Chapter 14 - The OfferBrooks called Blair that night.

Shah spoke to Corinne respectfully, never in the sing-song tone strangers sometimes used with older people. She explained what testimony could feel like: harsh questions, repeated details, delays. 'You can tell me when you need a break,' she said. Corinne nodded. 'And you can tell me if I'm wrong about something. I want the truth, not a story somebody polished for court.' Blair felt a surge of pride. The woman Nolan had dismissed as confused was negotiating her own role in the case. Her bruises were healing, but her anger had become something steadier: a decision to keep her own voice.

"Your father was a decent man," he said. "He didn't understand how many jobs depended on that contract."

"You mean how much money people stole."

"Careful. You have a distinguished career. Your mother is elderly. Nolan still loves you in his own way."

Blair recorded her account of the call immediately and sent the number to Ortiz.

"Are you threatening me?" she asked.

"I'm offering a quiet ending. Give back the clock and everything copied from it. I'll make sure your mother never has to take a witness stand."

"You don't get to speak for her."

Brooks sighed. "Arthur was stubborn too."

The line went dead.

At Dana's apartment, Corinne insisted on joining the meeting with Assistant U.S. Attorney Priya Shah the next morning. Shah explained that documents suggested procurement fraud and obstruction, but prosecutors would need authenticated records, witnesses, and careful separation of the assault from the older case.

"Do you want to testify?" Shah asked Corinne.

Corinne straightened. "I want to stop being told what I remember."

Blair nearly smiled.

Then Shah's assistant entered with an urgent note. A protective order requested against Nolan had been challenged. Nolan was alleging that Blair had coerced Corinne and fabricated her injuries to ruin him.

Attached was an affidavit from a medical professional claiming Corinne's bruises were more than a week old.

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The signature belonged to the nurse who had examined Corinne at the hospital.