Chapter 7: The Woman Who Knew Her Mother’s Secret
Nia read the message three times before she showed it to Margot.
If you want the truth about Evelyn Carter, come to the old studio tonight. Come alone.
Beneath the words was a photograph of Claudia Reed standing outside a narrow storefront, her dark curls streaked with gray. Beside her stood a teenage girl wearing a sapphire-blue gown that looked almost identical to the Phoenix Gown in Nia's mother's sketches.
Margot stared at the photograph.
“That storefront was our first studio.””
“Why would Claudia tell me to come alone?””
“I don't know. But whoever sent this knows things about your mother that shouldn't be public.””
Nia slipped her phone into her pocket.
“Then I'm going.””
Margot shook her head.
“Not alone.””
“The message specifically says—”
“I can respect the fact that Claudia may not trust me anymore without allowing you to walk into a potentially dangerous situation.””
Nia looked down at the photograph.
The girl in the blue gown appeared to be about fifteen. Her face was partially obscured by the angle of the camera, but something about her posture seemed familiar.
“Who is she?””
Margot enlarged the image.
“I don't recognize her.””
Nia pointed toward the storefront window. Behind Claudia, a faded sign was barely visible.
*CARTER & SINCLAIR — CUSTOM COUTURE.*
Her mother's name.
Margot's face tightened.
“I haven't seen that sign in six years.””
“Why would Claudia be standing there now?””
“Because she wants us to remember where everything began.””
At six that evening, Nia and Margot drove through the older part of Boston, where brick buildings crowded narrow streets and rainwater glistened beneath the streetlights.
Daniel had insisted on knowing their destination. He arranged for a colleague to remain nearby and instructed them not to enter the building if anything seemed suspicious.
Nia agreed to the precautions, though the message continued to trouble her.
When they reached the storefront, the windows were covered with brown paper. The sign above the door had lost several letters, but Evelyn's name remained visible.
Margot knocked twice.
Nothing happened.
She knocked again.
A bolt scraped.
The door opened a few inches.
Claudia Reed peered through the gap.
For a moment, she looked at Margot with open hostility.
Then her gaze shifted to Nia.
“Oh, Evelyn,” she whispered.
Nia felt her throat tighten.
“My name is Nia.””
Claudia opened the door wider.
“I know who you are. You have her eyes.””
The interior smelled of dust, old wood, and fabric stored too long in closed cupboards. A sewing machine sat beneath a sheet in the corner. Faded sketches covered one wall, and a narrow staircase led to a dark upper floor.
Claudia locked the door behind them.
“I told you to come alone,” she said to Nia.
“Margot is helping me.””
Claudia's expression hardened.
“Margot helped your mother once. Then she abandoned her.””
“That isn't true,” Margot replied.
“You were supposed to protect the collection.””
“I tried.””
“You tried to protect the business. There's a difference.””
Margot flinched as though Claudia had struck her.
Nia stepped between them.
“Please. I didn't come here to watch you argue. Someone stole my dress, and now they're claiming my mother stole designs from Richard Vale. I need to know what happened.””
Claudia studied her for a long moment.
Then she crossed the room and pulled a wooden chair away from the worktable.
“Sit down.””
Nia sat.
Claudia remained standing.
“Your mother designed the Phoenix collection over three years. Every piece was original. Every pattern was documented. She kept copies of her sketches because she never trusted investors who believed money gave them ownership over creativity.””
“Then how did Richard Vale get her designs?””
“Because someone close to her gave him access.””
Nia's stomach tightened.
“Who?””
Claudia looked toward Margot.
“That's what I came to find out.””
Margot shook her head.
“I never gave him anything.””
“Then explain why the original archive disappeared the same week you signed the partnership documents.””
“Because the studio was broken into!””
“And the police found no signs of forced entry.””
“Claudia, I didn't take those designs.””
Claudia slammed her palm against the table.
“Then someone used your key!””
Silence swallowed the room.
Nia looked between them.
“My mother trusted both of you.””
Claudia's anger softened.
“She trusted me enough to leave something in my care. But after she died, I was threatened. Someone told me that if I spoke publicly, they would destroy every remaining record and make certain I never worked in fashion again.””
“Richard Vale?””
“I thought so. But I was wrong about one thing.””
Claudia reached beneath the table and produced a small metal box.
“I believed your mother's designs were the only thing they wanted.””
She opened the box.
Inside lay a photograph, a folded contract, and a small silver key.
Nia lifted the photograph.
It showed Evelyn standing beside a younger Vanessa Carter.
Nia stared.
Her stepmother looked barely twenty-five. She wore a black dress and stood beside a rack of sketches, smiling at the camera.
On the back, Evelyn had written:
Vanessa's first day at the studio. She says she wants to learn.
Nia's fingers trembled.
“Vanessa worked here?””
Claudia nodded.
“She was your mother's assistant before she married your father. She handled invoices, appointments, and supplier orders. She knew where everything was kept.””
Nia struggled to reconcile the image with the woman who had spent years belittling her mother's work.
“Why did she leave?””
“Because Richard Vale offered her a position in his company. Evelyn trusted her. She even recommended her.””
Margot stared at the photograph.
“I didn't know that.””
“Of course you didn't,” Claudia replied.
“You were negotiating with investors while Vanessa was copying the archive inventory.””
Nia felt cold all over.
“My stepmother helped steal my mother's designs?””
“I can't prove that yet,” Claudia said.
“But I can show you something that explains why she was so desperate to keep you away from Margot.””
She unfolded the contract.
At the top was the name of a company Nia had never heard of.
*EVELYN CARTER DESIGN TRUST.*
Beneath it were clauses outlining ownership of Evelyn's original sketches, patterns, and unpublished designs.
Nia scanned the document.
“My mother owned all of this?””
“Your mother created the trust to protect her work. She intended it to pass to you when you turned eighteen.””
Nia looked up.
“I'm seventeen.””
“Exactly.””
Claudia tapped a paragraph near the bottom.
“Someone tried to dissolve the trust after Evelyn died. The attempt failed because a second signature was required. Your father refused to sign.””
Nia's heart began to pound.
“My father knew?””
“He knew enough to refuse. He told me he wanted your mother's work preserved for you.””
“But Vanessa said he didn't care about fashion. She said he thought my sewing was a waste of time.””
Claudia's expression grew sad.
“Your father was afraid. After Evelyn died, he became convinced that fighting Richard Vale would put you in danger. He tried to protect you by keeping you away from the industry.””
Nia stared at the contract.
“Where is he now?””
Claudia hesitated.
“He's alive, Nia. And he has been looking for these documents.””
Nia felt as though the floor had shifted beneath her.
Her father had been absent from her life for years, traveling for work and leaving Vanessa in control of the household. Nia had believed he simply didn't care enough to notice what was happening.
“You're telling me my father knew all this and never told me?””
“He may have believed silence was protection,” Claudia said.
“But silence gave the wrong people time to act.””
Nia picked up the silver key.
“What does this open?””
Claudia pointed toward the back wall.
“Your mother's private archive. It was built into the old cutting table. She hid the original records there before she died.””
Margot approached the table and ran her fingers along its edge.
“There used to be a concealed compartment.””
Nia inserted the key into a tiny lock beneath the tabletop.
It turned.
A wooden panel slid open.
Inside lay a thick ledger, several envelopes, and a sealed plastic sleeve containing a flash drive.
Claudia's voice dropped to a whisper.
“Your mother left evidence of every original design she created. And she recorded a message explaining exactly who tried to steal them.””
Nia reached for the flash drive.
Before her fingers touched it, headlights swept across the storefront windows.
A car stopped outside.
Claudia went pale.
“No.””
Margot moved toward the window.
A black sedan idled at the curb.
The rear door opened.
A man stepped into the rain, carrying a black umbrella.
Nia recognized his face from the photographs Margot had shown her.
Richard Vale.
He looked directly at the storefront.
Then he smiled.
Claudia grabbed Nia's wrist.
“Listen to me. Whatever happens, do not let him take that flash drive.””
The front door rattled.
Someone tried the handle.
Then Richard Vale's voice came through the wood.
“Claudia, I know you're in there.””
May you like
He knocked once.
“It's time we finished what Evelyn started.””
