticed her stuffed rabbit on the floor.
Something hard pressed beneath the repaired seam.
He opened it carefully.
A tiny memory card fell into his hand.
The key had not been the only thing Natalie hid.
Rebecca came back immediately.
They accessed the card on an offline computer.
One folder.
NATALIE — CAR.
Inside were photographs.
Brake fluid beneath the vehicle.
A damaged line.
And one short video.
Natalie’s voice:
May you like
“If anything happens before I get this checked, Corinne was here tonight.”
Ethan’s entire body went cold.
