The Daily Mail also published claims by another young women who was involved with Giuffre and Maxwell that the photo was a fake made in photoshop.
Perhaps neither side had the evidence they claimed and paying some cash let the attorneys pocket their share and everyone else just move along.
On the other hand: Maybe she was bluffing about not having the photo. Let’s this get resolved sooner, but .... You ever heard of “Don’t bet on a sure thing”?