Chapter 3: The Signature That Wasn't Mine
The room became completely silent.
Daniel looked from the agreement to me.
"You're saying you were not in town on this date?""
"I wasn't even in the state.""
Tessa gave a short laugh.
"You travel all the time. That doesn't mean anything.""
I pulled out my phone.
"Actually, it means quite a lot.""
Six weeks earlier, I had attended a three-day pastry workshop in Chicago.
It was the first professional training course I had ever paid for myself.
I had saved money for four months to attend.
I still remembered sitting in the airport with a notebook on my lap, reviewing recipes while waiting for my flight.
I opened my email and found the confirmation.
Then I showed Daniel the boarding pass.
The departure date matched the date on the agreement.
So did the return date.
Daniel examined both.
"Do you have additional evidence of your location during that period?""
"Yes.""
I opened my hotel reservation.
Then the workshop attendance certificate.
Then a photograph taken with the instructor.
I had posted that photograph online the same evening.
The timestamp was visible.
Daniel looked at Tessa.
"Can you explain this discrepancy?""
Tessa shrugged.
"Maybe she signed it before she left.""
I stared at her.
"You just said we signed it together.""
She hesitated.
"Maybe I brought it to her apartment afterward.""
"No, you didn't.""
Gloria leaned forward.
"Could everyone stop acting as though this is a criminal trial?""
Daniel's expression remained calm.
"It isn't. But falsifying an authorship agreement is a serious matter under our competition rules.""
Tessa's face turned pale.
"You're accusing me of forging her signature?""
"I'm asking you to explain the document.""
Tessa looked at my mother.
Gloria immediately took over.
"I signed it.""
Everyone turned toward her.
I felt the air leave my lungs.
"What?""
Gloria lifted her chin.
"I signed the agreement because I know my daughters. They have always shared things. I thought it was understood.""
Daniel stared at her.
"Did Aaliyah authorize you to sign on her behalf?""
Gloria hesitated.
"She didn't need to. I'm her mother.""
I almost couldn't believe what I was hearing.
"Mom, you forged my signature?""
"Don't use that word.""
"What word would you prefer?""
She glared at me.
"I was trying to help your sister.""
"By stealing my work?""
"By making sure one of my children had a chance!""
The words struck harder than I expected.
One of my children.
Not both.
Not the daughter who had spent six months working toward this.
Not the daughter who had been sleeping four hours a night.
Just the one she had decided deserved to win.
I looked down at the table.
For a moment, I was seven years old again.
I remembered Grandma Evelyn placing a tiny chocolate rose in my palm.
"Never let anyone convince you that your work is worth less because they don't understand how hard you made it," she had whispered.
I hadn't understood what she meant then.
I understood now.
Daniel removed the agreement from the table.
"Mrs. Brooks, we will need a written statement from you.""
Gloria's eyes widened.
"You're making me part of this?""
"You have just confirmed that you signed a document using another person's name without authorization.""
Tessa began crying.
Not quietly.
She covered her face and let out a trembling sob.
"Mom, I can't believe this is happening.""
Gloria moved beside her.
"It's okay, sweetheart.""
Tessa looked at me through her fingers.
"Are you happy now?""
I didn't answer.
She shook her head.
"You always do this. You can't stand seeing me succeed.""
I looked at her.
"Have you ever considered succeeding without taking something from me?""
She stood abruptly.
"You think you're better than me because you can bake?""
"No. I think I'm better at baking because I actually do it.""
Her mouth fell open.
For once, she had no immediate response.
Daniel asked everyone to leave the room while the committee reviewed the evidence.
I walked into the hallway.
My hands were cold.
Melissa followed me.
"Are you okay?""
I shook my head.
"Not really.""
She nodded.
"I understand.""
I looked through the glass wall toward the exhibition hall.
My cake was still on Tessa's table.
The damaged chocolate branch was visible from where I stood.
"Can I get my cake back?""
Melissa hesitated.
"Not yet. We need to preserve the display until the investigation is complete.""
I nodded.
Then I heard footsteps.
Gloria appeared at the end of the hallway.
She walked toward me with the determined expression she always wore when she wanted something.
"We need to talk.""
Melissa started to step away.
I stopped her.
"It's fine.""
My mother waited until we were alone.
Then she lowered her voice.
"You're going to withdraw.""
I stared at her.
"What?""
"You heard me.""
"Why would I do that?""
"Because this has gone too far.""
I almost smiled.
"You forged my signature, Mom.""
Gloria looked around.
"Keep your voice down.""
"Why? Are you embarrassed?""
Her eyes flashed.
"Don't speak to me like that.""
"Then don't speak to me like I'm a child.""
She stepped closer.
"Do you know what you've done to Tessa?""
I couldn't believe it.
"She stole my cake.""
"She has eighty thousand people watching her. Her sponsors are here. She has a reputation.""
"And I have a career I am trying to build.""
Gloria waved her hand dismissively.
"You can bake another cake.""
I looked at her.
She continued.
"Tessa has an opportunity that may never come again. You have always been good at making desserts. You'll be fine.""
There it was.
The familiar dismissal.
My talent was something I could always use later.
Tessa's opportunities were precious and urgent.
I took a breath.
"Mom, I'm not withdrawing.""
Her jaw tightened.
"Then don't expect me to support you anymore.""
I looked at her for a long moment.
"That would only hurt if you had ever supported me.""
Her face went still.
I walked away.
Behind me, she said something I didn't expect.
"Your grandmother would be ashamed of you.""
I stopped.
Slowly, I turned around.
"Don't you dare bring Grandma into this.""
Gloria folded her arms.
"She loved Tessa.""
"She loved both of us.""
"She knew which one had potential.""
My chest tightened.
"Grandma taught me everything I know.""
"She left this family a lot of things. You think you're the only one who mattered to her?""
I frowned.
"What does that mean?""
For the first time, my mother looked uncomfortable.
She adjusted her handbag.
"Nothing.""
But I knew that expression.
It was the expression Gloria wore whenever she had accidentally revealed something she wasn't supposed to say.
I stepped closer.
"What did Grandma leave?""
She shook her head.
"Don't start asking questions about things that don't concern you.""
Then she walked away.
I stood in the hallway, watching her disappear into the crowd.
Something about her words bothered me.
Grandma had died eighteen months earlier.
I had inherited her old recipe notebook and a collection of kitchen tools.
Tessa had received her jewelry.
Gloria had kept the house and most of the furniture.
I had never questioned any of it.
But now I remembered something else.
Three weeks before Grandma died, she had called me into her bedroom.
She had held my hand and whispered:
"There's something important I need you to know, sweetheart. But your mother must never...""
The memory stopped there.
I had thought she was confused because of the medication.
Now I wasn't so sure.
My phone vibrated.
A message appeared from an unknown number.
*Aaliyah, this is Margaret. I was your grandmother's attorney. I believe it's time we spoke about the bakery.*
I read it twice.
May you like
Then another message arrived.
*Your mother has been keeping something from you. And after what happened today, I don't think I can wait any longer.*
