Chapter 12 - THE SECRET STITCHED INTO THE SILK
Ava had treasured the emerald gown because she believed it was her mother's last unfinished creation.
Now Eleanor was telling her the dress had been designed for an escape.
“Why would you sew a key into it?” Ava asked.
Eleanor touched the damaged hem.
“Because I knew Richard searched my office. I needed somewhere he would never think to look.”
She carefully examined the remaining fabric.
Then she noticed a narrow line of unusually tight stitching near the inside lining.
“Here.”
Ava brought her sewing kit.
Her hands trembled as she slipped a seam ripper beneath the thread.
One stitch.
Then another.
A tiny folded envelope appeared inside the silk.
Ava held her breath.
Eleanor opened it.
Inside was a miniature memory card wrapped in waxed paper.
Niko immediately asked Dante to arrange a forensic copy so the original could be preserved.
An hour later, they watched the recovered footage on a secured laptop.
The video showed a hospital corridor.
The timestamp matched the night of Eleanor's accident.
Victoria Whitmore stood beside a physician.
Richard stood near the elevator.
His voice was unmistakable.
“She can't remember anything. That's what we're paying for.”
The physician looked uncomfortable.
“She needs proper medical care.”
Victoria stepped forward.
“She'll receive whatever care is necessary to keep her quiet.”
Ava felt Eleanor's hand tighten around hers.
On the screen, Richard opened a folder.
“If Eleanor returns home, everything we've taken will be exposed.”
Victoria replied coldly.
“Then Eleanor isn't coming home.”
The recording continued.
A second camera angle showed Thomas Vale signing hospital transfer documents.
He was younger, but clearly recognizable.
Then a nurse stepped into view.
Margaret Ellis.
She questioned the transfer.
Thomas ordered her away.
Ava stared at the screen.
“That proves they took you.”
Samuel nodded.
“It is compelling evidence. Combined with the medical records, financial transfers, and witness testimony, it gives prosecutors a much stronger case.”
Eleanor wiped her cheeks.
“I made that copy after I briefly regained access to my belongings several years ago. A sympathetic nurse helped me send it to the old studio. I thought it had been destroyed.”
Ava looked at the dress.
“How did it get into the lining?”
Eleanor shook her head.
“I don't know.”
Niko considered the question.
“Someone must have recovered it from the studio and hidden it in the gown.”
Then Dante entered.
“Boss. Thomas Vale contacted the district attorney's office.”
Niko turned.
“What does he want?”
“Protection in exchange for testimony.”
“Does he have Bianca?”
“Yes. She's with him at an attorney's office. Police have confirmed she's safe.”
Ava exhaled.
Dante continued.
“Thomas claims Victoria ordered him to destroy the original hospital recording.”
Eleanor looked down at the memory card.
“And he didn't.”
“No,” Dante said.
“Why?”
Dante's expression darkened.
“Because he says Richard Whitmore was planning to kill Victoria next.”
Ava looked toward Niko.
For the first time, the two people who had destroyed her childhood were turning against each other.
But neither of them understood the most dangerous secret had already been discovered.
Thomas had handed prosecutors another document.
A signed statement identifying the person who ordered Eleanor's car forced off the road.
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And the name on that statement was not Victoria.
It was Richard Whitmore.
