Chapter 5
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Most folks just waved him off—they hadn't seen anything, didn't know anything. But his dogged persistence paid off. In the building across from Sarah's complex, he struck gold with an elderly woman sporting gray hair and reading glasses who proudly identified herself as a "neighborhood watch volunteer."
"Officer, I don't know that teacher who got hurt, but I remember a strange car that night," she recalled, adjusting her glasses. "Black sedan, expensive-looking. Not the kind we see in this neighborhood. Wasn't even in a proper spot—just lurking in the shadows by that corner streetlight. Stayed there for ages."
"Remember what time?" Ethan asked, pulse quickening.
"Must've been after midnight. Spotted it when I got up for my water. Can't recall exactly when, but that car—never seen it around here before, I'm certain of that."
A high-end black sedan where it didn't belong. The detail landed like a stone in still water, sending ripples across Ethan's investigation.
Meanwhile, in her Manhattan high-rise, Sophie waded through an ocean of data. She'd leveraged a complex legal maneuver to gain temporary access to Sarah Jenkins' financial records—all under the guise of building a thorough defense for her client.
She fed a year's worth of bank statements into her analysis software, the quiet office filled only with keyboard clicks and screen swipes. Initially, everything looked mundane. Sarah's finances read like any public school teacher's—regular salary deposits, predictable rent payments, utilities, credit card charges. Nothing unusual.
Until Sophie filtered for "large non-salary cash deposits." Then the anomaly jumped out.
Beginning six months back, on the fifteenth of each month, exactly ten thousand dollars in cash landed in Sarah's account. The source: "Brilliant Star Investment Ltd."
Sophie immediately ran the company through her firm's database. What she found made her frown.
A Cayman Islands shell company—textbook offshore setup. Nothing but a registered address and a proxy name. Why would an elementary school teacher receive regular payments from a shadowy offshore entity? Hush money? Extortion? Payment for illegal services?
Two separate leads from two different angles, both pointing to the same conclusion: Sarah Jenkins' life contained hidden depths.
That evening, they rendezvoused at their designated meeting spot—a 24-hour diner.
"Black sedan, likely German luxury," Ethan reported first.
"Cayman Islands shell company. Ten grand monthly deposits to Sarah's account for the past six months."
Sophie slid her tablet across the table, displaying the company details.
Their findings clicked together like puzzle pieces. Sarah Jenkins was entangled with someone wealthy and powerful—someone desperate to stay hidden. Whoever attacked her likely emerged from those shadows.
Ethan's eyes lit up. "Damn good work, counselor. I'll get a warrant to dig into this 'Brilliant Stars' outfit—trace their funding, background, everything."
But when Ethan eagerly presented his findings and investigation plan to Chief Marcus the next day, he slammed into a brick wall.
The atmosphere in Marcus's office was arctic. After hearing Ethan out, the Chief didn't offer the expected support. Instead, he crushed his cigar in the ashtray, face darkening.
"Ethan, we're done with this case."
"What?" Ethan couldn't believe what he was hearing. "We're just getting to the heart of it!"
"I said we're done!" Marcus's voice rose sharply. He stood and walked to the window, turning his back on Ethan. "Focus on Finch. Squeeze something out of him. That company is off-limits. Period."
"Why the hell not?!" Ethan's temper exploded. "You know damn well Finch has an alibi. That company is our key! What's got you spooked, Marcus? Who leaned on you?!"
Marcus whirled around, his eyes weary and defeated. "Yes, someone called! City Hall! They made it crystal clear that 'Brilliant Star' has connections—powerful people we can't touch. They want this wrapped up as a simple B&E, case closed! Get it through your head, Ethan—this isn't just an order, it's a warning! Our badges are on the line here!"
Ethan's heart plummeted. History repeating itself. His father's words echoed in his mind: "Street thugs we can handle—it's the ones in suits we can't touch." Once again, the fortress of money and power blocked the path to truth.
"So we just sit on our hands while a woman fights for her life in the hospital, and the real perp walks because they've got deep pockets?" Ethan's knuckles cracked as he clenched his fists.
"Welcome to the real world, Ethan!" Marcus roared. "Cool your jets!"
Ethan stormed out, slamming the door hard enough to rattle the glass. His chest burned with rage and impotence.
Only one person might help him now—Sophie.
That evening in Sophie's office, she listened to Ethan's story without batting an eye. She calmly walked to her bookshelf and pulled out a hefty tome—the New York State Criminal Procedure Code.
"They use power to lean on you? We'll use the law to push back," Sophie said, her voice quiet but steely. "Under Brady v. Maryland, prosecution must disclose all potentially exculpatory evidence to the defense. Sarah's mystery funds and these third-party threats directly support Arthur's innocence. If the police deliberately bury this lead, that's a serious procedural violation."
She quickly drafted a legal document—a "Motion for Compulsory Discovery"—formally demanding as Arthur's counsel that police thoroughly investigate Brilliant Star Investment and report all findings as potential exculpatory evidence.
"Give this to your boss," Sophie handed the document to Ethan. "This isn't some detective's wild hunch anymore—it's an official motion with legal teeth. He can brush off your hunches, but he can't ignore something that could land on a judge's desk tomorrow. You've just given him cover—a legitimate reason to keep digging."
Ethan stared at the document, then at Sophie's eyes gleaming with intelligence in the soft light. The frustration in his chest melted away. He wasn't fighting alone anymore. Their partnership was perfect—him pushing from inside the system, her providing legal cover from outside.
"Thanks, Sophie," he said, meaning it.
That night, neither rushed to leave. With the immediate crisis handled, a rare moment of calm settled over the office.
They ordered Chinese, sprawled on her office couch, and for the first time, talked about things that had nothing to do with the case.
"So why law?" Ethan asked, gazing at the city lights beyond the window.
"Because I hate losing," Sophie replied, sipping her coffee. "Grew up in a family where boys got all the glory. No matter what I achieved, it was never enough. So I promised myself I'd become stronger than anyone—strong enough to use the system to protect people who matter, and shut down the self-righteous bastards who think they're above the rules." Her voice was steady, but Ethan caught the steel beneath it.
Ethan was quiet for a moment before opening up. For the first time, he shared his father's story with an outsider—not just the sacrifice, but the lessons: compassion for everyday people, refusing to compromise with evil, and the crushing helplessness when facing the powerful.
"I became a cop because I couldn't stand feeling that powerless," he said, staring at his hands. "I wanted to drag those bastards to justice myself, no matter who they were."
In the deep night, beneath Manhattan's constellation of lights, a cop and a lawyer—natural adversaries—glimpsed beneath each other's armor and found hearts beating to the same rhythm: justice. They shared scars and obsessions, and something beyond professional respect—something deeper—began to take root.
The space between them, in that moment, all but vanished.
Sophie's legal motion worked like a skeleton key, forcing open the locked doors of Brilliant Star. Bound by legal obligation, Chief Marcus had no choice but to green-light Ethan's investigation—though he looked like he'd just bitten into something rotten.
