Chapter 6: The Collection Hidden Behind Locked Doors
Nia looked at the folded document in her mother's hand.
Vanessa was no longer trying to appear calm.
Her breathing was shallow. Her shoulders were rigid. One hand clutched Brianna's wrist while the other held the paper as if it contained something dangerous.
“What is it?”” Nia asked.
“Nothing you need to concern yourself with.””
“Then show me.””
Vanessa stepped backward.
“You have already caused enough trouble today.””
Nia gave a small, humorless laugh.
“I'm asking about my grandmother's collection. Why are you acting like I've asked for the keys to a bank vault?””
“Because you don't understand the consequences.””
“Then explain them.””
Brianna pulled her arm free.
“Mom, just tell her.””
Vanessa turned sharply.
“Be quiet.””
Brianna stared at her.
“You said she would never find out.””
Nia's stomach tightened.
“Find out what?””
Vanessa's expression hardened.
“Brianna, get in the car.””
“No.””
“Now.””
Brianna looked at Nia.
For the first time, she seemed uncertain about which side she wanted to stand on.
“Mom told me Grandma's collection was sold,” she said quietly.
Vanessa closed her eyes.
Nia felt as though the floor had disappeared beneath her.
“Sold?””
Brianna nodded.
“She said it was sold after Grandma died because the family needed money.””
Nia turned toward Vanessa.
“Is that true?””
Vanessa said nothing.
“Mom?””
The older woman opened the driver's door.
“Get in the car, Nia.””
“I am not getting into your car.””
“Then stop asking questions you aren't prepared to hear the answers to.””
Vanessa climbed into the driver's seat and shut the door.
Brianna remained outside.
The SUV started.
Nia stepped toward the window.
“You can't keep hiding things from me!””
Vanessa looked straight ahead.
Then the vehicle pulled away.
Brianna stood alone in the garage, her expression troubled.
Nia turned toward her.
“Did you know Grandma wanted me to have that collection?””
Brianna looked down.
“I knew she wanted to leave you something.””
“What?””
“I don't know exactly.””
Nia waited.
Brianna swallowed.
“But Mom said there was a condition. Something about you becoming an independent designer before the archive could be released.””
“Who told you that?””
“Mom.””
Nia stared at her.
“Why didn't you tell me?””
Brianna's eyes filled.
“Because I thought if I became the successful one, Mom would finally be proud of me.””
Nia looked at her stepsister for a long moment.
Then she answered quietly.
“She could have been proud of both of us.””
Brianna looked away.
Neither woman said anything else.
The next morning, Nia returned to Collins Alterations.
Daniel Whitmore was already there.
He had brought several original documents from his company's archive, along with a thick file containing correspondence between himself and Nia's grandmother.
Mrs. Collins placed coffee on the table.
“You look like you haven't slept,” she told Nia.
“I haven't.””
Daniel opened the file.
“I spoke to my legal team last night. We located a record of the original archive agreement.””
“Does it say I'm the owner?””
“It names you as the intended beneficiary, but there's a condition.””
Nia frowned.
“What condition?””
Daniel slid the document across the table.
The agreement was dated six months before her grandmother died.
It stated that the archive would remain protected until Nia established herself as an independent designer and accepted responsibility for the collection.
Nia read the final paragraph twice.
“Why wasn't I told?””
Daniel looked at Mrs. Collins.
“Your grandmother wanted to tell you herself.””
“But she died.””
“Yes.””
Nia lowered her eyes.
Daniel continued.
“Your mother was appointed temporary custodian. She was not given permission to sell, transfer, or commercially exploit the archive without your written consent.””
Nia looked up.
“Then if Brianna has been using those designs…”
“We need to establish exactly which designs were used and who authorized their commercial release.””
Mrs. Collins clasped her hands.
“I knew Vanessa had kept some of the old sketches. I didn't know she had started selling them.””
Nia looked at the photographs from Daniel's folder.
Her grandmother's designs were beautiful.
They were also unmistakably familiar.
Some of the silhouettes resembled dresses Brianna had proudly presented on social media.
Other pieces appeared in photographs from Vale House fashion events.
Nia felt sick.
“How many?””
Daniel opened another file.
“That's what we are trying to determine.””
At noon, a courier arrived at the shop.
He handed Daniel a large envelope requiring a signature.
Daniel examined the return address.
Then his expression changed.
“What's wrong?”” Nia asked.
“This came from your mother's attorney.””
He opened it.
Inside was a formal cease-and-desist notice addressed to Nia Vale.
The letter accused her of making unauthorized claims about Vale House designs, interfering with commercial operations, and using confidential family business materials in a public competition.
Nia read the first page.
Then the second.
Then she slowly put it down.
“She is suing me?””
“Not exactly,” Daniel said.
“This is a legal warning demanding that you stop making public statements about ownership until the dispute is resolved.””
“After everything she did?””
Daniel nodded.
“It's an attempt to control the conversation.””
Mrs. Collins slammed her coffee cup onto the table.
“She's trying to frighten her own daughter into silence.””
Nia looked at the letter again.
The document contained a surprising detail.
It referenced an intellectual property agreement signed by Nia three years earlier.
Her name appeared near the bottom.
She recognized the signature.
Her stomach dropped.
“I signed this?””
Daniel examined the page.
“Do you remember signing an agreement with your mother?””
Nia shook her head.
“I signed paperwork when I started helping at Vale House. But I was told it was an employee registration form.””
“Did you receive a copy?””
“No.””
Daniel turned the page.
A section near the bottom claimed that all creative work produced by Nia during her employment belonged exclusively to Vale House.
Nia's hands began to tremble.
“That's not what I agreed to.””
“Then we'll need to examine the original document.””
Mrs. Collins looked at her.
“Do you remember anything about it?””
Nia closed her eyes.
A memory returned.
She was nineteen, sitting in Vanessa's office. The room smelled of fresh paint and expensive perfume. A stack of papers sat on the desk.
Vanessa had told her to sign at the bottom of each page because the accountant needed the paperwork before the weekend.
Nia had trusted her.
She had signed.
And she had never received a copy.
That afternoon, the Bellamy Fashion House issued a public statement.
The competition confirmed that Brianna's sapphire gown remained under investigation and that Nia's authorship evidence had been formally accepted for review.
The statement did not declare a winner.
But it was enough to set the fashion world talking.
Nia's new gown had already appeared in several online articles.
One headline read:
*UNKNOWN DESIGNER STEALS THE RUNWAY WITH A GOWN MADE FROM LEFTOVER FABRIC AND CRYSTALS.*
Another read:
*FASHION HOUSE INVESTIGATES SISTER DESIGNERS IN SHOCKING AUTHORSHIP DISPUTE.*
Nia disliked the word steals.
She hadn't stolen anything.
She had made something from what remained.
Still, the photographs were beautiful.
The pink floral train looked almost luminous beneath the runway lights.
And for the first time, people were searching for her name rather than Brianna's.
At four in the afternoon, Daniel called.
“Nia, we have an update.””
She was sitting at Mrs. Collins' sewing table, reviewing the old designs.
“What is it?””
“My legal team found a record showing the archive was never sold.””
Nia straightened.
“You're sure?””
“Yes. The collection was moved into a private storage facility eight months after your grandmother's death. The account was paid through Vale House.””
“Where is it?””
Daniel paused.
“There's another problem. The storage account is still active, but someone recently changed the authorized access list.””
“Who?””
“Vanessa Vale.””
Nia closed her eyes.
Of course.
Her mother hadn't sold the collection.
She had kept it.
But that raised another question.
Why was she so desperate to stop Nia from finding it?
At six, Nia received an unexpected visitor.
Brianna stood outside Collins Alterations holding a small box.
Her makeup was smudged. Her hair was tied into a loose ponytail, and she wore an oversized sweater instead of the expensive designer clothes she usually preferred.
Nia opened the door.
“What do you want?””
Brianna held out the box.
“I brought something.””
Nia didn't take it.
“Why?””
“Because I think you should have it.””
Brianna opened the lid.
Inside lay the original sapphire gown's missing fabric label.
*NIA VALE — ORIGINAL DESIGN.*
Beside it was the tiny silver star that had been removed from beneath the neckline.
Nia stared at the contents.
“Where did you get these?””
“Mom kept them in her office drawer.””
“Why?””
“I don't know.””
Nia looked up.
“Did you take them?””
“Yes.””
Brianna placed the box on the table.
“I also found something else.””
She removed a small flash drive from her pocket.
“There's a folder on Mom's office computer. It contains photographs of Grandma's original sketches and some of the documents from the storage facility.””
Nia didn't reach for it.
“Why are you giving me this?””
Brianna lowered her eyes.
“Because I can't keep pretending I did nothing wrong.””
Nia studied her.
“You knew I made the sapphire gown.””
“Yes.””
“You watched Mom slap me.””
Brianna nodded.
“And you still took it.””
Tears gathered in Brianna's eyes.
“Yes.””
Nia looked at the box.
“I don't know what you expect me to say.””
“Nothing.””
Brianna wiped her face.
“I just want you to know that I found a document with your name on it. It's dated three years ago. It has the same agreement Mom sent you today.””
Nia felt her pulse quicken.
“Where is the original?””
“Mom keeps it in a locked cabinet at the boutique.””
“Can you get it?””
Brianna nodded.
“But there's something you need to know first.””
Nia waited.
Brianna glanced toward the door.
“Mom didn't just use your sketches. She used Grandma's signature, too.””
Nia felt a chill.
“What?””
“There's a document transferring the archive to Vale House. It has Grandma's signature at the bottom.””
“But Grandma left the archive to me.””
“I know.””
“Then how could she transfer it?””
Brianna looked down at the flash drive.
“Because the transfer document is dated three days after Grandma died.””
Nia stopped breathing for a moment.
“That doesn't make sense.””
“I know.””
Brianna's voice broke.
“Mom told me not to ask questions. She said the paperwork was already handled.””
Nia stared at the young woman standing before her.
For years, Brianna had taken the credit, the opportunities, and the applause.
Now she was standing in front of Nia with evidence of something far worse.
The possibility that Vanessa had forged her own mother's signature.
Nia called Daniel immediately.
He arrived twenty minutes later with Mrs. Collins.
They examined the flash drive.
There were photographs of sketches, old invoices, storage records, and scanned legal documents.
One file was labeled:
*ARCHIVE TRANSFER — FINAL.*
Daniel opened it.
The first page showed the supposed transfer of ownership from Nia's grandmother to Vale House.
The second page contained an inventory of the collection.
The third contained a signature.
Nia leaned toward the screen.
Her grandmother's name appeared beneath a thick black line.
Daniel enlarged it.
Then he stopped.
“What's wrong?”” Nia asked.
He pointed to the date.
“Look at this.””
Nia read it.
The transfer had been signed three days after her grandmother's death.
Mrs. Collins covered her mouth.
Brianna began crying.
Daniel closed the file.
“This document needs to be independently examined.””
Nia stared at the screen.
“Can we prove whether the signature is real?””
“We can have a forensic document examiner compare it with verified samples.””
“Do it.””
Daniel nodded.
Then he opened another file.
It contained a scanned letter.
The letter was dated two weeks before Nia's grandmother died.
At the top was a handwritten sentence:
Vanessa, I know what you've been doing with my designs.
Nia felt the blood drain from her face.
Daniel read the next line aloud.
I have given you every opportunity to make this right. But if you continue using my work without Nia's permission, I will expose everything.
Mrs. Collins stepped closer.
“Keep reading.””
Daniel scrolled down.
The final paragraph was short.
And it changed the entire direction of the investigation.
There is one original design that Vanessa must never be allowed to sell. It is not merely a gown. It contains the truth about who created the Vale House collection.
Nia leaned toward the screen.
“What design?””
Daniel enlarged the bottom of the page.
A name appeared beneath her grandmother's handwriting.
*THE LAST INHERITANCE.*
And beside the name was a note:
The original pattern is hidden inside the blue portfolio.
Nia slowly looked at the box Brianna had brought.
Then she looked at Daniel.
“Where is the blue portfolio?””
Daniel closed his eyes briefly.
“According to the archive inventory…”
He turned the screen toward her.
The final line showed the current storage location.
*VALE HOUSE — PRIVATE DESIGN ROOM.*
Nia's voice dropped to a whisper.
“My mother has it.””
Daniel nodded.
“And if that letter is genuine, she may have had it all along.””
At that moment, Nia's phone rang.
The caller ID displayed one name.
*VANESSA.*
Nia answered.
Her mother's voice was calm, almost gentle.
“Come home tomorrow morning, Nia.””
“Why?””
“Because we need to settle this privately.””
Nia glanced at the letter on the screen.
“What about the blue portfolio?””
The silence was immediate.
Then Vanessa whispered:
“Who told you about that?””
Nia's fingers tightened around the phone.
Vanessa's voice changed.
“You have until tomorrow morning to bring back that flash drive. And don't bring Daniel Whitmore.””
“Why are you afraid of him?””
A sharp breath.
Then Vanessa delivered the words that made Nia's heart stop.
“Because your grandmother didn't leave you a fashion collection, Nia. She left you the evidence that could put me in prison.””
The call ended.
Nia stood motionless.
Brianna began sobbing.
May you like
And Daniel quietly reached for the laptop.
“Now,” he said, “we need to find that blue portfolio before your mother gets rid of it.””
