Chapter 5: The Recording That Could Destroy Them All
Daniel pulled the car into an empty parking lot.
The phone remained pressed against his ear.
"What recording?"" he demanded.
Eleanor laughed softly.
"Don't pretend you don't know.""
Richard leaned closer.
"Put her on speaker.""
Daniel did.
Eleanor's voice filled the car.
"Richard. Still pretending you're the hero?""
Richard stared at the phone.
"Where is Victor?""
"Busy.""
"Tell him I said hello.""
"I'm sure he'd be delighted.""
Richard's voice became colder.
"You and Victor have spent five years stealing from a dead woman.""
Eleanor sighed.
"Grace wasn't the innocent person you remember.""
Mia leaned forward.
"Stop talking about my mother!""
There was a pause.
Then Eleanor spoke again.
"Mia. I was hoping you wouldn't be involved in this.""
"You stole her dresses.""
"Your mother made terrible decisions.""
"You stole her name!""
"Your mother was incapable of running a company.""
"Then why did you need to steal everything?""
Silence.
For a brief moment, Eleanor had no answer.
Then she laughed.
"You sound exactly like her.""
Mia's eyes filled with tears.
"Good.""
Daniel reached for the phone.
"Don't call us again.""
Eleanor's voice suddenly sharpened.
"Before you hang up, Daniel, ask your daughter what happened the night she was hospitalized.""
Daniel froze.
Mia looked at him.
"Why?""
Eleanor continued.
"Ask him why Grace never trusted him again.""
The call ended.
Nobody spoke.
Outside, rainwater ran along the edges of the parking lot.
Richard finally broke the silence.
"Daniel, what is she talking about?""
Daniel stared at the steering wheel.
"I made a mistake.""
Mia's voice was small.
"What mistake?""
He turned toward her.
"When you were sick, I believed Eleanor.""
Richard frowned.
"Believed her about what?""
"She told me Grace had been careless. That she had given Mia something she was allergic to. She said Grace was hiding the truth because she didn't want to lose custody.""
Mia stared at him.
"Did you believe her?""
"At first.""
"Even after Mom told you she didn't do it?""
Daniel closed his eyes.
"Yes.""
Mia moved away from him.
"Why?""
"Because Eleanor showed me medical documents.""
"What documents?""
"An allergy report. A statement from the nurse. Everything appeared to support her.""
Richard looked troubled.
"Those documents could have been altered.""
Daniel nodded.
"Grace thought so too.""
Mia looked at the notebook.
"Did Mom prove it?""
Daniel didn't answer.
Mia opened the pages again.
Near the middle was a small envelope glued to the paper.
She carefully pulled it free.
Inside was a hospital wristband.
The name was printed in faded black letters.
MIA CARTER.
The date matched the photograph.
But something else caught her attention.
The wristband had a handwritten note on the back.
*Medication administered: Not prescribed.*
Richard read it twice.
"That's important.""
Daniel looked at the note.
"Where did she get this?""
Mia turned another page.
A short message was written beneath the hospital date.
*Ask Nurse Patricia Wells about the blue cup.*
Richard immediately took out his phone.
"I know someone who can find hospital records.""
Daniel shook his head.
"Those records are five years old.""
"Records don't disappear just because people want them to.""
Richard called a former colleague who worked in investigative journalism.
After several minutes, he gave the date, hospital name, and nurse's full name.
Then he ended the call.
"They'll try to locate her.""
Mia looked at the notebook.
"Why did Mom keep all this?""
"Because she was building a case," Richard replied.
"Against Eleanor?""
"Against both Eleanor and Victor.""
He turned several pages.
There were references to missing payments, altered invoices, and shipments of fabric sent to addresses that didn't belong to the company.
Then he found a list of bank transfers.
One name appeared at the bottom.
Daniel Carter.
Richard looked at him.
"These payments went to your account.""
Daniel nodded.
"I know.""
"Why?""
"Because Eleanor told me she was paying me for consulting work.""
"Did you provide any services?""
Daniel shook his head.
"No.""
Richard lowered the notebook.
"Then you were being paid to stay quiet.""
Daniel looked at Mia.
"Yes.""
Mia turned away.
The car suddenly felt too small.
She had wanted to find proof that her mother had made the dress.
Instead, she was discovering that nearly every adult she had trusted had participated in some part of the betrayal.
Her father had signed documents.
Eleanor had stolen the collection.
Victor had faked his death.
And her mother's final years had been filled with threats and fear.
Mia wiped her cheeks.
"I want to finish what Mom started.""
Richard looked at her.
"You don't have to do this tonight.""
"She did it for me.""
"Your mother wanted you to be safe.""
"She also wanted people to know the truth.""
Richard studied her face.
Then he nodded.
"Then we'll make sure they hear it.""
At 1:17 a.m., Richard received a message.
The former colleague had located Patricia Wells.
She was now working at a private medical clinic outside the city.
Richard called the number immediately.
A woman answered.
"Hello?""
"Ms. Wells? My name is Richard Hale. I'm calling about a patient named Mia Carter, admitted five years ago.""
The woman went silent.
"Who gave you my number?""
"I found your name in an old notebook belonging to Grace Carter.""
Another silence.
Then Patricia whispered:
"Is Grace alive?""
Daniel closed his eyes.
Richard looked toward Mia.
"Unfortunately, no.""
The woman began crying.
"Oh, God.""
Richard leaned forward.
"Ms. Wells, did something happen to Mia during that hospitalization?""
"Who else is listening?""
"Her father. And Mia herself.""
Patricia hesitated.
Then she spoke.
"I was told never to discuss that night.""
Daniel leaned toward the phone.
"Patricia, it's Daniel.""
A sharp breath came through the speaker.
"Mr. Carter?""
"Please. We need to know what happened.""
Patricia's voice shook.
"Your daughter was brought in with a severe reaction. The first doctor believed it was an allergic reaction, but the medication she had been given didn't match her medical history.""
Richard gripped the phone.
"Was that recorded?""
"Yes.""
"Who administered it?""
Patricia hesitated.
Then she said:
"Eleanor Whitmore.""
Mia covered her mouth.
Daniel looked as though he might collapse.
Patricia continued.
"She told us she was a family friend. She said the child's parents had authorized the medication.""
Daniel shook his head.
"I never authorized anything.""
"I know that now.""
"What do you mean?""
Patricia began crying harder.
"Because Grace came back the next morning with documents proving the medication had never been prescribed.""
Richard's voice was urgent.
"Why wasn't this reported?""
"It was. But the report disappeared.""
"How?""
"I don't know. I was told the hospital had received a legal request from the family.""
Daniel looked at Richard.
"Eleanor.""
Patricia continued.
"Grace came to see me privately two days later. She asked whether I had kept the original medication chart. I told her I had a copy.""
"Do you still have it?"" Richard asked.
"Yes.""
"Where?""
"I kept it because I knew something was wrong. But there's something else.""
Everyone leaned closer.
Patricia lowered her voice.
"Grace told me she had evidence that Eleanor was stealing her designs. She said the hospital incident was connected to the fashion company.""
Mia frowned.
"How could stealing dresses be connected to my medicine?""
Patricia was quiet.
Then she answered.
"Because Grace had discovered that someone was using the company to move money through fake medical research accounts. Your mother's designs were being sold, but the profits were being redirected.""
Richard looked stunned.
"Victor.""
"Yes," Patricia whispered.
"And Eleanor was helping him.""
Daniel rubbed his forehead.
"What does that have to do with Mia?""
Patricia took a shaky breath.
"Grace believed they were afraid she would expose them. She told me that the night Mia was hospitalized, Eleanor had been asking questions about the girl's medical history.""
Mia felt a chill.
"What kind of questions?""
"Whether you had any allergies. Whether certain medications could cause a serious reaction.""
Daniel slammed his palm against the steering wheel.
"She planned it.""
Patricia didn't answer.
But she didn't need to.
Richard asked for the original chart.
Patricia agreed to meet them the following morning.
Before ending the call, she said one final thing.
"Mr. Hale?""
"Yes?""
"Please tell Mia that her mother never stopped fighting for her.""
The call ended.
Mia stared at the window.
Outside, the rain had finally stopped.
She thought about her mother sitting beside her hospital bed.
About the sewing machine.
About the blue cup.
About the hidden flower beneath the gown's shoulder.
Then she remembered something else.
A sentence her mother had repeated whenever Mia made a mistake while sewing.
Don't pull the thread too hard, sweetheart. Sometimes you have to follow it to see where it leads.
Mia looked at the notebook.
"I think there's another secret.""
Richard turned.
"What makes you say that?""
Mia pointed to the final page.
A small drawing of a flower had been sketched in the corner.
Beneath it was a sentence.
*THE ORIGINAL RECORDING IS NOT IN THE STUDIO. IT IS WHERE THE FIRST FLOWER BLOOMED.*
Richard frowned.
"Where the first flower bloomed?""
Daniel looked confused.
Mia stared at the drawing.
Then she remembered.
Her mother's old greenhouse.
The little glass building behind their first house.
Grace used to grow white roses there, and every spring she would take Mia outside to watch the first flower open.
"Mom's greenhouse," Mia whispered.
Daniel looked at her.
"That house was sold.""
"Then we have to go there.""
Richard nodded.
"We'll arrange security.""
But before anyone could move, a notification appeared on Richard's phone.
A news alert.
The headline read:
*FASHION JUDGE RICHARD HALE ACCUSED OF BLACKMAIL IN LIVE BROADCAST CONTROVERSY.*
Below it was a photograph of him standing beside Mia.
The article claimed Richard had fabricated evidence to sabotage Eleanor Whitmore's company.
Richard stared at the screen.
"They're moving faster than I expected.""
Daniel opened another notification.
His bank account had been frozen.
Then another message arrived.
A legal notice.
His former employer was accusing him of fraud and unauthorized access to confidential company property.
Mia looked at him.
"Can they do that?""
Richard sighed.
"They can try.""
Then his phone rang again.
This time, the caller ID displayed a name.
*VANESSA BLAKE.*
Richard answered.
"Miss Blake?""
Her voice was shaking.
"Mr. Hale, I need to tell you something.""
"What is it?""
"I went back to the atelier.""
"And?""
"I found the original production files.""
Richard sat straighter.
"Where?""
"In Eleanor's private office.""
"Are you sure?""
"Yes. But that's not the worst part.""
Richard glanced toward Mia.
"What do you mean?""
Vanessa took a breath.
"I found a video recording of Grace Carter.""
Mia grabbed the phone.
"My mother?""
Vanessa whispered:
"Yes. But it's dated three days before the night she disappeared.""
A long silence followed.
Then Vanessa said something that made Mia's knees weaken.
"She's not alone in the video, Mia.""
"Who is she with?""
Vanessa swallowed.
"Your mother is sitting beside Eleanor. And she's signing a document that says she willingly gave away her entire collection.""
Daniel shook his head.
"That's impossible.""
Vanessa's voice broke.
"There's more.""
Richard asked:
"What?""
"The video has audio.""
"And?""
Vanessa whispered:
"Your mother says, 'If anything happens to me, make sure Mia never learns who her real father is.''"
The call went silent.
Mia stared at Daniel.
May you like
He stared back.
And for the first time in her life, she wondered whether the man who had raised her was actually her biological father.
