Chapter 7: The Contract That Could Destroy Them
For several seconds, Nia couldn't hear anything except the pounding of her heart.
The contract was old, its cream-colored paper creased along the edges. Elaine's signature appeared at the bottom of the first page.
Vanessa's was beneath it.
Both signatures were dated twelve years earlier.
"What is this?"" Nia whispered.
Daniel held the document carefully.
"The original partnership agreement for Bell & Carter Design Studio. Your mother and Vanessa established the company together. I financed the first collection, but the intellectual property belonged to them.""
Vanessa folded her arms.
"That is a gross oversimplification.""
Daniel looked at her.
"Would you prefer that I read the clauses aloud?""
A few competitors had stopped working. One of the judges glanced toward the commotion.
Olivia stepped closer.
"This is a private dispute. If you want to discuss legal matters, please take it outside the inspection area.""
Vanessa ignored her.
"Daniel abandoned his responsibilities and vanished for years. He has no right to walk in here and disrupt my family.""
Nia stared at him.
"Is that true? Did you abandon us?""
Daniel's shoulders sank.
"Yes.""
The blunt answer hurt more than an excuse would have.
"I left," he continued.
"I convinced myself that if I disappeared, Vanessa would stop using my financial involvement to threaten Elaine's business. I thought I could resolve the legal dispute from a distance.""
"Did you ever try to find me?""
"Yes.""
"Then why didn't you?""
"Because every attempt was intercepted.""
Vanessa laughed.
"Convenient.""
Daniel turned to her.
"I have copies of the letters. The returned checks. The messages sent to my solicitor. And I have proof that you told Elaine I was dead before I had even left the country.""
Nia felt the floor shift beneath her.
"You told Mom he was dead?""
Vanessa's face tightened.
"Your mother was ill. She needed stability. Daniel was a coward who couldn't face his responsibilities.""
"That doesn't answer the question," Nia said.
Vanessa looked at her.
"Yes. I told her he was dead.""
The admission landed like a physical blow.
Nia took a step backward.
"Why?""
"Because he was gone. Because he had left her to deal with a collapsing business, a sick child, and a mountain of debts. What difference did the truth make?""
"It made a difference to me!""
Nia's voice echoed through the hall.
Several people turned fully toward them.
"You let me grow up believing my father was dead. You let me think he never wanted me. And now you want to tell me that you did it to protect me?""
Vanessa's mouth tightened.
"I gave you a home.""
"You gave me a room. You gave Brianna everything else.""
Brianna shifted uncomfortably beside her mother.
"Can we please stop making this a public spectacle?""
Nia turned toward her stepsister.
"You took four months of my work because you wanted to look beautiful at a dinner.""
Brianna's cheeks reddened.
"I didn't know all this was going on.""
"You knew I needed that gown for the competition.""
"I wanted to wear it for one night!""
"And I wanted to change my life.""
Brianna opened her mouth, but nothing came out.
Daniel placed the contract on a nearby table.
"There's another section you need to read.""
He pointed to a paragraph near the middle.
The agreement stated that all original designs created by Elaine Carter would remain her intellectual property unless explicitly transferred through a separate, signed assignment.
Below it was a clause establishing a trust for her future children.
Nia read the words twice.
"Does this mean I own Mom's designs?""
"Potentially, yes," Daniel said.
"The trust was established to protect them until you turned eighteen. The remaining paperwork needs to be verified, but Vanessa cannot simply claim them as her own.""
Vanessa's expression sharpened.
"The trust was never properly funded.""
Daniel removed another document.
"That's what you told the bank. But the original account statements say otherwise.""
He placed the papers beside the contract.
"Three months before Elaine died, you transferred money out of the trust and into your personal account.""
A murmur spread through the hall.
Vanessa stared at him.
"Those funds were used to support the household.""
"They were designated for Nia's education and the preservation of Elaine's designs.""
"She was a child!""
"And you were the trustee.""
Vanessa's face flushed.
"You have no idea what I went through after Elaine died.""
Daniel's voice lowered.
"I know you used the money to buy Brianna a car.""
Brianna looked sharply at her mother.
"What?""
Vanessa turned toward her.
"Don't start.""
"Mom, is that true?""
"Of course it isn't.""
Daniel slid a bank statement across the table.
The account name was visible.
*Elaine Carter Educational and Design Trust.*
Below it was a withdrawal matching the deposit on the purchase record for Brianna's first car.
Nia's hands trembled.
All those years, she had believed the family couldn't afford to support her ambitions.
Yet there had been money set aside for her future.
Money her mother had intended to protect.
Money Vanessa had spent.
Olivia stepped forward and picked up the documents.
"I'm not a lawyer, but these records should be preserved. Nia, don't sign anything presented to you today.""
Vanessa snatched at the papers.
Olivia pulled them out of reach.
"Please don't touch those.""
"You have no authority over my family!""
"No," Olivia replied calmly.
"But I do have authority to report interference with a competition entry.""
Vanessa went still.
The garment inspection had resumed in the next section of the hall. A staff member approached, asking whether the disturbance could be resolved.
Daniel gathered the papers.
"I'll arrange for a solicitor to review everything. Nia deserves the truth.""
Vanessa pointed at him.
"You don't get to walk back into her life and pretend you're a hero.""
Daniel didn't argue.
"I'm not a hero. I'm her father, and I owe her the truth.""
He turned to Nia.
"I know you have every reason to hate me. I won't ask you to forgive me today. But I would like the chance to explain what happened.""
Nia looked at the photograph of him holding her as a newborn.
She wanted to throw it away.
She wanted to hug him.
She wanted to ask a thousand questions and never hear another word from him.
Instead, she said, "Not today.""
Daniel nodded.
"All right.""
He stepped back.
For the first time, Nia noticed how tired he looked. His shoulders were slightly hunched, and the silver watch on his wrist had a cracked face.
He looked less like a powerful investor than a man who had spent years carrying a mistake he couldn't undo.
Vanessa turned toward the competition officials.
"This is ridiculous. The girl has been allowed to enter with a design that may belong to a disputed estate. Her entry should be suspended until ownership is established.""
Nia's blood ran cold.
The head judge, a silver-haired woman named Patricia Wells, approached the table.
"Miss Carter, is your entry based on an original design?""
"Yes," Nia said firmly.
"My gown is inspired by my mother's sketches, but I created the pattern, constructed the garment, and developed the embroidery myself.""
"Did you copy an existing commercial design?""
"No.""
"Do you have documentation of your process?""
Nia opened her folder.
She showed Patricia the original sketches, photographs of the garment's construction, and the dated images she had taken while sewing.
Patricia studied them carefully.
"This is sufficient for the preliminary inspection. Any inheritance or intellectual property dispute can be handled separately.""
Vanessa's mouth fell open.
"But—"
"The competition does not adjudicate family disputes," Patricia said.
"Miss Carter's entry will be judged on its merits.""
Nia released a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.
Patricia turned to the gown.
"Now, let's see what you have created.""
Nia unzipped the garment bag and lifted the phoenix gown onto the inspection stand.
The blue and silver layers opened beneath the bright lights.
A hush spread through the nearby competitors.
Patricia circled the mannequin, examining the structure.
"Who designed this?""
"I did," Nia replied.
"With inspiration from your mother's unfinished work?""
"Yes. But every construction decision is mine. I changed the silhouette, developed the layered structure, and created the embroidery pattern from scratch.""
Patricia studied the stitching along the bodice.
Then she looked at Nia.
"Tell me what the phoenix represents.""
Nia swallowed.
"It represents the idea that something can survive being destroyed without becoming what it was before.""
Patricia's expression softened.
"And what does that mean to you?""
Nia glanced toward Vanessa.
"That losing something doesn't mean you've lost everything.""
For a moment, Patricia said nothing.
Then she nodded.
"Thank you, Miss Carter. Your garment will proceed to the next stage.""
Nia's knees nearly buckled.
She had made it through the inspection.
But as she turned to leave, Brianna stepped forward.
Her altered sapphire gown had begun to unravel at the waist. One of the seams had split, exposing the unfinished lining.
Brianna looked down in horror.
"Mom!""
Vanessa rushed to her side.
"What happened?""
"The dress is coming apart!""
Nia looked at the damaged gown.
She could see exactly what had happened. Brianna had cut through the reinforced waist seam, removing the structural stitching that held the fitted bodice in place.
It was an easy mistake to make.
And an expensive one.
Vanessa turned toward Nia.
"Fix it.""
Nia stared at her.
"What?""
"You know how to sew. Fix your sister's dress.""
Nia slowly zipped her own garment bag.
"No.""
Vanessa stepped closer.
"You will not humiliate this family.""
Nia met her eyes.
"You did that yourself.""
Then she walked toward the judging area, leaving Vanessa standing beside the ruined gown.
For the first time in her life, Nia didn't look back to see whether her stepmother approved.
But when she reached the registration desk, a volunteer handed her a sealed envelope.
"Miss Carter? This was delivered for you.""
Her name was written in the same handwriting as the letter inside her mother's wooden box.
Elaine's handwriting.
Nia's fingers went numb.
Inside the envelope was a single photograph and a short note.
If Daniel has finally found you, ask him what happened on the night I died.
Beneath the note was a date.
And a hospital room number.
May you like
Nia looked up.
Across the hall, Daniel had disappeared.
