Chapter 8: The Witness Who Had Been Buried Alive
Vanessa tried to take the photograph from my hand.
I stepped backward.
"Don't come near me.""
She stopped.
For the first time since I was a child, she looked uncertain about what I might do next.
"You misunderstood what I said," she replied.
"No. I heard you clearly.""
"Victoria was unstable. She was dangerous. You don't know what she did to this family.""
"Then tell me.""
Vanessa shook her head.
"You have no idea what you're getting yourself into.""
I placed the photograph inside my folder.
"I'm going to find her.""
"You won't.""
"Why? Because she'll tell me the truth?""
Vanessa's eyes flashed.
"Because people like Victoria always lie when they think they can profit from someone else's tragedy.""
I looked at her for a long moment.
"That's what you've been saying about my mother for eighteen years, isn't it?""
Her expression changed.
I continued.
"You said Mom wasn't a real designer. You said Dad left nothing. You said I was a burden. Every time I asked a question, you made me feel ashamed for asking it.""
"Because you were a child!""
"And now I'm not.""
My voice shook, but I refused to look away.
"You can't control what I learn anymore.""
Vanessa stood motionless.
Then she reached for the folder.
I pulled it away.
"Give me those documents.""
"No.""
"They belong to the company.""
"They belong to my family.""
"Your father had no right to—"
She stopped.
I watched her carefully.
"No right to what?""
Vanessa's mouth tightened.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then she turned toward the hallway.
"You're making a terrible mistake, Nia.""
She walked away.
I locked my bedroom door and immediately called Daniel Collins.
I told him what Vanessa had said.
He listened without interrupting.
When I finished, his voice was firm.
"Do not confront her again about Victoria. We don't know whether she intended a threat or was referring to something else, but the statement is concerning. Write down exactly what happened while it's fresh in your mind.""
"I will.""
"And don't go looking for Victoria alone.""
"I have her address.""
"That doesn't mean you should go there without support.""
I glanced at the handwritten note.
"Daniel, if she's alive, she may be the only person who can explain what happened to my mother.""
"Then we'll approach this carefully.""
He promised to arrange a meeting with a private investigator experienced in locating witnesses and preserving evidence.
After we ended the call, I sat beside my mother's sewing machine.
I opened the drawer where I kept her thread, scissors, and small tools.
For years, I had treated the machine as a treasured possession.
Now I saw it differently.
My father had hidden evidence inside it because he believed someone might try to take the truth away from me.
He had known I would protect the machine.
He had known I would keep it even when everything else disappeared.
I ran my fingers over the worn wooden base.
"Why didn't you tell me, Dad?"" I whispered.
There was no answer.
Only the quiet ticking of the clock.
Then my phone buzzed.
A message from Brianna.
I need to tell you something about the restaurant photograph.
I called her immediately.
She answered on the first ring.
"Where are you?"" I asked.
"In my room.""
"Is Mom there?""
"No. She left about twenty minutes ago.""
"What do you know about the photograph?""
Brianna hesitated.
"I've seen it before.""
My stomach tightened.
"When?""
"Last year. I was looking for a charger in Mom's desk, and I found a folder with photographs of Dad and Mr. Grant.""
"Why didn't you tell anyone?""
"Because I didn't understand what they meant. I thought they were business meetings.""
"What else was in the folder?""
Brianna took a shaky breath.
"A hospital bill. And a letter from someone named Victoria.""
I stood so quickly that my chair scraped the floor.
"Where is it now?""
"Mom keeps the folder in the locked drawer of her dressing table.""
"Can you get it?""
"I don't know.""
"Brianna, this could help us find out what happened.""
"I know. But if Mom catches me—"
I closed my eyes.
For years, Brianna had benefited from Vanessa's cruelty. She had laughed while taking my dress, and she had worn my work as if it belonged to her.
I wasn't going to pretend she hadn't done those things.
But she was seventeen, frightened, and finally beginning to recognize the cost of her mother's behavior.
"You don't have to do anything that puts you in danger," I said.
"But if you can get the documents safely, don't alter them or throw anything away. Tell me what you find, and we'll give them to Daniel.""
Brianna was quiet.
Then she whispered, "Nia?""
"Yes?""
"I'm sorry.""
I swallowed.
"I heard you.""
"I know that's not enough.""
"No. It isn't.""
"I'll try to make it right.""
I ended the call with mixed feelings.
I didn't trust Brianna completely.
But for the first time, I believed she might be willing to help.
The following morning, Daniel arrived with a private investigator named Marcus Reed.
Marcus was a broad-shouldered man in his fifties with a calm voice and an old leather notebook. He listened while I explained everything, from the hidden documents to Vanessa's disturbing remark.
When I showed him the handwritten address, he studied it carefully.
"Do you know who sent this?""
"No.""
"Could it have been Brianna?""
"I don't think so.""
He nodded.
"We'll verify the address before making contact. If Victoria Grant is alive, we need to establish her identity and make sure she is willing to speak.""
Daniel placed a copy of the estate records on the table.
"The payment to the medical facility was made under a private account associated with your father's business. We found a second payment six months later.""
Marcus examined the dates.
"That suggests someone was covering ongoing expenses.""
"Possibly," Daniel replied.
"But we don't know for whom.""
I looked between them.
"Can we go today?""
Marcus closed his notebook.
"We can visit the address and make a preliminary inquiry. You will remain with me, and we won't enter private property without permission.""
I agreed.
An hour later, we drove to a quiet neighborhood on the northern edge of the city.
The address led to a small brick building behind a row of mature trees. The front garden was neat, and a wind chime hung beside the porch.
It looked ordinary.
Almost painfully ordinary for a place that might hold the answer to eighteen years of lies.
Marcus knocked.
No one answered.
He knocked again.
A curtain moved behind the front window.
Then the door opened a few inches.
An older woman stood behind it.
She had silver hair, a thin face, and a deep scar running from her left temple toward her cheek.
Her eyes moved from Marcus to Daniel.
Then they settled on me.
She went completely still.
I recognized her immediately.
The woman in the photograph.
The woman standing beside my mother.
"Victoria Grant?"" Marcus asked.
The woman gripped the doorframe.
"Who wants to know?""
Daniel stepped forward.
"My name is Daniel Collins. I represent the estate of Thomas Carter.""
Victoria's expression changed.
She looked at me again.
"You're Elena's daughter.""
I nodded.
"My name is Nia.""
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then she opened the door wider.
"Come inside.""
The house smelled of lavender and old books.
Victoria led us to a small sitting room and offered tea, though her hands shook so badly that she spilled some water while filling the kettle.
I watched her carefully.
She was older than the woman in the photograph, but her eyes were unmistakable.
"Why did you disappear?"" I asked.
Victoria sat down.
"Because I was afraid.""
"Of Vanessa?""
"Of Vanessa, Graham, and the people who helped them.""
Daniel leaned forward.
"Can you tell us what happened to Elena Carter's original collection?""
Victoria looked at him.
Then she turned toward me.
"Your mother and I created the phoenix collection together. She designed the silhouettes and the embroidery. I developed several structural techniques that allowed the gowns to move without losing their shape.""
I thought of my own dress.
"The wings?""
Victoria nodded slowly.
"The wings were Elena's idea. I helped her engineer them.""
"Then why did Vanessa say my mother stole the designs?""
"Because she wanted control of the company.""
Victoria rose and crossed to a cabinet.
She removed a small wooden box and placed it on the table.
Inside were old photographs, contracts, and several newspaper clippings.
"Vanessa worked in the business office. Graham was a consultant. They discovered that the collection could be sold internationally for a fortune, but Elena refused to sign away the original designs.""
Victoria lifted a contract.
"She wanted the company to manufacture the gowns under a licensing agreement. That would protect the designers' rights.""
"And Vanessa wanted to own everything?""
"Yes.""
Victoria's voice trembled.
"She forged Elena's signature on a transfer agreement. When Elena discovered it, she confronted them. Graham accused her of fraud and threatened to ruin her reputation.""
I stared at the documents.
"What happened to you?""
Victoria looked down.
"I tried to help Elena prove the forgery. I had copies of the original contracts and records showing that the signatures had been altered.""
She paused.
"One night, I was driving home when another vehicle struck mine. My car caught fire. I survived, but I was badly injured.""
My hand flew to my mouth.
"Was it an accident?""
"The police said it was. But before the crash, I had received a message telling me to stop helping Elena.""
She touched the scar on her face.
"I went into hiding because I believed the people responsible would come after me again.""
Daniel's expression hardened.
"Did you report the threat?""
"Yes. But I had no proof linking it to the crash. By the time I recovered, the collection had disappeared, Elena's career was destroyed, and the company had changed hands.""
"Why didn't you contact her?""
Victoria's eyes filled with tears.
"I tried. Her home phone was disconnected. Her office was closed. When I finally found out she had died, I couldn't bear to face her daughter.""
I felt a sharp ache in my chest.
"My mother thought you betrayed her.""
"I know.""
Victoria covered her face.
"I failed her, Nia. I should have kept fighting.""
I reached across the table.
She looked up, startled.
"I'm not here to punish you," I said.
"I just want the truth.""
Victoria began to cry.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then she wiped her cheeks and opened the wooden box again.
"There is something else. After your father learned what had happened, he came to see me. He told me he was gathering evidence to restore Elena's name.""
"What did he find?""
Victoria removed a folded sheet of paper.
"A letter from Graham to Vanessa. It described the transfer of the collection and instructed her to destroy the original ownership records.""
Daniel examined it carefully.
"Do you still have the original?""
Victoria nodded.
"I kept it because I knew one day someone might need it.""
She placed the letter in Daniel's hands.
He read it silently.
Then his expression changed.
"This is significant.""
I leaned forward.
"What does it say?""
Daniel looked at me.
"It refers to a second agreement. An agreement transferring the company's controlling shares through a separate holding company.""
"Who owned the holding company?""
Victoria looked directly at me.
"Your father.""
I stared at her.
"Then why did Vanessa control the company?""
"Because your father gave her temporary authority to manage it while he investigated the fraud. He believed he could recover the stolen collection and restore your mother's ownership rights without exposing you to the conflict.""
"Did he succeed?""
Victoria shook her head.
"No. He died before he could finish.""
The room became very quiet.
Then she reached into the box and removed a final document.
It was a photocopy of a bank transfer, dated two days before my father's death.
The recipient's name was Graham Grant.
The amount was enormous.
Daniel's jaw tightened.
"Where did you get this?""
"Your father sent it to me with the letter. He believed Graham was preparing to move the remaining company assets.""
I looked at the date.
Two days before Dad died.
The same period covered by the restaurant photograph.
"Was my father murdered?"" I whispered.
Victoria looked at me with deep sadness.
"I don't know, sweetheart. I can only tell you that he was frightened. He told me someone had discovered what he was doing, and he was afraid they would come after his daughter next.""
I felt as though the air had vanished from the room.
Daniel placed the documents in a folder.
"We'll need to have these authenticated. They could be critical to the financial investigation.""
Victoria nodded.
Then she looked at me.
"There's one more thing I never told your father.""
I waited.
"Vanessa wasn't the only person involved in the original fraud. Someone inside the company helped her. Someone your father trusted completely.""
"Who?""
Victoria looked toward the window.
"Your father's business partner.""
Daniel frowned.
"Thomas had no business partner. He owned the company through a holding entity.""
Victoria shook her head.
"He did. The partnership was concealed. The other person controlled the accounts, handled the legal paperwork, and helped move the collection into a separate company.""
She reached for another photograph.
A man stood beside my father at a company celebration.
His face was partly obscured by a shadow.
But I recognized the expensive watch on his wrist.
I had seen it before.
On Graham Grant.
Victoria turned the photograph over.
On the back was a name.
*GRAHAM GRANT — CO-FOUNDER, CARTER HOUSE FASHION.*
Daniel stared at the image.
Then his phone rang.
He answered, listened for several seconds, and went pale.
When he hung up, he looked at me.
"The bank has received another filing. Graham is claiming that your father's holding company never legally owned Carter House Fashion.""
"Can he do that?""
"He can make the claim. Whether it survives scrutiny is another matter.""
Daniel gathered the evidence.
"But there's a more immediate problem.""
He turned the phone toward me.
A news alert showed a photograph of the competition ballroom.
The headline read:
*RISING STAR CONTESTANT ACCUSED OF STEALING FAMILY FASHION LEGACY.*
Beneath it was my name.
And beside it was a statement attributed to Carter House Fashion.
The company will pursue all available legal remedies against Nia Carter for unauthorized use of proprietary designs.
I stared at the screen.
Vanessa and Graham were attacking me publicly before the evidence could be verified.
Victoria reached for my hand.
"Don't let them frighten you.""
I swallowed.
"I'm trying not to.""
She squeezed my fingers.
"Your mother fought them once. Your father fought them afterward. Now it's your turn to finish what they started.""
I looked at the documents in Daniel's folder.
For the first time, I wasn't fighting only for my dress or my eye treatment.
I was fighting to restore my mother's name.
But as we prepared to leave, Victoria caught my arm.
"Nia, wait.""
Her eyes were filled with sudden alarm.
"There's something I haven't told you about your father's final night.""
I turned.
"What?""
She looked toward the door, as though she expected someone to be listening.
"Your father called me less than an hour before he died. He said he had discovered who was stealing the company money.""
My heart began pounding.
"Who?""
Victoria's voice dropped to a whisper.
"He said the person responsible was someone he loved.""
May you like
She tightened her grip on my hand.
"And then he told me to protect you from Vanessa.""
