Chapter 5: The Secret My Mother Took to Her Grave
My father didn't speak until we reached the hotel.
He had arranged a suite on the upper floor, away from the competition venue. The room overlooked a river lined with streetlights, and the curtains were drawn against the cold November night.
I stood beside the window, still wearing my ruined gown.
Daniel placed a glass of water on the table.
"You should change," he said gently.
"I don't want to.""
He nodded.
I looked at him through the reflection in the glass.
"Tell me about the divorce.""
He pulled out a chair.
"Your mother and I had a difficult year before the accident.""
"Because of Vanessa?""
"Partly.""
I turned around.
"What else?""
Daniel looked at the floor.
"I had been making financial decisions without telling your mother.""
"About her company?""
"About our family.""
He reached into his folder and removed a photograph.
It showed him standing outside a large office building beside another man.
I recognized neither of them.
"Who is that?""
"Richard Hale. He was my business partner.""
Daniel placed the photograph on the table.
"We had invested in several properties together. At first, everything was legitimate. But Richard started using our company accounts to cover personal debts.""
"And you knew?""
"I suspected.""
"Did you report him?""
Daniel shook his head.
"Instead, I tried to fix the situation quietly.""
I stared at him.
"Why?""
"Because I was afraid of losing everything. Our home. The business. The future we had built.""
He rubbed his hands together.
"Your mother found out. She was furious that I had risked our savings without telling her.""
"So she wanted a divorce?""
"She said she couldn't stay married to someone who kept secrets from her.""
I looked down.
That sounded like my mother.
She had always told me that honesty was more important than money.
"Did you apologize?""
"Every day.""
"Did she forgive you?""
He gave a sad smile.
"She was beginning to.""
I sat across from him.
"What happened next?""
"Your mother discovered that Richard and Vanessa had been working together.""
I frowned.
"Working together how?""
"They were moving money through several companies. Some of the money came from your mother's fashion business. Some came from our property investments.""
"Why would Vanessa work with Richard?""
"Because he promised her a share of the profits.""
Daniel leaned forward.
"Your mother found documents proving that Vanessa had been using a false identity to authorize transactions.""
My heart began racing.
"A false identity?""
"She had access to the company's financial records. Richard created a second set of credentials under the name of an employee who had left years earlier.""
I stared at him.
"And Mom found out?""
"Yes.""
He opened his folder and showed me a photocopy of a bank statement.
Several transactions were highlighted in yellow.
The dates went back nearly four years.
The amounts were enormous.
I covered my mouth.
"How much?""
"Over two million dollars.""
I looked at him.
"Two million?""
"That was what we could trace at the time.""
I stood and walked toward the window.
Vanessa had raised me in a house where she complained about grocery prices, criticized my school expenses, and told me that my sewing hobby was a waste of money.
She had made me feel guilty for asking for new shoes.
All while stealing millions from my mother's company.
"Did she use that money to buy Brianna everything?""
Daniel didn't answer immediately.
"Some of it.""
I turned.
"Her clothes?""
"Possibly.""
"The holidays?""
"Likely.""
"The car?""
He nodded.
I laughed once.
It wasn't a happy sound.
"So while I was wearing shoes with holes in them, Brianna was wearing dresses bought with my mother's money.""
Daniel looked devastated.
"I didn't know.""
"Nobody ever knew anything, apparently.""
He accepted the accusation.
I sat on the edge of the bed.
"What happened to Richard?""
"After your mother's accident, he disappeared. His company was dissolved. His office was emptied.""
"Did you look for him?""
"Yes. But every lead ended at a dead end.""
Daniel paused.
"Then, after I was attacked, I received a message from an unknown number.""
He pulled out his phone.
The message was saved as a screenshot.
Stay away from the child. You have already lost your wife. Don't make the same mistake twice.
I read it twice.
My stomach tightened.
"Did you tell the police?""
"I tried. But the number had been disconnected. The officer handling the case told me there wasn't enough evidence to connect it to Richard.""
"Why didn't you tell me?""
"I couldn't reach you.""
I looked at him.
"Not even after I grew up?""
Daniel nodded.
"I tried to find you again when you turned eighteen. But Vanessa had changed your surname on several school records and moved you between addresses.""
"Why?""
"She wanted to make it difficult for me to trace you.""
I looked at my hands.
I had spent years believing I was simply unlucky.
Now I was beginning to understand that someone had deliberately made my life smaller.
I reached for my mother's letter.
There was something I hadn't noticed before.
The paper had been folded twice, and a small line of writing appeared along the bottom edge.
I held it closer.
The truth is in the blue room.
I looked up.
"What's the blue room?""
Daniel frowned.
"Your mother's private workshop.""
"Where is it?""
He hesitated.
"At the old Carter estate.""
I had never heard of it.
"Do we still own it?""
"I don't know.""
He picked up the brass key.
"Your mother had a private cutting room there. It was separate from the main house.""
"Can we go?""
"Tomorrow morning.""
I nodded.
Then I remembered something.
"Why did Vanessa give me the old fabric?""
Daniel looked at the torn gown.
"Perhaps she didn't realize your mother had hidden something inside it.""
"But she recognized the letter.""
"Which means she knew the fabric might contain something important.""
I considered that.
"Maybe she thought I'd never use it.""
"Or perhaps she believed she had already removed everything.""
I stared at the envelope.
"Then why did she leave it?""
Daniel didn't answer.
A sudden vibration came from my phone.
An unknown number.
I looked at the screen.
*Unknown: Stop asking questions about the blue room.*
My blood turned cold.
I showed Daniel.
He immediately stood.
"Don't respond.""
Another message appeared.
*Unknown: Your mother should have listened.*
I felt the air leave my lungs.
Daniel took the phone.
He photographed the screen, then called his attorney.
"Michael, it's Daniel. I need you to preserve a number for an investigation. I'll send it now.""
He listened.
"Yes. Tonight.""
When he ended the call, he locked the door.
I sat frozen on the bed.
"Who is it?""
"I don't know.""
"Vanessa?""
"Possibly.""
"Richard?""
"Possibly.""
He looked toward the window.
"That's why we're not going to the estate without proper security.""
I nodded.
Then another message appeared.
This time, it contained a photograph.
I opened it before Daniel could stop me.
It showed my childhood sewing room.
The same wooden table.
The same yellow curtains.
The same little chair where I used to sit and sew dresses for my dolls.
But the photograph had been taken recently.
Someone had placed a sheet of paper on the table.
Written across it were four words.
*THE BLUE LEDGER IS MINE.*
I dropped the phone.
Daniel caught it before it hit the floor.
His face went pale.
"They're watching the house.""
I stood.
"Then we need to go there.""
"No.""
"Daniel, someone is threatening us.""
"Exactly. That's why we need the police.""
I stepped closer.
"That house is where I grew up. I know every room. I know where Vanessa keeps the keys. I know which floorboards creak.""
He shook his head.
"You're not going there alone.""
"I didn't say I was going alone.""
For several seconds, he studied my face.
Then he nodded.
"All right. But we do this carefully.""
At eight the next morning, a black sedan pulled up outside the old Carter estate.
The house looked smaller than I remembered.
The white paint had faded. Ivy covered part of the stone wall, and the front garden was overgrown.
I hadn't been there since Vanessa sold the property after moving us into a newer home.
But something was wrong.
The front gate was open.
Daniel noticed it immediately.
"Stay behind me.""
We approached slowly.
The front door was unlocked.
Inside, the air smelled of dust and old wood.
A sheet covered the grand piano.
The chandelier was gone.
But the staircase remained exactly as I remembered it.
I walked toward the hallway.
"Mom's workshop was through there.""
Daniel followed.
The workshop door was locked.
I took the brass key from my pocket.
It fitted perfectly.
The lock clicked.
I pushed the door open.
And stopped.
The room was untouched.
Fabric rolls lined the shelves. Old sketches covered the walls. A wooden cutting table stood in the center, exactly as my mother had described in her letter.
I approached it.
Beneath the table was a narrow cabinet.
I knelt and inserted the key.
The lock opened.
Inside was a blue leather ledger.
And beside it was a small envelope addressed to my father.
Daniel picked it up.
His fingers trembled as he opened it.
He read the first few lines.
Then his face changed.
"What is it?"" I asked.
He handed me the letter.
It contained only one paragraph.
Daniel, if you are reading this, then Vanessa has succeeded in separating us. There is something I haven't told you about Nia. Something I discovered shortly before the accident.
I looked at him.
"What does it say?""
He couldn't answer.
I continued reading.
Our daughter was not the only child whose future depended on the Carter family inheritance.
Below the paragraph was a second line.
Ask Richard Hale who Brianna's biological father really is.
I slowly lowered the letter.
"Brianna?""
Daniel stared at the paper.
Then a voice came from behind us.
"Put the ledger down.""
We turned.
A man stood in the workshop doorway.
He wore a dark coat and leather gloves.
I didn't recognize him.
But Daniel did.
His face went completely white.
"Richard?""
The man smiled.
"Hello, Daniel.""
Then he looked at me.
"So you're Nia.""
May you like
He stepped into the room.
"Your mother was right about one thing. You really do have her eyes.""
