Hired for secrets

Our new case

A happy ending was in Sofie and Phil's reach but then everything became unravelled. Lee tracked them down. Forced Phil back into his old life. Ripping them apart. In one ill-fated heartbeat, Phil wasn't fighting for his freedom anymore but his life, taking a bullet that was meant for Sofie. Tears welled in Sofie's eyes. It was 4 months ago but it felt like yesterday.

"Here it is! Hot off the press." Rachel stormed into the kitchen with Sofie's story in the World Times. "Secrets and corruption in high-finance turn deadly, by Sofia Black."

Sofie smiled weakly and wiped the tears from the corner of her eye. Under all the layers of sadness and guilt, she was proud of the article. It was her most in-depth exposé yet, revealing Kerry's crimes and unmasking her killer. But writing everything up made it painfully obvious how avoidable the sad outcome would have been. She was close to the truth so many times. If only she had kept digging a little deeper, been more persistent, she could have stopped Kerry, Lee, and herself from hurting people. From hurting Phil.

"Oh this is good," Rachel pointed to the section titled 'The murder of the murderer'. She started reading out loud, "Tequan Lee, a UK businessman and chairperson of finance and insurance companies, ordered the murder of MP Kerry that weakened the government's ability to regulate the financial system. A witness confirmed that Lee hired James Yates, a former guard at the facility where MP Kerry was found dead in June. Traces of the nerve agent used in the assassination was found in Yates's cellar. However, Yates and his accomplice will not be answering for their crimes. They were found shot dead at a south London residence, in what was likely an argument gone wrong. The private cell phone signal of Lee himself was traced back to the crime scene."

Sofie winced. Writing had never been her strong suit but it brought the information across. And it had been a complex plot. Untangling the connections and finding the airtight evidence that led to Lee's arrest, had been challenging. Not because Lee was careful. His too-big-to-sink attitude made him sloppy. But finding witnesses who were willing to testify against him took Sofie almost 3 months.

"I love this part..." Rachel held up the concluding paragraph of her article. "Kerry's murder was a heinous crime, born out of greed and calculated self-interest. But even worse was that it prevented justice from being served. Kerry died before she could be convicted as one of the most corrupt politicians of our time. Instead, Lee's conviction will have to serve as its proxy in demonstrating that no one is above the law." Rachel smiled at Sofie. "Intense words."

"Well, Kerry would have been the trial of the decade, showing that power and influence does not keep you out of jail." Sofie paused before adding," everyone has to take responsibility for their mistakes."

"You did not mention Phil in the article." Rachel knew that Sofie was referring to her own mistakes, but had refused to talk about this sore topic in the past.

"There was no need. The police dropped all charges against him."

"You never really told me what happened after you asked me for Ashley Kang-Jal's number that night."

Sofie sighed, it was painful to recall the phone call she had to make.

"I told her where the ambulance was taking Phil and that she was the only one able to protect him now."

"And? What did she say? Did she help?"

"Yes."

Sofie felt red hot jealousy flame up in her. She had to give him up, because she failed to keep him safe. With life-threatening injuries she simply did not have the resources to protect him from Lee's reach. But Ashely could, he was safe with her.

"Have you spoken to him since?"

"He disappeared from the hospital that night."

"So he... died," Rachel asked cautiously, unsure whether the word would spook Sofie into shutting down.