Chapter 3: The Girl Who Stole My Name
I barely slept that night.
At 2:00 a.m., I was sitting on the floor with my laptop open, staring at the competition portal.
Brianna's submission was listed as complete.
Mine was still marked incomplete.
The system allowed only one entry per designer category, and her submission had already been accepted.
I clicked the contact information.
The email address belonged to Brianna.
The design description contained sentences copied directly from my private notebook.
Even the measurements were mine.
I had written them by hand while calculating the wing proportions.
My stomach turned.
Maya sat beside me, wrapped in a blanket.
“We need to contact the organizers.””
“I know.””
“Now.””
I opened a new email.
But before I could type, another notification appeared.
*Your entry has been flagged for potential duplicate submission.*
I froze.
“What does that mean?””
Maya read the message.
“It means the system thinks you're copying her.””
I stared at the screen.
The person who had stolen my design was now being treated as its original creator.
I picked up my phone and called the competition office.
A woman answered after several rings.
“Southern Emerging Designers Competition. This is Denise.””
“Hi. My name is Nia Carter. I'm an applicant. Someone submitted my original design under another name.””
“Do you have evidence?””
“Yes. I have sketches, dated photographs, construction notes, fabric receipts, and months of progress pictures.””
“Are you saying another applicant copied your work?””
“Yes.””
“What's the applicant's name?””
“Brianna Carter.””
There was a pause.
“Are you related?””
I hesitated.
“She's my stepsister.””
Denise sighed.
“Family disputes can become complicated. We'll need documentation before making any changes.””
“I can send everything.””
“Please do. But I need to be clear that we cannot guarantee a review before the final deadline.””
My heart dropped.
“When will I know?””
“Within forty-eight hours.””
Forty-eight hours.
The competition was less than two days away.
After the call, Maya stood.
“Okay. We document everything.””
We photographed my original sketches.
We scanned my notebooks.
We collected receipts and screenshots.
Then we found something even more important.
A photograph from four months earlier.
It showed me standing in my bedroom, holding the first completed wing prototype.
The timestamp was visible.
The date was nearly six months before Brianna's submission.
Maya enlarged the image.
“Look at the background.””
Behind me, the open sketchbook was visible.
The butterfly design.
The original.
Every detail.
“This is enough,” I whispered.
“It's a start.””
Then Maya noticed something.
“Wait.””
She pointed to the mirror.
In the reflection, Brianna was standing in the doorway.
She was looking directly at my sketchbook.
And she was holding her phone.
The photograph had captured the moment she first discovered my design.
I saved it.
At 7:30 a.m., I went downstairs.
Brianna was eating cereal.
Vanessa was checking her messages.
Dad was reading the financial section of the newspaper.
I placed my laptop on the table.
“Brianna, we need to talk.””
She didn't look up.
“I'm eating.””
“You submitted my design.””
She slowly lowered her spoon.
Vanessa glanced between us.
“What are you talking about?””
I turned the laptop around.
“Brianna entered my butterfly gown into the scholarship competition.””
Vanessa looked at the screen.
Then she laughed.
“Oh, Nia. Don't be ridiculous.””
“It's my design.””
Brianna leaned back.
“Can you prove that?””
I opened the photograph.
“Here. This was taken six months ago.””
She glanced at it.
Then she shrugged.
“So?””
“So, you were copying it from my sketchbook.””
“I never copied anything.””
“You submitted the exact same design.””
“Maybe we have similar taste.””
Maya, who had arrived with breakfast, nearly choked on her coffee.
“Similar taste? You copied the entire pattern!””
Vanessa stood.
“Enough. This is becoming embarrassing.””
I looked at her.
“Then tell Brianna to withdraw her entry.””
Vanessa crossed her arms.
“Why should she? She's worked hard on her submission.””
I laughed.
It came out sharper than I intended.
“She worked hard? She took photographs of my drawings and uploaded them.””
Brianna pushed her cereal bowl away.
“Mom, she's making me uncomfortable.””
Vanessa immediately moved beside her.
“Sweetheart, don't worry. Nobody is taking anything from you.””
I looked at my father.
“Dad, please.””
He folded his newspaper.
“What now?””
“She stole my design. I need you to make her withdraw it.””
He looked at Brianna.
“Did you take your stepsister's work?””
Brianna's eyes filled with tears instantly.
“No, Dad. I told you I wanted to study fashion too. Nia said I could never be as talented as her. I made my own version because I wanted to prove myself.””
It was a beautiful performance.
Her voice trembled at exactly the right moments.
Vanessa touched her shoulder.
“She's been so excited about this opportunity.””
I stared at them.
“You're believing her?””
Dad looked uncomfortable.
“Maybe there was some misunderstanding.””
I opened the sketchbook.
“Look at this. I designed the wings. I developed the construction.
I bought every material. She didn't even know how to sew a button until last year.””
Brianna's expression changed.
“That's not true!””
“Then show me your original sketches.””
Silence.
“Show me your construction notes.””
Nothing.
“Show me one photograph of you working on the dress.””
Brianna looked at Vanessa.
Vanessa stepped forward.
“That's enough. You're attacking your sister because you're jealous.””
I stared at her.
“Jealous of what?””
“Her confidence. Her opportunities. The fact that she's finally doing something with her life.””
I couldn't believe the words coming out of her mouth.
Then Vanessa delivered the sentence that changed everything.
“Besides, Brianna deserves this opportunity more than you do.””
“Why?””
“Because she has a future to build. You have no idea what you're doing.””
Dad stood.
“Both of you stop.””
I looked at him.
“Would you like to see the evidence?””
He sighed.
“Not now.””
“It's dated.””
“Nia—”
“I have photographs.””
“Enough!””
His voice shook the windows.
Everyone went quiet.
He looked at me.
“If this competition is causing so much trouble, perhaps you should withdraw.””
I stared at him.
“You want me to withdraw?””
“I want peace in this family.””
I nodded slowly.
Then I closed my laptop.
“Okay.””
Vanessa looked relieved.
“Good. Finally, some maturity.””
I picked up my bag.
But before leaving, I turned toward Brianna.
“Enjoy the competition.””
She smiled.
“I will.””
I walked out.
Maya followed me.
Once we reached the driveway, she grabbed my arm.
“Tell me you aren't actually withdrawing.””
I looked at her.
“I'm not.””
“Good.””
“I just realized something.””
“What?””
“They think this is about a dress.””
I opened my phone and pulled up the original photograph.
“It's about proving who made it.””
Maya nodded.
Then my phone rang.
It was Denise from the competition office.
“Nia, we've reviewed your initial complaint.””
My heart began pounding.
“Did you find something?””
“Yes. We discovered that Brianna's submission contains several identical technical descriptions from an earlier design file.””
“That's mine.””
“We know. But there's another issue.””
“What?””
“The file metadata indicates that the design document was created on a device registered to someone else.””
I frowned.
“Someone else?””
“Yes. The original submission file wasn't uploaded from Brianna's personal account.””
I stopped walking.
“Whose account was it?””
Denise paused.
Then she said a name I wasn't expecting.
“Richard Carter.””
My father's name.
I stared at the phone.
For a moment, I couldn't hear anything.
My father hadn't simply refused to defend me.
May you like
His account had been used to submit my stolen design.
And suddenly, I wasn't sure whether Brianna had done this alone.
