Chapter 8
Holly Price surrendered her phone after the plant placed her on administrative leave.
She initially denied the affair.
Then denied knowing Colin could walk.
Then said she believed his improvements were medically inconsistent and temporary.
The hotel footage made that claim difficult.
Her messages made it impossible.
COLIN: Ran three miles. Leg numb after.
HOLLY: Don’t brag. You’re supposed to be permanently disabled.
COLIN: Only until mediation.
Another:
HOLLY: Natalie paid Patricia again.
COLIN: Good.
HOLLY: You don’t feel guilty?
COLIN: She’ll get half my settlement if we’re still married.
HOLLY: Not after we move it.
Holly had used her plant access to monitor the insurance investigation.
She alerted Colin whenever surveillance teams were scheduled.
She changed the address for independent medical examination notices.
She helped create letters suggesting the plant had admitted permanent disability.
The plant had admitted no such thing.
Investigators found a more serious issue.
Before the platform collapse, an employee reported that a locking pin had become unreliable.
Holly received the maintenance request.
She postponed service because Colin needed the platform operational during a production audit.
The accident occurred six days later.
Colin knew Holly had delayed the repair.
That evidence strengthened his legitimate negligence claim.
It also implicated both of them in workplace-safety violations.
After the accident, Holly deleted scheduling notes showing Colin had pressured her to keep the platform open.
They feared the evidence might reduce his recovery by establishing comparative fault and threaten their jobs.
The fraud grew from that first deletion.
If they concealed the maintenance decision, why not conceal recovery?
If Colin’s claim already depended on a partial lie, why not enlarge it?
Every step made the next one easier.
The plant accepted responsibility for its own failures.
It did not excuse Colin’s later fraud.
The maintenance contractor had also missed an inspection.
Multiple parties contributed to the accident.
None of that gave Colin permission to pretend he remained paralyzed.
Holly entered a cooperation agreement.
She admitted:
Deleting workplace records.
Helping conceal Colin’s recovery.
Creating shell-account documents.
Transmitting false medical invoices.
Participating in the affair.
The affair itself was not criminal.
The money and records were.
Her cooperation reduced the charges she faced.
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It did not save her job.
The plant terminated her after completing its internal process.
