That alone didn’t prove she’d poisoned the wine.
But it contradicted her initial statement that she’d remained with Celeste throughout the evening.
After further interviews and examination of additional records, Lydia acknowledged that she’d handled the bottle at Celeste’s request.
Through her attorney, she later provided information about communications surrounding the dinner.
Investigators examined those accounts alongside the forensic findings and other evidence.
Meanwhile, Dominic’s independent corporate review established that the English summary of the Italian annotation had been materially altered before the dinner.
Arthur Keene’s office had prepared that summary.
The internal records showed that Celeste had been involved in circulating the version presented to Dominic.
Arthur maintained that the wording resulted from an overly aggressive interpretation of the transaction’s status.
Celeste denied ordering anyone to poison her husband.
But the evidence continued to accumulate.
Eventually, prosecutors brought criminal charges arising from the attempted poisoning. Celeste and Lydia faced proceedings based on their alleged roles, while Arthur’s conduct concerning the documents became the subject of separate professional and legal scrutiny.
No verdict had been reached when I last spoke to Detective Morales.
I didn’t need to invent one.
The formal proceedings would determine what could be proved.
The twenty-six-million-dollar payment remained blocked pending the financial review, and Dominic replaced the advisers responsible for the disputed transaction.
Brenda Shaw, who had asked to examine the original correspondence at the dinner, cooperated with the review and provided records from her involvement.
Mr. Harlan kept his promise.
I wasn’t fired.
Antoine returned to work after giving his statement, although he said he’d never again dismiss an unusual detail about a bottle simply because a customer was impatient.
I understood.
I’d been learning the same lesson about documents.
Eleven days after the dinner, my mother’s rent was paid.
It wasn’t a miracle.
I worked every shift I could, used money I’d set aside for emergencies, and asked Ben to contribute what he could from his campus job.
He arranged a payment plan for his overdue tuition through the university.
We were still struggling.
But we were managing.
Several weeks later, I contacted the translation firm Dominic had mentioned.
I submitted my résumé.
