Toby the Fashion Critic
As the plaintiff in Tina’s case, Sonia had the right to know everything that was happening to Tina. That
was why the police immediately called to let her know about it after they found out Tina killed herself.
“Tina is dead?” Sonia mumbled in disbelief.
Tom’s jaw dropped. “What? She killed herself? That’s just…”
Toby took Sonia’s phone. “Why did she kill herself?”
Teddy recognized Toby’s voice, and he answered, “We’re still looking into it. It happened very suddenly,
so nobody knows why. The only guess we have now is that she’s trying to avoid prison. Tomorrow’s her
last day of house arrest, so that’s probably why. However…”
“This guess is probably wrong,” Toby finished his sentence.
Teddy nodded. “Yes. If she’s really trying to avoid prison, she wouldn’t have waited until now to kill
herself. She would have done it as soon as she was placed under house arrest. But that’s what we can
work with now. We’re still looking into this.”
“I see. We’ll be right there.” Toby hung up and handed the phone back to Sonia.
Sonia took the phone dumbly. “Tina killed herself?” Apparently, she was still in shock.
Toby patted her head. “Yes.”
Her lips trembled, but she said nothing. Her mind was raging and impossible to calm, for she could not
believe Tina had died just like that. Sonia bit her lip.
Toby said nothing. To be honest, he never thought Tina would commit suicide. It caught everyone by
surprise, and he had a feeling the suicide wasn’t as simple as it looked. First, the timing wasn’t right,
and the reason was too outlandish. Couple that together, and that would be a recipe for a mystery. But
I’ll have to take a look for myself to find out.
“Let’s go. This is no laughing matter. You’re the plaintiff, so you must know what’s going on as well.”
Toby tipped her chin up gently.
Sonia looked at him. “Okay.”
Toby retracted his hand. “Drive,” he told Tom.
Tom nodded. “Yes, sir!”
They got into the car and went to First World Hospital. Nobody said anything on the way, and the
atmosphere was depressingly somber. Tina’s suicide was too shocking for them, making it impossible
for them to calm down.
Tom drove fast, so they reached the hospital in less than half an hour.
Before they got out of the car, Sonia realized that there were a few police cars outside the hospital. The
police officers stood in a line and cordoned off the area, prohibiting all but the patients requiring
immediate treatment from entering.
More than half of the people outside the cordoned-off area were reporters from Flashbang Media. They
raised their mics and cameras as they tried to breach the area. They tried to push the police officers
away so they could get exclusive news.
Sonia squinted. So the news has spread. It’s probably going viral on the Internet as we speak. Just
then, she felt something covering her head, and she touched it. “A hat?”
“Yes. It’ll cover you up a little. If those reporters see you later, they’re going to surround you and
bombard you with questions.” Toby covered her up with a jacket.
It wasn’t the one he was wearing. The jacket was already in the car all this time just in case he needed
a spare, and now it was put to good use.
Sonia looked at the jacket and fidgeted. “I’m fine with the hat, but not the jacket.”
“Just wear it,” Toby interrupted imperiously. He pressed the jacket down on her tightly so she wouldn’t
shake it off. “It’s freezing out there. You can’t just walk around in a dress.”
“Oh.” Sonia finally realized something important—it was nearly zero degrees out there. Earlier, she
didn’t feel cold just wearing a dress because there were heaters installed in the car and the old manor.
Naturally, she had forgotten that it was winter. If she actually went out in her dress, she’d freeze to
death. “You can let go. I’ll wear it,” she muttered awkwardly.
Toby laid his hands off her happily.
She stuck her arms into the sleeves and wore the jacket. It was oversized and reached the top of her
knees. Coupled with the long sleeves, it made her look like a child who was wearing her parents’
clothes. She looked at herself and felt amused by the sight. “I think I can act in an opera now.”
“It is a little big.” Toby rubbed his chin while looking at her. After all, it was his jacket, so it was normal
that it would look big on her. “Stay put. I’ll handle this.” He took off his necktie with one hand.
Sonia was curious about that. “What are you trying to do?”
Toby didn’t answer. Instead, he wrapped the tie around her waist and pulled it tight. Then, he tied it into
a bow and shifted it to the side. The necktie turned into her belt, and it cinched her waist.
It looked fashionable for some reason. His was a blue-striped necklace, while her dress and jacket
were black. It was as if a blue moon had suddenly appeared in the night sky, dazzling everyone.
“Done.” He finished adjusting the necktie and pulled his hands away.
Sonia looked at his handiwork. “Not bad. Never thought you knew how to do this.”
Toby chuckled. “I’ll take that as a compliment. We can go out now.”
He popped a cap over his head as well. Tom had bought those caps in a nearby shop when they
stopped earlier.
Toby opened the door and got out first, then he extended his hand to Sonia.
Sonia put her hand in his without any hesitation, and he held her hand tight. Toby took her out of the
car, then they went to the cordon point.
They came up to one of the officers, and Sonia quietly identified herself.
The officer had been told by his captain about their arrival, so after he verified her identity, he lifted the
tape up and allowed the three of them to go in.
It wasn’t until the trio had gone in did the reporters realize who they were. However, they were too late,
for Sonia, Toby, and Tom had gone into the cordoned-off area.
Since they didn’t dare to breach the area, the reporters took deep breaths and shouted out their
questions as Sonia and the others went in. They wanted to know Sonia’s opinion about Tina’s suicide,
but Sonia and Toby pretended they heard nothing. They kept walking, and eventually, they got out of
the reporters’ sights.
When they came to the ward area, Sonia noticed that one of the buildings was crowded with police
officers and the medical staff. Aside from that, there wasn’t a single civilian. They were probably
evacuated.
“They’re just up ahead,” Toby said softly.
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