Chapter 5 - The Suit With the Hidden Pocket|
Sophia was discharged from intensive care four days later and moved to a private recovery room. She could walk a short distance with assistance, but lifting her right arm caused sharp pain. The doctors warned her that recovery would take time and that she must follow their instructions carefully.
Declan took the warning more seriously than she did.
He arranged for a physical therapist, a home nurse, and a specialist to review her treatment plan. He offered to pay for everything.
Sophia refused to let him take over without a conversation.
“I have insurance,” she told him.
“Your insurance won't cover every expense.”
“Then I'll discuss the difference with the hospital.”
“I can pay it.”
“I know you can. That isn't the point.”
He stood beside the window, hands in his pockets.
“What is the point?”
“The point is that you don't get to turn my life into another account you manage.”
Declan looked down.
“All right. We'll review the bills together, and you can decide what help you want.”
She studied him, suspicious of how quickly he had agreed.
“Are you feeling ill?”
“Apparently, I'm learning.”
“Terrifying.”
He brought her a bag of clothes from the tailor shop. Her coat had been damaged during the shooting, but he had found her favorite cardigan and the soft gray scarf she wore when working late.
He had also brought the unfinished suit.
Sophia stared at it.
“You brought work to the hospital?”
“I thought you'd want to see whether the fabric was damaged.”
She looked at him.
“Declan, I was shot.”
“I remember.”
“And you thought I'd want to inspect a jacket?”
“You told me the suit was important.”
She tried not to smile.
“It is. The shoulders were nearly perfect.”
“Nearly?”
“You're very difficult to fit.”
He placed the garment carefully across a chair.
Sophia examined the jacket from where she sat. Something looked wrong with the lining near the inside pocket. She asked Declan to bring it closer.
He did.
“Turn it around.”
He obeyed.
“There.” She pointed with her left hand. “That seam isn't mine.”
Declan's face changed.
“What do you mean?”
“I always use a double stitch on the inner pocket. This one has been opened and resewn.”
He called Marcus.
Within minutes, the room was secured, and a police technician was contacted. Sophia watched as the lining was carefully examined. Hidden between two layers of fabric was a thin envelope sealed with clear tape.
Declan didn't touch it.
The technician photographed the jacket, removed the envelope, and opened it under supervision.
Inside was a small memory card and a folded sheet of paper.
The paper contained a list of shipping dates and warehouse numbers. Some entries were circled. Others had been crossed out.
Sophia recognized one number.
It belonged to a storage facility near the river, where Declan's company kept archived tailoring invoices for its executive offices.
“This isn't a tailoring record,” she said.
“No,” Declan replied. “It isn't.”
The memory card contained a short video recorded in a warehouse. Two men stood beside a stack of crates. One was Raymond Kessler, the man associated with the wolf ring.
The other was Declan's cousin, Adrian Moretti.
Sophia looked at Declan.
“You know him?”
“He's my cousin.”
“Are you close?”
“Not anymore.”
The video showed Adrian handing Kessler a folder. Their conversation was muffled, but one sentence could be heard clearly.
“When Moretti is gone, the company will be mine.”
Declan watched the screen without moving.
Sophia understood then that the shooting had not been a random attack or merely an old enemy seeking revenge.
Someone inside Declan's own family wanted him dead.
And someone had hidden the evidence in the one place they thought no one would search: a suit made for the man they intended to kill.
Marcus replayed the video.
At the end, Kessler turned toward the camera as if he knew it was there.
He smiled.
Then he raised his hand.
The silver wolf ring caught the light.
The footage ended with Adrian speaking directly to the person filming.
“Make sure the girl gets it to him.”
Sophia felt the blood drain from her face.
Declan turned slowly toward her.
“They knew you had the evidence.”
She swallowed.
“Then why shoot at you?”
His expression darkened.
“Because they expected you to stay out of the way.”
May you like
Sophia looked at the bandage on her shoulder.
“They expected wrong.”
