Chapter 5: The Secret Buried at Bellamy
My father was waiting in the living room when I returned home.
He stood beside the fireplace, still wearing the suit he'd worn to the competition. Vanessa sat on the sofa with a glass of water in her hand. Brianna was nowhere to be seen.
The room smelled of polished wood and the expensive candles Vanessa lit whenever guests visited.
It was supposed to feel welcoming.
Instead, it felt like a courtroom.
Dad looked at the photograph in my hand.
"Sit down, Nia.""
"I'd rather stand.""
His shoulders sagged.
"Please.""
I sat in the armchair opposite him.
Vanessa didn't look at me.
She was studying the rim of her glass as if it contained something fascinating.
Dad took a breath.
"I should have told you about Adrian.""
"That's a start.""
"He and your mother knew each other a long time ago.""
"At Bellamy?""
He nodded.
"Your mother was studying fashion design. Adrian was there too, studying business management. They became close.""
"How close?""
Dad looked away.
"Very close.""
I felt my stomach twist.
"Was he her boyfriend?""
Silence.
Then Dad said, "Yes.""
The word seemed to echo through the room.
I thought of the photograph, the young Adrian standing beside my mother, the words written on the back.
For the life we promised.
"Did you know him before Mom died?""
"Yes.""
"Did you know they were together?""
Dad closed his eyes.
"Yes.""
I stood up.
"Then why did you tell me she never went to Bellamy?""
"Because I didn't want you caught up in something that would only hurt you.""
I laughed, but there was no humor in it.
"You mean you didn't want me asking questions.""
Vanessa finally looked up.
"Marcus was protecting you.""
I turned toward her.
"From what?""
She set her glass down.
"From a man who has spent years using his money and influence to control people.""
I studied her face.
"Then why did you look terrified when he stood up today?""
Her mouth tightened.
"Don't be ridiculous.""
"You knew him.""
"I knew of him.""
"You knew my mother.""
Vanessa went completely still.
Dad looked at her.
"Vanessa—"
She rose from the sofa.
"This conversation is getting out of hand.""
"No," I said.
"It's getting started.""
I pulled the printed archive document from my folder and held it up.
"Why was Mom expelled from Bellamy?""
Dad's face went pale.
Vanessa's expression changed.
It was tiny, almost invisible, but I saw it.
Recognition.
"You've been digging through old records," she said.
"Someone sent this to me.""
"Then someone is trying to manipulate you.""
"Who?""
She didn't answer.
I placed the document on the coffee table.
"Why was Mom accused of academic misconduct?""
Dad stared at the page as if it were a weapon.
"Your mother wasn't expelled for stealing anyone's work.""
"Then what happened?""
He rubbed his face.
"Elena designed a collection for her final-year showcase. It was extraordinary. Everyone knew she would be one of Bellamy's strongest graduates.""
"Was Adrian helping her?""
"He was supporting her. He believed in her talent.""
"Then what went wrong?""
Dad's gaze moved toward the window.
"Another student accused her of stealing a design.""
I looked at the name printed beneath the archive photograph.
Vanessa Whitmore.
My stepmother.
I turned slowly.
"Was that student Vanessa?""
Vanessa stood.
"I will not be interrogated in my own home.""
"Was it you?""
Her face reddened.
"Your mother was not the innocent woman you imagine.""
"That's not an answer.""
"She was ambitious. She wanted everything. She thought being talented meant the rules didn't apply to her.""
"Did you accuse her of stealing a design?""
Vanessa's eyes flashed.
"She stole mine.""
The room went silent.
I stared at her.
"What?""
"Your mother submitted a design that was based on work I'd shown her. I reported it. The institute investigated, and the panel reached its decision.""
"Did you have proof?""
Vanessa lifted her chin.
"The evidence was sufficient.""
"Then why are you afraid of Adrian?""
She slapped her palm against the table.
"Because he refused to accept the result! He spent years accusing people of destroying Elena's career. He wanted to turn the entire institute against me.""
I looked at Dad.
"Is that true?""
He said nothing.
Vanessa seized the silence.
"Your father knows what happened. He was there. He knows how obsessed Adrian became.""
I turned back to Dad.
"Tell me the truth.""
He looked older than he had that morning.
"Your mother and Adrian were planning to get married.""
My breath caught.
"Married?""
"They were young. They had plans to build a fashion business together. Adrian's family opposed the relationship, but he was determined to be with her.""
"What happened?""
Dad swallowed.
"Elena became pregnant.""
The room seemed to shrink around me.
I stared at him.
"With me?""
He nodded.
"She told Adrian first. They were happy. They wanted to raise you together.""
My hands began to tremble.
"Then why wasn't he there?""
"Because someone sent him documents claiming Elena had stolen the designs she submitted to Bellamy. There were statements from witnesses, copies of emails, and photographs of sketches that supposedly proved she had copied another student's work.""
"Vanessa's work.""
Dad didn't answer.
I felt sick.
"Did Adrian believe them?""
"Not at first. He tried to defend her. But the investigation was handled by the institute's board, and the accusations became public. Elena was suspended while the case was reviewed.""
"And?""
Dad's voice cracked.
"She withdrew before the final hearing.""
"Why?""
"She said she couldn't bear the humiliation. She wanted to leave Bellamy and raise you somewhere quiet.""
I stared at him.
"Did Adrian know she was pregnant?""
"Yes.""
"Then why didn't he come with her?""
Dad's eyes filled with tears.
"Because I told him she didn't want him.""
I stopped breathing.
"What?""
"I told him she'd chosen to leave. I told him she had asked me to keep him away from you.""
"Why would you do that?""
He looked at me, and I saw the shame he had been hiding for seventeen years.
"Because I loved her.""
The confession fell into the room like broken glass.
"I had loved your mother for years," he continued.
"I thought if Adrian disappeared from her life, she might finally see me the way I saw her.""
I couldn't speak.
Dad wiped his eyes.
"When she left Bellamy, I helped her find an apartment. I helped her get work. I told myself I was giving her a fresh start.""
"And you let her believe Adrian had abandoned her?""
"I told her he had accepted the breakup.""
"Did he?""
"No.""
The answer came too quickly.
I sat down because my legs no longer felt steady.
Dad knelt in front of me.
"Nia, I was young and selfish. I thought I could make her happy. Eventually, she agreed to marry me. I promised her I'd never let the past hurt you.""
"You lied to everyone.""
"I know.""
"You lied to Mom.""
"Yes.""
"You lied to Adrian.""
"Yes.""
"You lied to me.""
He bowed his head.
"Yes.""
I pulled away when he reached for my hand.
For years, I had imagined that my mother and father had been a love story interrupted by death.
Now I was learning that their marriage had begun in the shadow of a lie.
"Did Mom know you had kept Adrian away?""
Dad shook his head.
"Not until years later. By then, she was ill. She confronted me after finding an old letter he'd sent. She was furious.""
I remembered the final months of my mother's life.
Her long silences.
The way she sometimes stared out the hospital window as though watching for someone.
The envelope she kept inside her bedside drawer.
I'd been too young to understand.
"What happened to the letter?"" I whispered.
Dad looked at Vanessa.
She crossed her arms.
"I have no idea.""
But the way she said it told me otherwise.
I stood up.
"Where is Mom's old paperwork?""
Dad blinked.
"What?""
"Her letters. Her sketches. The documents from Bellamy. Where are they?""
"Some are in the attic.""
"Then I'm going to find them.""
Vanessa stepped in front of the staircase.
"You are not going through our private belongings.""
"Our?""
She lifted her chin.
"This is my house too.""
I stared at her.
"Then you won't mind if I ask the police to help me recover stolen property and investigate a possible case of fraud.""
Her face went white.
Dad rose quickly.
"Nia, don't threaten anyone.""
"I'm not threatening her. I'm asking for the truth.""
I walked past Vanessa.
She grabbed my arm.
"You have no idea what you're doing.""
I looked down at her fingers.
"Let go.""
She tightened her grip.
"If you keep digging, you will destroy this family.""
I met her eyes.
"You destroyed it when you decided my mother deserved to lose everything.""
Her hand fell away.
I climbed the stairs.
The attic was cold and dusty, with cardboard boxes stacked beneath the sloping roof. A single bulb flickered overhead.
I searched through boxes of old Christmas decorations, my father's university textbooks, and clothes that hadn't been worn in years.
At the back of the room, I found a small trunk with my mother's initials carved into the lid.
E.C.
The lock was rusted, but it opened when I pressed the latch.
Inside were sketchbooks, fabric swatches, old photographs, and a bundle of letters tied with faded blue ribbon.
I sat on the floor and untied them.
The first few were ordinary.
My mother's notes about fabric suppliers.
A letter from a professor.
A birthday card from a friend.
Then I found an envelope with Adrian's name written across the front.
It had never been opened.
The postmark was dated seventeen years earlier.
My hands shook as I turned it over.
The seal was intact.
Someone had intercepted it before my mother could read it.
I carefully opened the envelope.
Inside was a letter written in Adrian's handwriting.
Elena,
I don't know what you've been told, but I never stopped fighting for you. I never believed you stole anyone's work. I have asked Bellamy for the original records, and I will keep asking until they admit what happened.
If you still want me, I will come for you and our child. I don't care what my family says. I don't care what anyone thinks.
Please don't let them convince you that you are alone.
I love you.
Adrian.
Tears blurred the page.
I pressed the letter against my chest.
My mother had never received it.
She had lived and died believing the man she loved had abandoned her.
And my father had let it happen.
I was still crying when I noticed a second document folded inside the envelope.
It was a Bellamy Institute investigation report.
The final page carried a list of people authorized to access the evidence.
One name had been crossed out.
Another had been added in handwriting.
*Vanessa Whitmore — Witness and Design-Ownership Claimant.*
Beneath it was a signature.
Not Vanessa's.
My father's.
I stared at the signature until the letters blurred.
Then I heard footsteps on the attic stairs.
Vanessa appeared in the doorway.
Her gaze went straight to the open trunk.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then she looked at the letter in my hand.
"You weren't supposed to find that.""
My blood turned cold.
"Why?""
She took one step into the attic.
"Because some truths do more harm than good.""
I rose slowly.
"Did you steal Mom's designs?""
Vanessa's face tightened.
"Your mother was already leaving Bellamy when I made my claim.""
"Did you steal them?""
She looked at the document on the floor.
Then she said something that made my heart stop.
"I didn't steal her designs, Nia.""
She moved closer.
"Your mother stole mine first.""
I held up the investigation report.
"Then why did Dad sign this?""
Vanessa's eyes flicked toward the paper.
May you like
And for the first time, she looked genuinely afraid.
"Because," she whispered, "he was trying to protect you.""
