Chapter 6: The Evidence That Could Destroy Us All
I didn't sleep that night.
I locked myself in my room with my mother's letters spread across the bed and the Bellamy report open on my desk.
At dawn, I called Maya.
She answered on the second ring.
"Nia? It's six in the morning. Please tell me someone hasn't stolen another dress.""
I laughed despite myself.
"Something worse.""
Her voice sharpened immediately.
"What happened?""
I told her about Adrian, my father's confession, and the unopened letter.
By the time I finished, she was silent.
Then she said, "I'm coming over.""
"You don't have to.""
"I'm already getting dressed.""
Twenty-five minutes later, Maya arrived with two coffees and a backpack full of notebooks.
She sat beside me and read the letter from Adrian.
When she reached the final paragraph, her eyes filled with tears.
"Your mom never knew.""
"No.""
"And your dad let her believe Adrian abandoned her.""
"Yes.""
Maya placed the letter carefully on the desk.
"Okay. We need to separate what we know from what we suspect.""
I looked at her.
"You're treating this like a school project.""
"I'm treating it like evidence. Your stepmother is clearly willing to lie. We can't give her an opportunity to destroy anything else.""
She opened her notebook.
"First, we have the original letter. Second, the investigation report. Third, your father's signature. Fourth, the photographs showing your mother and Vanessa at Bellamy.""
"And the email from the archives.""
"Exactly. We need to verify the report and find out who sent the email.""
I nodded.
Maya picked up the letter again.
"Can I ask you something?""
"Of course.""
"Do you think your dad knew Vanessa was lying?""
I stared at the signature.
"I don't know.""
"That's the problem. He admitted he manipulated Adrian, but we don't know whether he helped Vanessa frame your mother.""
I swallowed.
"What if he did?""
Maya took my hand.
"Then you deserve to know.""
At eight, I went downstairs.
Dad was in the kitchen, sitting at the breakfast table with a cup of untouched coffee.
He looked up when I entered.
"Where did you find the letters?""
"In the attic.""
He closed his eyes.
"Your mother kept everything.""
"Why did you sign the Bellamy report?""
He stared at the document in my hand.
"Let me explain.""
"Did you help Vanessa accuse Mom of stealing her designs?""
"No.""
The answer came immediately.
"Then why is your signature there?""
Dad rubbed his hands together.
"Vanessa told me the institute needed a statement confirming that your mother had access to her sketches. She said Elena had borrowed some of her work during a joint project.""
"Was that true?""
"They had shared a studio for a semester. They exchanged ideas and reviewed each other's sketches. Your mother believed that was normal.""
"And Vanessa used it against her?""
Dad nodded slowly.
"She claimed Elena had copied several pieces. I was asked to confirm that the two women had worked together.""
"Did you read the entire report before signing it?""
He didn't answer.
"Dad.""
"No.""
I felt a chill creep through me.
"You signed a document accusing Mom of misconduct without reading it?""
"I was trying to help Vanessa resolve the dispute. I didn't know what she intended to do.""
"Why didn't you tell Adrian the truth?""
Dad looked down.
"Because by then, I was afraid of losing your mother.""
"So you let her lose her career instead.""
His face crumpled.
"I know how that sounds.""
"It sounds exactly like what happened.""
He reached for my hand.
I pulled it away.
"Please don't.""
He sat back.
For a long moment, the only sound was the refrigerator humming behind us.
Then Dad said, "There's something else you need to know.""
I waited.
"After your mother died, Vanessa asked me to destroy the remaining Bellamy documents.""
My blood ran cold.
"Why?""
"She said they were private records that could damage her reputation if they became public.""
"And you agreed?""
"I refused.""
"Then why didn't you give them to me?""
He looked toward the staircase.
"Because I thought the past was finished. I thought protecting you meant keeping you away from everything that had hurt your mother.""
I shook my head.
"You didn't protect me. You protected yourself.""
He looked as though I had struck him.
I hated that part of me still wanted to comfort him.
But I couldn't keep making his guilt easier to bear.
"Where is Vanessa now?""
"Upstairs.""
"I want her to answer for what she did.""
Dad stood.
"She won't speak to you without a lawyer.""
"Then she can explain it to a lawyer.""
I returned to my room.
Maya had already found the contact information for Bellamy's archive department. She was speaking to someone on the phone when I entered.
"Yes, we have a report bearing the institute's seal. The student is Nia Carter. Her mother was Elena Marie Carter, a scholarship recipient in the design class of 2009.""
She listened.
"Understood. Could you tell us who authorized the release of the record?""
A pause.
Maya's face changed.
"You're saying the file was sealed?""
She glanced at me.
"By whose request?""
Another pause.
Then she slowly lowered the phone.
"They can't tell us without formal authorization.""
I sat beside her.
"Who sealed it?""
"The archive clerk said the record was restricted by a special directive. The directive was issued by the institute's board seventeen years ago and renewed twice afterward.""
"Who signed it?""
Maya shook her head.
"They wouldn't say.""
I looked at the report.
"Could Adrian get access?""
"Probably. If he still funds the institute, he might be able to request an independent review.""
I picked up my phone.
I didn't have Adrian's number.
But the competition coordinator had given me his business card before I left the theater.
I found it in my bag.
The card was simple.
*ADRIAN VALE Chairman, Vale International*
Below it was a direct office number.
I called.
A receptionist answered.
"Mr. Vale's office.""
"My name is Nia Carter. I met Mr. Vale at the Meridian competition yesterday. I need to speak with him about my mother.""
There was a pause.
"One moment, please.""
I expected to be transferred to voicemail.
Instead, a man's voice came on the line.
"Nia?""
Adrian.
I gripped the phone.
"How did you know it was me?""
"Your name appeared on my schedule this morning.""
"My schedule?""
"I asked my assistant to arrange a meeting. I was hoping you would call.""
I glanced at Maya.
"Then you know about Bellamy's sealed records?""
"I know that Elena's case was closed under circumstances that have never made sense to me.""
"Can you get the records?""
"Possibly. But before I do, I want you to understand something.""
"What?""
"If the original evidence was manipulated, the people responsible may still have influence at the institute. I won't ask you to trust me simply because I loved your mother.""
His words caught me off guard.
"You loved her?""
"Very much.""
"Then why didn't you find her?""
Silence stretched across the line.
"I tried.""
"Not hard enough.""
The words came out sharper than I intended.
Adrian didn't defend himself.
"Perhaps you're right.""
I swallowed.
"I found your letter.""
His breathing changed.
"Which letter?""
"The one you sent after she left Bellamy. It was still sealed.""
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then his voice became rough.
"She never received it?""
"No.""
A quiet sound came through the phone. It took me a moment to realize he was exhaling unsteadily.
"Thank you for telling me.""
"I also found the investigation report. My father's signature is on it.""
"I see.""
"He says he didn't know what Vanessa intended.""
Adrian's voice turned careful.
"Marcus was in love with Elena. He was also capable of making choices that served himself. Both things can be true.""
I closed my eyes.
"Can you help me find out what really happened?""
"Yes.""
"When?""
"Today. Come to my office at two o'clock. Bring every document you have. I'll arrange for an independent archivist to examine the originals.""
I hesitated.
"Why are you helping me?""
"Because your mother deserved justice.""
He paused.
"And because I owe her a debt I can never repay.""
The call ended.
Maya looked at me.
"Well?""
"He wants to meet us at two.""
"Then we'd better make copies of everything.""
We spent the next three hours photographing documents, scanning letters, and arranging the evidence by date.
At noon, my father knocked on the door.
"Nia?""
I opened it halfway.
He looked exhausted.
"Vanessa has left the house.""
"Where did she go?""
"Her attorney's office, I think.""
"Did she say anything?""
Dad hesitated.
"She said you were being manipulated by Adrian.""
I laughed bitterly.
"That's convenient.""
"She also said the documents you found are incomplete.""
"Then she can show us the complete ones.""
Dad looked at the floor.
"There's something in the trunk you haven't seen.""
I stiffened.
"What?""
He took a small brass key from his pocket.
"Your mother kept a locked compartment beneath the false bottom. I discovered it after she died, but I never opened it.""
I stared at him.
"Why not?""
"Because I was afraid of what I'd find.""
He placed the key in my palm.
"Whatever is inside, you deserve to know.""
For the first time in years, my father seemed to understand that protecting me didn't mean hiding the truth.
But understanding wasn't the same as forgiveness.
I took the key.
Then I returned to the attic.
The false bottom was difficult to remove. I had to pry up one corner with a screwdriver before the thin wooden panel finally lifted.
Beneath it lay a small leather notebook and a sealed envelope.
The notebook was filled with my mother's handwriting.
Most pages contained sketches, fabric calculations, and notes about her final collection at Bellamy.
But the last several pages were different.
They were dated during the weeks before she left the institute.
One entry read:
Vanessa says she has copies of my sketches. She claims I gave them to her, but I never signed anything. Adrian says we should demand a formal review.
Another entry, dated three days later, made my fingers tighten around the paper.
Marcus says the board won't believe me. He says Vanessa has friends in high places. He says I should leave before the scandal follows me for the rest of my life.
Then came the final entry.
I found the original design ledger. It proves which sketches were mine and when they were created. If anything happens to me, the ledger must reach Adrian.
I stopped breathing.
The envelope beneath the notebook had my name written across it.
Not my full name.
Just one word.
Nia.
My mother's handwriting.
I sat down on the dusty floor and opened it.
Inside was a letter.
My sweet girl,
If you are reading this, then you are old enough to ask questions I could not answer while I was alive.
There are people who will tell you that talent belongs to whoever has the money to protect it. They will tell you that truth is less important than reputation.
Do not believe them.
I made mistakes. I trusted people who did not deserve my trust. I allowed shame to silence me when I should have fought harder.
But I never stole another person's work.
And I never stopped loving the man who believed in me.
Tears slipped onto the page.
I wiped them away with the back of my hand.
The letter continued.
There is a ledger hidden somewhere in the Bellamy archives. It contains the original sketches, dated submissions, and the names of everyone who accessed my designs.
If the ledger is ever found, it will reveal what truly happened.
But there is something else you must know.
The person who betrayed me was not acting alone.
My hands went numb.
I read the sentence again.
Then I turned the page.
At the bottom, my mother had written a name.
*Evelyn Shaw.*
The same Dr. Shaw who had reviewed my authorship claim at the competition.
I stared at the paper.
My mother's final words had just connected the past to the present.
And I had no idea whether the woman who had helped expose Brianna was also the person who had helped destroy my mother.
I folded the letter carefully and placed it inside my bag.
At two o'clock, I would meet Adrian Vale.
I would show him the evidence.
I would demand the truth.
But before I could leave the attic, my phone rang.
The competition coordinator's name appeared on the screen.
I answered immediately.
"Hello?""
Her voice was strained.
"Nia, I need you to come to the theater as soon as possible.""
"Why? What's happened?""
She hesitated.
"Dr. Shaw has been suspended from the judging panel.""
My stomach dropped.
"On what grounds?""
"Someone submitted evidence that she accessed your mother's sealed Bellamy file seventeen years ago.""
I gripped the phone.
"Who submitted it?""
The coordinator lowered her voice.
"That's the problem, Nia.""
A pause.
"Your stepmother claims Dr. Shaw helped your mother steal her original designs.""
I looked down at the letter in my hand.
The name my mother had written was no longer just a clue.
It was the center of a new accusation.
And as I heard the coordinator's final words, I realized someone was already trying to rewrite the past before we could uncover it.
May you like
"There's one more thing," she whispered.
"Brianna has disappeared.""
