Chapter 3: The Paper Under the Cake
The document was inside a clear plastic folder.
Protected from the spilled cream.
Protected from the broken glass.
Protected from the disaster everyone thought was accidental.
Jada stared at it.
Her name sat at the bottom.
Her signature.
Her approval.
Except she had never seen the document before.
“This isn’t mine.””
Min folded her arms.
“I thought so.””
Eleanor looked over Jada’s shoulder.
“What does it say?””
Jada read the first page.
A sponsorship agreement.
A revised residency structure.
A clause giving final selection authority to the development department.
Her eyes stopped.
Development department.
Claire.
“She was trying to transfer control.””
Min nodded.
“She wanted the sponsors to believe the jury was advisory.””
Jada looked at the date.
Signed three days earlier.
The night before the final announcement.
“Who witnessed this?””
Nobody answered.
That was the problem.
Fake paperwork always needed real people somewhere.
Someone who looked away.
Someone who benefited.
Someone who decided silence was easier.
Theo entered the room.
“I found another thing.””
Nobody looked surprised anymore.
“What?””
He held up a flash drive.
“Claire’s presentation files.””
They gathered around the computer.
The presentation opened.
Slide after slide.
Sponsors.
Budgets.
Marketing goals.
Then the final slide.
A new title.
HUDSON COLORS: A PREMIER REGIONAL BRAND.
Not residency.
Not artists.
Brand.
Jada stared at the screen.
Claire had never wanted to protect the program.
She wanted to own it.
The realization hurt because Jada remembered every meeting.
Every time Claire had said “visibility.””
Every time she had said “growth.””
Every time Jada had ignored the discomfort because she wanted help.
“I trusted her,” Jada whispered.
Eleanor looked at her.
“Trust is not stupidity.””
Jada shook her head.
“No. But ignoring warning signs is still a choice.””
That afternoon, Claire released her statement.
It appeared online before Jada could respond.
A carefully written message.
A victim.
A misunderstanding.
A commitment to “professional standards.””
And one sentence that made Jada’s hands go cold.
“Hudson Colors leadership will be reviewed following an incident involving inappropriate physical conduct.””
They had turned the cake into the story.
Not the altered selections.
Not the documents.
Not the artists.
The shove.
Jada sat in silence.
Theo watched the comments appear.
“She’s winning the internet.””
Jada looked at him.
“No.””
“She has thousands of comments.””
“No.””
Jada closed the laptop.
“She has people reacting before they know the truth.””
That was different.
But dangerous.
Later that night, Jada received a call from one of the selected artists.
A young painter named Maya.
“Are we still accepted?””
Jada closed her eyes.
She hated that question.
Not because she didn’t know the answer.
Because Maya deserved certainty.
“I’m working to make sure you are.””
A pause.
“Does that mean no?””
Jada looked at the dark studio outside her window.
“It means someone tried to take something from you.””
Maya’s voice softened.
“Who?””
Jada had no answer.
Not yet.
After the call ended, Eleanor placed a folder on the table.
“I found something in the old files.””
Jada opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
An old newspaper clipping.
A young Claire Radford standing beside a wealthy donor.
The headline read:
LOCAL ARTS INITIATIVE SAVED BY MAJOR SPONSORSHIP.
Jada frowned.
“Why does this matter?””
Eleanor pointed at the donor’s name.
Jada froze.
Because she knew it.
Everyone in the region knew it.
The same family now funding Hudson Colors.
The same family whose name appeared on the new promotional materials.
And beneath the photograph was another name.
Someone who had worked with Claire years ago.
Someone who had disappeared from the arts community.
Someone who had filed a complaint.
May you like
Jada turned the page.
And saw the name of the person who had originally warned everyone about Claire.
