Chapter 4 - The Watch Holds Another Secret
Adrian examined James’s pocket watch again.
He pressed the crown.
Nothing happened.
Then he ran his thumbnail beneath the back plate.
A hidden compartment opened.
Inside was a microSD card.
I stared.
“I didn’t know.”
Adrian believed me.
Or at least he did not accuse me.
We did not insert it into an ordinary computer.
Adrian brought in a digital-forensics specialist.
I insisted on being present.
The card contained photographs, shipping manifests, and voice memos.
James had been investigating theft inside Cole Logistics.
Someone was rerouting high-value cargo through shell carriers and
blaming rival crews.
One file contained a name.
Victor Sloane.
Adrian’s chief operating officer.
The man who had stood beside Adrian at James’s funeral.
Adrian read the name twice.
Then whispered:
“No.”
I knew that tone.
May you like
It was not denial.
It was grief beginning again.
