Chapter 5: The Trust Nobody Was Supposed to Find
Daniel didn't speak until he and Maya were alone in his study.
He closed the door, turned on the desk lamp, and stared at the envelope Vanessa had tried to destroy.
Maya stood beside the bookcase, still wearing the black gown. The skirt brushed against the carpet, and the dark panels rested against her shoulders like folded wings.
"What's the trust Richard mentioned?"" she asked.
Daniel pulled open a drawer.
Inside were old financial statements, several yellowed contracts, and a photograph of Evelyn standing in front of a building with a handwritten sign that read *EVELYN BENNETT ATELIER — COMING SOON*.
Maya had never seen the photograph before.
Her mother looked radiant. She wore a simple dress and held a roll of fabric beneath one arm. Her hair was pulled back, and her smile was so wide that the corners of her eyes crinkled.
Maya picked up the picture.
"She was going to have her own studio.""
"Yes.""
"Why did you never show me this?""
Daniel sat down.
"Because every time I looked at it, I remembered what I couldn't save.""
Maya placed the photograph on the desk.
"That's not fair to her.""
He looked up.
"What do you mean?""
"You've been grieving her by hiding everything she made. I've been grieving her by pretending I don't miss her. And Vanessa has been deciding which parts of her we're allowed to remember.""
Daniel looked as though Maya had struck him.
She regretted the sharpness of her words, but not their truth.
He rubbed his hands over his face.
"You're right.""
The admission surprised her.
"I should have told you more," he continued.
"I thought I was protecting you from the ugliness of what happened. But I allowed silence to become another way of losing her.""
Maya sat opposite him.
"Tell me everything you can.""
Daniel opened a folder.
"Your mother started designing professionally when she was twenty-two. She had a gift for making unusual materials look elegant. She could turn scraps into something people would pay thousands of dollars to wear.""
Maya smiled faintly.
"That sounds like her.""
"She had been developing the Eclipse Collection for nearly two years when she became ill. It was supposed to be her first major presentation, the collection that would launch her studio.""
He slid a document across the desk.
"This is the settlement agreement I signed after she died.""
Maya examined the paper. Much of the legal language was difficult to understand, but several phrases stood out.
Transfer of intellectual property.
Assignment of design rights.
Disposition of original garments.
At the bottom was her father's signature.
Beside it was another signature.
Vanessa's.
Maya looked up.
"She signed it, too.""
Daniel nodded.
"She claimed she was helping me handle the business affairs. At the time, she had been managing our accounts for several months. I trusted her.""
"Why would she need to sign?""
"She said the studio's remaining obligations had been transferred to a company that would settle the debts.""
"What company?""
Daniel turned another page.
The company name had been printed in block letters.
*VB LUXURY HOLDINGS.*
Maya stared.
"VB. Vanessa Bennett?""
"Yes.""
"She transferred Mom's designs to her own company?""
"That's what it appears to say.""
Daniel looked ill.
"I never knew the company had acquired the collection. I thought the assets had been liquidated.""
Maya ran her finger down the page.
There was a date beside the transfer.
The date was six weeks after her mother's death.
"She took everything while you were trying to pay for Mom's treatment.""
Daniel closed his eyes.
"I was desperate. I was barely sleeping. I thought I was signing papers to settle the studio's debts.""
"Did you read them?""
"Not carefully enough.""
Maya looked at the signature again.
"Could she have changed the documents afterward?""
"I don't know. A lawyer will have to examine them.""
"Then we need a lawyer.""
Daniel studied her.
"You've been through a lot tonight.""
"So have you.""
"Maya—"
"If Vanessa did something wrong, we need to find out. And if she didn't, we need to understand why she lied about the dress being destroyed.""
Daniel stared at the documents.
Finally, he nodded.
"Tomorrow morning, I'll call a lawyer I trust.""
Maya glanced at the clock.
It was nearly one in the morning.
The party had finally ended, but the house remained unnaturally quiet. Somewhere upstairs, a door slammed.
Vanessa.
Maya gathered the papers into a neat stack.
"Can I keep the photograph?""
"Of course.""
She slipped it into the pocket of her gown.
As she reached for the door, Daniel called her back.
"Maya.""
She turned.
"I'm proud of you.""
The words were so unexpected that she couldn't answer immediately.
Her father stood awkwardly beside the desk, his eyes shining.
"I should have said that more often.""
Maya swallowed.
"Yes," she said softly.
"You should have.""
Then she left the room.
She found Vanessa waiting in the hallway.
Her stepmother wore a silk robe, and her makeup had been removed. Without the polished appearance she maintained for guests, she looked older and more tired.
But her expression remained sharp.
"Enjoying your little victory?"" Vanessa asked.
Maya stopped.
"What victory?""
"The performance downstairs. The sympathetic looks. Richard Hale practically falling over himself to praise you.""
"I didn't ask him to.""
"No. You simply made sure everyone saw you.""
Maya studied her stepmother.
"Why did you lie about my mother's dress?""
Vanessa's expression froze.
"I beg your pardon?""
"You told Dad the collection had been destroyed. You told everyone the dress was worthless. But you kept it in a box with old decorations.""
Vanessa folded her arms.
"Your father has been telling you stories.""
"I read the label.""
"Labels can be sewn into anything.""
"And I saw your signature on the settlement agreement.""
For the first time, Vanessa looked genuinely shaken.
"Where did you see that?""
"In Dad's study.""
Vanessa stepped closer.
"You had no right to go through private documents.""
"They were about my mother.""
"They were about a business that failed.""
"Then why are you afraid of them?""
Vanessa's face hardened.
"You have no idea how much your mother cost this family.""
Maya stared at her.
"She was sick.""
"She was irresponsible.""
"She was dying.""
The words escaped before Maya could stop them.
Vanessa fell silent.
Maya felt her own anger rise, hot and unfamiliar.
"You keep talking about what she cost you. Did you ever think about what she cost me? I was eleven. I lost my mother, and then I lost every piece of her that you could hide.""
Vanessa looked away.
For one brief moment, Maya thought she had reached something human inside her stepmother.
Then Vanessa spoke.
"Your mother was not the saint you've imagined.""
"Maybe not. But she was my mother.""
"And that gives you what? A claim to everything she left behind?""
Maya lifted her chin.
"It gives me the right to know what happened.""
Vanessa laughed bitterly.
"You think the truth will make you happy? You think knowing the details will bring her back?""
"No.""
Maya stepped past her.
"But it might stop you from using her memory to control me.""
Vanessa grabbed her arm.
Maya looked down at the hand.
"Let go.""
"Listen to me carefully," Vanessa whispered.
"You will stop asking questions about that collection. You will forget about the fashion showcase. And you will not show that dress to anyone else.""
"Why?""
"Because I am telling you to.""
Maya pulled free.
"That's not an answer.""
Vanessa's voice dropped to a near whisper.
"You have no idea what you're interfering with.""
Maya held her gaze.
"Then explain it.""
Vanessa's lips parted.
For a moment, she looked ready to reveal something.
Instead, she stepped back.
"Go to bed.""
Maya walked away.
But she had barely reached her room when her phone vibrated.
An unknown number had sent a message.
You don't know what your mother really did.
Maya frowned.
Another message arrived.
Ask your father why Evelyn Bennett was removed from the Eclipse Collection's final presentation.
Her pulse quickened.
She typed a reply.
Who is this?
The answer came almost immediately.
Someone who was there.
Then a photograph appeared.
It showed her mother standing beside a woman in an elegant black suit. Behind them was a large poster announcing the Eclipse Collection's upcoming debut.
Maya recognized her mother's dress in the photograph.
The original gown.
The same dark fabric, the same silver stitching, the same sweeping panels she had reconstructed that night.
But the woman standing beside Evelyn was unfamiliar.
On the back of the photograph, someone had written a date and a name.
*Margaret Whitmore.*
Maya searched the name online.
The first result was an article about a celebrated fashion executive who had retired several years earlier.
The second was an announcement for the Hawthorne Hotel's upcoming charity showcase.
Margaret Whitmore was listed as the keynote guest.
Maya stared at the screen.
Then her phone rang.
The unknown number again.
She answered cautiously.
"Hello?""
A woman's voice came through, low and urgent.
"Maya Bennett?""
"Yes. Who is this?""
"My name is Margaret Whitmore. I knew your mother.""
Maya sat down on the edge of her bed.
"How did you get my number?""
"That doesn't matter right now. I saw a photograph of you wearing the Eclipse gown tonight.""
Maya's stomach tightened.
"Who sent it to you?""
"Someone who recognized the design.""
"Why are you calling me?""
There was a pause.
Then Margaret said something that made Maya grip the phone with both hands.
"Because your mother didn't lose that collection, Maya. Someone stole it from her.""
Maya stopped breathing.
"Who?""
Margaret's answer was barely audible.
"Your stepmother.""
Before Maya could speak, Margaret continued.
"And if you intend to wear that gown at the Hawthorne showcase, you need to understand something. Vanessa Bennett isn't the only person who wants it back.""
The line went dead.
Maya stared at her phone.
Then she looked at the photograph of her mother, still resting beside the sewing machine.
For the first time, she wondered whether the truth about Evelyn's lost collection was even more dangerous than Vanessa's lies.
May you like
Because someone had just warned her to stay away.
And someone else had gone to considerable trouble to make sure she knew exactly where to find the truth.
