Chapter 22 - Jenna Makes the Second Cut Again
Howard Pike denied everything.
The recording was fabricated.
The investigation was political.
Raymond Voss was a criminal liar.
Vincent Marino was using prosecutors to protect his failing leadership.
His attorney delivered every sentence with impressive confidence.
Then prosecutors authenticated the audio.
Howard stopped giving interviews.
The shareholder vote was postponed.
Federal investigators obtained warrants for his offices and home.
Raymond remained missing.
Jenna’s shop remained closed.
Insurance would cover much of the damage, but repairs required permits, estimates, and patience.
Jenna hated patience.
She began working temporarily in the back room of Sofia Valli’s tailoring shop.
Arturo sat near the window most afternoons.
His speech remained limited after the stroke, but his eyes missed nothing.
One rainy Tuesday, Sofia brought in a box investigators had returned.
“Old Marino samples,” she explained. “My uncle kept them.”
Inside were fabric books, pattern pieces, collar canvases, and discarded prototype linings from Vincent’s suits.
Jenna almost refused to touch them.
Then Arturo tapped one folder.
Three times.
“Important?” she asked.
He nodded.
Jenna opened it.
A black collar sample lay inside.
She recognized the construction immediately.
One of the hidden support prototypes.
Beneath it was a pattern sheet marked with measurements.
Vincent’s measurements.
But another paper had been stitched to the back.
Not stapled.
Stitched.
Jenna reached for tiny scissors.
Arturo made a sound.
She looked at him.
“Open?”
He nodded.
Sofia leaned closer.
Jenna cut the thread.
The paper unfolded.
It was not a tailoring note.
It was a copy of a contract amendment.
Marino Protective Services and Voss Consulting.
The language authorized Raymond to conduct “discreet intervention measures” for acquisition, labor, and executive security matters.
The signature page was missing.
But a handwritten note appeared in the margin.
D refuses formal signature. Says V can approve during incapacitation periods. R wants written leverage.
Jenna stared.
“D is Dominic?”
Arturo nodded.
“R is Raymond?”
Another nod.
Vincent arrived thirty minutes later with Elena.
The document did not absolve him.
It revealed architecture.
Dominic had apparently expanded Raymond’s authority during periods when Vincent was medically impaired.
Raymond demanded documentation.
Dominic resisted.
Both men understood the arrangement was dangerous.
Jenna placed the collar prototype beside the contract.
“The same people hiding things in your clothes were hiding authority in your company.”
Vincent looked at Arturo.
“Why sew it behind the pattern?”
Arturo struggled.
“Safe.”
Sofia translated his gestures.
“He thought Dominic searched files but wouldn’t care about old tailoring patterns.”
Vincent crouched beside him.
“You kept this for years.”
Arturo looked down.
“Coward.”
Vincent’s expression changed.
“No.”
Arturo’s eyes filled.
Vincent continued.
“You made choices you regret. So did I.”
Jenna watched him choose every word.
“Hiding evidence because you were afraid was wrong. Keeping it instead of destroying it mattered.”
Arturo breathed shakily.
The document gave prosecutors a new direction.
Corporate calendars showed multiple periods when Dominic exercised delegated authority.
Payments to Raymond increased during those same periods.
Some abusive actions aligned with Vincent’s direct approvals.
Others did not.
The truth became more complicated.
And therefore more believable.
The public preferred simple stories.
Monster billionaire.
Hero seamstress.
Evil brother.
Secret fixer.
Real life refused to remain that neat.
At home, Lily sat at the kitchen table creating a poster for Jenna’s reopening.
She drew a giant pair of scissors.
Vincent looked at it.
“Should I be concerned?”
“Yes,” Lily said. “Mom cuts things when men make trouble.”
Jenna nearly dropped a plate.
“Lily.”
“What? The suit. The paper.”
Vincent laughed so hard he had to sit down.
Later, after Lily went upstairs, Jenna stood beside him at the sink.
“You realize she thinks scissors are a justice system.”
“Efficient.”
“Do not encourage her.”
He kissed her temple.
For a few seconds, life felt normal.
Then the doorbell rang.
Police stood outside.
They had found Raymond’s vehicle.
Abandoned beneath an overpass.
Inside was blood.
Enough to suggest injury.
But there was no body.
No phone.
No weapon.
Only a handwritten note on the passenger seat.
Vincent recognized Raymond’s writing.
You wanted the truth.
Now see what it costs when everyone tells it.
May you like
Beneath the note was an address.
Evelyn Calder’s address.
