Chapter 4: The Secret Behind Studio 14
“Maya Carter, please make your way to the runway.””
The announcer repeated the words, and the audience applauded again.
Backstage, Maya stood motionless, staring at the brass key in my hand as if it were a weapon.
Vanessa had stopped beside the exit. Daniel Reeves stood between her and the corridor, holding the brown envelope against his chest.
“Move,” Vanessa demanded.
Daniel didn't.
“Mrs. Carter, I've spent three years trying to fulfill your late husband's instructions. I'm not leaving until Nia receives what belongs to her.””
Vanessa's expression hardened.
“You have no authority to interfere with this competition.””
“This has nothing to do with the competition.””
“Then discuss it somewhere else.””
“Gladly. But first, I'd like to know why your initials are engraved on a duplicate key to a property you claimed never to have entered.””
Several people nearby turned to look.
Vanessa lowered her voice.
“Daniel, you have no idea what you're talking about.””
“I know exactly what I'm talking about.””
Maya grabbed her mother's arm.
“Mom, we need to go. They're calling me.””
Vanessa pulled away.
“Then go.””
“But the portfolio—”
“Leave it.””
Maya looked at me.
Her gaze dropped to the key, then to the document Daniel had given me.
For one second, the confident girl who had mocked my sewing seemed to disappear. Beneath her expensive makeup and perfectly arranged hair, she looked frightened.
Then the announcer called her name a third time.
Maya straightened her shoulders.
“Whatever this is,” she whispered, “you're not ruining my moment.””
I stepped aside.
“I'm not the one who stole your moment.””
Her mouth tightened.
She snatched the portfolio from the table and swept toward the stage entrance.
The pale-lilac train followed her like a trail of stolen stars.
Vanessa watched her go before turning to Daniel.
“You'll regret this.””
He opened the envelope.
“Your husband thought you might say that.””
The words stopped her.
For the first time since I'd known her, Vanessa looked genuinely shaken.
Daniel turned to me.
“Nia, we need to speak privately. But if you want to present your gown first, I'll wait.””
I looked toward the stage.
The audience was waiting.
My father had spent years telling me that my work deserved to be seen. I'd promised myself I wouldn't let Vanessa take that away from me.
“Tell me one thing,” I said.
“Does that document prove Studio 14 belongs to me?””
Daniel nodded.
“Your father purchased it outright and placed it in a trust for you. The property was never part of his estate, so it couldn't be sold to settle his debts or used to cover household expenses.””
I stared at him.
“What debts?””
Daniel's face grew serious.
“That is what we need to discuss.””
Behind us, the audience erupted into applause.
Maya had stepped onto the runway.
I couldn't see her from where I stood, but I could hear the emcee describing her gown as an extraordinary fusion of romantic craftsmanship and modern elegance.
Then came the words that made my stomach turn.
“An original vision from one of the competition's most promising emerging designers.””
Tessa appeared beside me.
“Don't listen to them,” she said.
“Your dress is ready.””
I glanced toward the curtain.
“What if she wins?””
“Then she'll have a trophy. You'll still have the truth.””
I looked at the brass key.
For three years, I'd believed my father's death had left me with nothing but grief, a few old photographs, and a stepmother who resented my existence.
Now I was beginning to understand that someone had spent those same three years making sure I never discovered what he'd left behind.
I handed the key to Daniel.
“Keep this safe.””
Then I picked up my garment bag.
“I'm going on that runway.””
Tessa smiled.
“That's my girl.””
Maya's presentation lasted nearly six minutes.
She moved gracefully beneath the lights, turning at the end of the runway so the crystal train spread around her feet.
The judges leaned forward.
Photographers fired their cameras.
From the wings, I watched her lift her chin and smile at the audience.
She looked beautiful.
I hated that I could admit it.
The gown was beautifully constructed, too. Whoever had made the replica had copied my measurements with frightening precision. Even the tiny sapphire flash beneath the lilac skirt was there.
But something about the train bothered me.
The crystals were arranged too evenly.
My original design had been deliberately asymmetrical, with a subtle break in the pattern near the left hip. I'd made that decision after discovering that a perfectly symmetrical arrangement looked lifeless when the wearer walked.
Maya's version had no break.
It was a copy of my sketch, not my finished design.
The distinction mattered to me.
I wasn't sure it would matter to the judges.
When Maya returned backstage, she passed me without speaking.
Vanessa hurried to her side.
“You were wonderful,” she said, adjusting the shoulder of the gown.
“Absolutely wonderful.””
“Did you see their faces?”” Maya whispered.
“They loved it.””
“Yes, darling.””
“I'm going to win.””
Vanessa kissed her cheek.
“Of course you are.””
Maya's eyes flicked toward me.
Then she leaned closer to her mother.
“What did Daniel say?””
Vanessa's smile disappeared.
“Not now.””
“Mom—”
“I said not now.””
Maya fell silent.
For the first time, she seemed to understand that something was happening beyond her control.
A stage assistant approached me.
“Ms. Carter, you're next.””
I handed Tessa my phone and stepped into the changing stall.
The midnight-sapphire gown waited inside the garment bag.
I removed it carefully.
The silk whispered against my hands.
I stepped into the skirt, fastened the bodice, and secured the final hook at the back. The dress settled against my body like cool water.
Tessa zipped the garment bag away and looked at me through the mirror.
“Nia?””
“Yeah?””
“You look like you belong here.””
I swallowed.
“I know.””
The answer surprised both of us.
Because for the first time, I wasn't saying it to convince myself.
I was saying it because I believed it.
The stage assistant pulled the curtain aside.
The announcer's voice rang out.
“Our next designer presents a dramatic study in transformation, using traditional handwork and reclaimed materials to create a striking new silhouette. Please welcome Nia Carter.””
I stepped forward.
The lights hit my face.
For half a second, I couldn't see anything beyond the bright white glow.
Then I walked.
One step.
Another.
The sapphire skirt moved around my legs, revealing flashes of lilac beneath the dark silk. The crystals caught the overhead lights in a spiral that seemed to travel with every movement.
A murmur passed through the audience.
I reached the center of the runway and turned.
The back lace shimmered against the blue silk, the embroidered flowers appearing to float beneath the surface.
I held the final pose.
Silence.
Then someone clapped.
A single sharp clap from the judges' table.
Another followed.
And another.
Within seconds, the room filled with applause.
I saw Tessa crying beside the backstage curtain.
I saw Richard Bellamy leaning forward, studying the gown.
And I saw Maya.
She stood near the stage entrance, still wearing her lilac replica.
Her face had gone white.
Because the audience wasn't simply admiring my dress.
They were comparing it to hers.
And they could see the difference.
When I returned backstage, Richard Bellamy approached me before I could even catch my breath.
“Ms. Carter, may I ask you something about the construction?””
“Of course.””
He pointed to the spiral of crystals.
“Why did you choose this particular arrangement?””
I could have told him about the ruined train.
I could have described Vanessa's hand gripping the fabric, the sound of the tearing, and the crystals scattered across the floor.
Instead, I told him the truth about the design.
“The original gown was intended to look like a constellation,” I said.
“But after I lost part of the train, I realized that the crystals could follow the movement of the body rather than decorate the edges of the garment. The design changed because the materials changed.””
Richard studied me.
“So the damage influenced the final concept?””
“Yes.””
“And the lilac lining?””
“It's from the original gown.””
He glanced toward Maya.
“Interesting.””
Before he could say anything else, a voice called from the judging area.
“Mr. Bellamy, we need you at the table.””
He gave me a thoughtful nod.
“Stay nearby, Ms. Carter. We may have additional questions.””
As he walked away, Maya rushed toward me.
“You did that on purpose.””
I stared at her.
“Did what?””
“You changed the dress so everyone would compare it to mine.””
“I changed the dress because you and Vanessa destroyed the original.””
“You could have withdrawn.””
“You could have designed something of your own.””
She stepped closer.
“You think one pretty dress makes you better than me?””
“No.””
I looked at the gown she was wearing.
“I think what you do next will tell everyone who you are.””
Maya's fingers tightened around her portfolio.
“You have no idea what you're getting yourself into.””
“Then explain it to me.””
She opened her mouth.
For a moment, I thought she might finally tell the truth.
Instead, she looked over my shoulder.
Vanessa was standing near the exit, speaking urgently to a man I didn't recognize.
The man handed her a folded document.
Vanessa glanced at it, then shoved it inside her handbag.
Maya followed my gaze.
Her face changed.
“Forget what you saw,” she whispered.
I turned back to her.
“Why?””
“Because if you keep digging, you'll destroy this family.””
I almost laughed.
“You destroyed my gown.””
Maya's eyes filled with anger.
“That was just a dress.””
“No,” I said quietly.
“It was my work.””
The announcer called the finalists back to the stage.
Maya backed away.
“You should have stayed out of it.””
Then she hurried toward her mother.
I watched them disappear through the backstage corridor.
My phone vibrated in Tessa's hand.
Daniel had sent a message.
I've reviewed the first page of your father's instructions. Before I show you the rest, you need to know something about the key.
A second message appeared.
Studio 14 wasn't merely a workroom. Your father used it to store the original financial records for his company.
I read the words twice.
Then a third message arrived.
And three months after his funeral, someone transferred a substantial sum from the trust that was supposed to protect you.
The applause from the runway continued around me.
But I could barely hear it anymore.
May you like
Because the person who had stolen my design might not have been the only person who had stolen from me.
And I was beginning to suspect that the two crimes were connected.
