Chapter 2: The Man Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
I didn't move.
I couldn't.
My father stood less than six feet away, holding a photograph from a life I had been told no longer existed.
He looked older.
Smaller somehow.
But his eyes were unmistakable.
"Say something," he whispered.
I swallowed.
"You're dead.""
He shook his head.
"No, sweetheart.""
"Your funeral...""
"There was no funeral for me.""
"The memorial service.""
His face tightened.
"That was arranged by Vanessa.""
I stared at him.
"Stop.""
"Nia—"
"Stop calling me that!""
My voice echoed through the room.
He immediately stepped back.
I pressed my palms against my forehead.
For ten years, I had visited a cemetery on my birthday.
For ten years, I had placed flowers beside a headstone bearing his name.
For ten years, I had believed I was an orphan.
And now a stranger with my father's face was telling me that the entire story had been fabricated.
I looked at the photograph again.
"How do I know you're really him?""
He nodded slowly.
"That's a fair question.""
He reached into his wallet.
Inside was an old, faded photograph of my mother holding me as a baby.
I recognized the blue blanket.
I recognized the tiny yellow bracelet around my wrist.
But he didn't stop there.
He turned the photograph over.
Three words were written in my mother's handwriting.
Our little sunrise.
My throat tightened.
My mother used to call me that.
Nobody else knew.
Nobody except her and my father.
He saw my expression.
"Your mother wrote that the day we brought you home from the hospital.""
I sat down.
My hands were trembling so badly that I had to press them against my knees.
"What happened to you?""
He pulled out the chair opposite me.
"Can I sit?""
I nodded.
He lowered himself into it.
"My name is Daniel Carter. I'm your father. Ten years ago, I was involved in a business dispute that became dangerous. I discovered that someone close to our family had been moving money out of your mother's company.""
I looked up.
"My mother didn't own a company.""
"She did.""
He said it quietly.
"Your mother was a talented designer. She built a successful clothing business before you were born. It started small, with a sewing room and two employees. By the time she died, it had become a company with several stores.""
I frowned.
"Why didn't I know?""
"Because Vanessa told you otherwise.""
He rubbed his forehead.
"Your mother and I had been investigating missing funds. She believed someone was using the company to finance private purchases and hide assets. I thought it was an internal accounting problem.""
"And?""
He looked at me.
"Your mother discovered the truth before I did.""
A cold feeling moved through my chest.
"Who was stealing?""
Daniel hesitated.
"Vanessa.""
I shook my head.
"No.""
"She had been working with an accountant. They created false invoices, moved money between accounts, and used company assets to purchase property.""
"You're saying my stepmother stole from my mother?""
"Yes.""
"Why would she?""
"Because she wanted control.""
He leaned forward.
"Vanessa was your mother's closest friend before she became my wife.""
I stared at him.
That was impossible.
Vanessa had always told me that she met my father after my mother's death.
According to her, she had been a kind woman who helped him through grief.
"You're wrong," I whispered.
Daniel's expression darkened.
"Your mother trusted her. That's why she never suspected her at first.""
I stood.
"I need to leave.""
He didn't try to stop me.
"All right.""
I turned toward the door.
Then his voice stopped me.
"Nia, before you go, there's something else.""
I closed my eyes.
"What?""
"Your mother didn't die in the accident Vanessa described.""
My fingers tightened around the doorknob.
"What do you mean?""
Daniel looked down at his hands.
"The car accident was real. But the circumstances surrounding it were never properly investigated.""
I turned slowly.
"What circumstances?""
"Your mother had been driving home after meeting with her lawyer. She had called me twenty minutes earlier.""
He paused.
"She told me she had found proof of the financial fraud.""
I felt sick.
"Did she tell you who was responsible?""
"She said she had a copy of the original company records. She was frightened. She said she thought someone had followed her.""
I looked at him.
"Then she crashed?""
"That's what the official report said.""
"And you think Vanessa caused it?""
"I don't know.""
His answer surprised me.
He didn't sound certain.
He sounded devastated.
"I spent years trying to find evidence," he continued.
"But after your mother's death, Vanessa took control of everything. She told me she would protect you. She said you needed stability.""
I sat down again.
"Then why did you disappear?""
Daniel looked toward the window.
"Because three days after your mother's accident, I was attacked outside my office.""
My stomach tightened.
"What?""
"Someone hit me from behind. I woke up in a hospital under a different name. I had a head injury, several broken ribs, and no identification.""
He touched a pale scar near his hairline.
"When I finally recovered, I learned that a memorial service had been held for me.""
I stared.
"Who told everyone you were dead?""
"Vanessa.""
"Why didn't you come home?""
His expression broke.
"I tried.""
He pulled a folded document from a leather folder.
"I contacted the police. I contacted the family attorney. I even sent letters to the house.""
"What happened?""
"Every letter was returned. The attorney told me you had been moved out of state. When I tried to reach you through Vanessa, she said you had been adopted by another family.""
I felt my blood run cold.
"Adopted?""
"She told me you didn't want to see me.""
I shook my head.
"I was ten years old.""
"I know.""
"She told me you were dead!""
Daniel's eyes filled.
"I know, sweetheart.""
I covered my mouth.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then I asked the question that had been burning inside me.
"Why now?""
He looked at the ruined crimson feathers visible through the doorway.
"Because I saw your name on the championship announcement.""
I frowned.
"What?""
He smiled faintly.
"I've been following your work for months. Your designs were being featured online. I recognized the way you constructed your petals.""
He reached into his folder and removed a small sketch.
It was an old drawing of a dress.
My mother's handwriting appeared in the corner.
I recognized the design immediately.
It was the first dress I had ever tried to recreate.
The one I had seen in a photograph of my mother.
"She designed that," I whispered.
"Yes.""
Daniel slid the paper toward me.
"Your mother used to say that you had inherited her hands.""
I touched the sketch.
The lines were delicate, precise, and familiar.
"She wanted you to become a designer," he said.
"But she wanted you to have a childhood first.""
I blinked away tears.
"I don't remember much about her.""
"I know.""
He reached into his folder again.
This time, he removed a small velvet box.
"I kept something for you.""
Inside was a silver thimble.
A tiny flower had been engraved on its surface.
My mother had owned one exactly like it.
Daniel turned the box so I could see the inscription.
For Nia, when she is ready to make something beautiful.
I began crying.
Not quietly.
Not gracefully.
I cried like the seven-year-old girl who had once waited by the front window for her mother to come home.
Daniel stood, but he didn't touch me until I reached for him.
Then his arms closed around me.
For several seconds, I was a child again.
I pressed my face against his shoulder.
"Why didn't you find me?"" I whispered.
He held me tighter.
"I never stopped looking.""
A knock interrupted us.
The security guard opened the door.
"Mr. Carter, I'm sorry. We have a situation.""
Daniel released me.
"What happened?""
"Your wife and her daughter are refusing to leave. They're demanding access to this room.""
My father went completely still.
"Vanessa is here?""
"Yes, sir.""
I stepped away from him.
"She knows you're alive?""
Daniel nodded.
"She knows.""
The guard lowered his voice.
"There's another problem. The competition organizer reviewed the hallway footage.""
"What did they find?"" I asked.
He looked at me.
"Your stepsister deliberately destroyed the trophy and the gown. But that's not all.""
He opened a folder.
"There is footage from an earlier camera angle, too.""
Daniel's expression sharpened.
"What earlier footage?""
"The footage shows Miss Brianna entering the dressing area before the awards ceremony.""
He handed me a tablet.
I watched the recording.
Brianna walked into the dressing room carrying a small black bag.
She approached my garment rack.
Then she stopped in front of my crimson gown.
She looked around.
And she reached inside the bag.
My stomach dropped.
"What's in that bag?"" I whispered.
The guard paused the footage.
"That's what we're trying to determine.""
Then Daniel looked at the screen.
His face turned pale.
"That bag," he whispered.
I turned toward him.
"What?""
He pointed at a small silver symbol attached to its zipper.
A flower with five petals.
I had seen it before.
On the velvet box containing my mother's thimble.
Daniel gripped the table.
"Vanessa has that symbol on every item she kept from your mother.""
He looked at me.
"Nia, I think Brianna was sent here for something.""
"Something what?""
May you like
He stared at the frozen image.
"Something your mother hid inside your dress.""
