Chapter 6: The Secret Behind Her Mother's Signature
Nobody spoke for several seconds.
The words from Vanessa's phone call seemed to hang in the air.
Make sure Mia never learns who her real father is.
Mia slowly turned toward Daniel.
"Dad?""
Daniel looked at her.
"Sweetheart...""
"Are you my real father?""
His mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
Mia took one step backward.
"Answer me.""
Richard reached for the phone.
"Vanessa, do you still have the recording?""
"Yes.""
"Do not send it to anyone. Do not copy it to the company server. Keep it somewhere secure.""
"I already downloaded it onto a separate drive.""
"Good. Stay where you are. We'll come to you.""
Vanessa hesitated.
"Mr. Hale?""
"Yes?""
"Eleanor knows I found it.""
Richard closed his eyes.
"How?""
"She just called me.""
"What did she say?""
Vanessa's voice dropped.
"She said that if I wanted to keep working in fashion, I should forget Grace Carter ever existed.""
Richard looked toward Mia.
"Stay inside the building. Don't leave alone.""
The call ended.
Daniel remained frozen in the driver's seat.
Mia stood beside the open car door.
Her small hands were clenched.
"Are you my father?""
Daniel looked down.
"I raised you.""
"That's not what I asked.""
He swallowed.
"Yes, Mia. I'm your father.""
"Then why did Mom say that?""
Daniel rubbed his face.
"Because there are things about your birth that I never understood.""
Mia's voice trembled.
"What things?""
Daniel looked toward Richard.
The older man waited.
Finally, Daniel spoke.
"Your mother and I met when we were both young. We married before she became a designer. We wanted a family, but she had trouble getting pregnant.""
Mia listened without moving.
"After several years, Grace told me she was expecting. I was overjoyed. I didn't ask questions. I didn't care about anything except that we were having a child.""
He paused.
"Then, a few months before you were born, she received a letter from someone.""
"Who?""
"She never told me.""
"What did it say?""
Daniel looked at his daughter.
"That someone from her past wanted to meet her.""
Richard frowned.
"Did she meet him?""
Daniel nodded.
"Once. At a restaurant downtown.""
"And?""
"She came home crying. She told me the meeting had been a mistake.""
Mia's eyes filled.
"Did she tell you who the man was?""
"No.""
"Did you ask?""
"Yes. She said he was connected to the people who had stolen her early designs.""
Richard's expression changed.
"Victor Mercer?""
Daniel nodded.
"At the time, I believed she was talking about business.""
Mia looked at him.
"And you never wondered if I was his daughter?""
Daniel's face crumpled.
"I did. But Grace told me that you were mine, and I believed her.""
Mia looked away.
"Then why did she say I should never know?""
Daniel reached for her hand.
"Because she was protecting you.""
"From what?""
He didn't answer.
Richard stepped forward.
"Mia, there is no evidence yet that the recording tells the whole story. It could have been edited, or there may be context we don't know.""
Mia nodded, but her eyes remained on Daniel.
"I don't want more secrets.""
Daniel looked devastated.
"Neither do I.""
"Then tell me everything.""
He took a long breath.
"Your mother and I separated for a few weeks before you were born. I went to stay with my brother because I thought she was hiding something from me. But when you arrived, she asked me to come back. She told me she wanted our family together.""
Mia whispered:
"And you did.""
"Yes.""
"Because you loved her?""
"Because I loved both of you.""
Mia looked down at her mother's notebook.
She wanted to believe him.
But the years of silence had created a distance between them that one confession couldn't erase.
Richard gently closed the car door.
"Let's get somewhere safe. Then we'll meet Vanessa and see the actual recording.""
At 8:30 the next morning, Richard arranged a private meeting at a small hotel conference room.
Vanessa arrived wearing a baseball cap and oversized sunglasses.
She carried a black laptop bag.
The moment she entered, Mia stood.
"Did you bring the video?""
Vanessa nodded.
"Yes.""
She placed the laptop on the table.
"I should tell you something first. I didn't know any of this was happening when I agreed to model the dress.""
Mia looked at her.
"Why did you wear it?""
Vanessa lowered her eyes.
"Eleanor told me the design was part of a collection she had purchased from an independent designer who had passed away. She said the family had been paid.""
"Did you believe her?""
"Yes.""
"Why?""
Vanessa looked ashamed.
"Because I wanted the opportunity. I had spent eight years trying to become a major runway model. Eleanor offered me the opening position at the show, and she said wearing the blue gown would make me the face of the collection.""
Mia sat down.
Vanessa opened the laptop.
"I found the video in a folder labeled ARCHIVE—PRIVATE.""
The screen displayed a date.
Three days before Grace disappeared.
Then the video began.
Grace sat in a white office.
Her hair was pulled into a loose bun, and she wore a cream blouse. She looked tired.
Eleanor sat opposite her.
Victor Mercer stood near the window.
A document lay on the table.
Eleanor spoke first.
"Grace, we can make this very simple.""
Grace shook her head.
"You know I won't sign away my work.""
Victor approached the table.
"Nobody is asking you to give away your work.""
"Then why does the agreement transfer ownership of every design in my archive?""
"Because the company needs a clean ownership structure.""
Grace laughed bitterly.
"You mean you need a way to sell my collection without paying me.""
Eleanor slid a pen across the table.
"Sign it, and we can all move on.""
Grace didn't touch the pen.
"What happens if I refuse?""
Victor leaned forward.
"Then your family becomes part of the problem.""
Grace stood.
"Don't threaten my daughter.""
Eleanor smiled.
"Nobody is threatening Mia.""
"Then leave her out of this.""
Victor picked up the document.
"You've made this more complicated than it needs to be.""
Grace looked directly into the camera.
And for a moment, she seemed to know someone would watch the recording someday.
She spoke clearly.
"My name is Grace Carter. I am the sole creator of the collection known as Flowers After Winter. I have not sold it, transferred it, or authorized anyone to use it without my permission.""
Eleanor slammed her hand on the table.
"Turn that camera off!""
Grace continued.
"If anything happens to me, the original designs and ownership records are stored in a location known only to—"
The video suddenly glitched.
Then the screen went black.
Vanessa looked at Richard.
"That's where it ends.""
Richard frowned.
"There's no audio after that?""
"Nothing.""
He checked the file information.
"The video is incomplete.""
Mia stared at the screen.
"Can you play it again?""
Vanessa did.
This time, Mia noticed something.
In the final seconds before the glitch, Grace's left hand moved toward the table.
She touched something beneath the edge.
A small silver flower.
Mia leaned closer.
"Stop.""
Vanessa paused the video.
"What?""
"Zoom in.""
Richard enlarged the image.
Under the table, attached to the wooden frame, was a small silver flower-shaped object.
Mia recognized it immediately.
It was identical to the flower pendant her mother had worn in the photograph.
"Mom had that necklace.""
Daniel looked at the screen.
"She never took it off.""
Mia touched her own neck.
She wore a small silver flower pendant, the only piece of jewelry her mother had left her.
Daniel had given it to her on her seventh birthday.
"Where did you get mine?"" Mia asked.
Daniel looked surprised.
"Your mother left it in your jewelry box.""
Mia held the pendant.
"Is there something inside?""
Richard carefully examined it.
"Possibly.""
He took out a small magnifying glass from his bag.
The pendant had a tiny seam along the edge.
With a narrow tool, he pressed the center.
A hidden compartment opened.
Inside was a tiny folded piece of paper.
Mia's breath caught.
Richard carefully removed it.
The note contained six handwritten words.
*THE TRUTH LIVES WHERE WE BEGAN.*
Below them was an address.
Mia recognized it.
Her mother's first apartment.
The place where Grace had started sewing dresses for neighbors, before she ever met Eleanor or Victor.
Daniel stared at the address.
"That apartment was demolished.""
Richard looked at the note again.
"Are you certain?""
Daniel nodded.
"The building was torn down when Mia was four.""
Mia frowned.
"Then why would Mom leave the address?""
Richard turned the paper over.
There was another line.
*ASK FOR THE BLUE ROOM.*
Daniel went pale.
"The basement.""
"What basement?"" Mia asked.
"Your mother had a small workshop beneath that apartment. The landlord allowed her to use it. She used to keep her first designs there.""
Richard looked toward the door.
"Is it still there?""
Daniel nodded slowly.
"The apartment building was demolished. But the basement was part of an older property. The developer preserved the foundation.""
Mia stood.
"Then we go there.""
Richard placed the note inside a protective folder.
"Not without checking who owns the property now.""
Vanessa looked nervous.
"There's something else.""
Everyone turned.
She reached into her bag and produced a printed document.
"I found this next to the video files.""
It was a scanned contract.
The first page contained Grace's name.
The second page contained a photograph of a newborn baby.
Mia stared at it.
"That's me.""
Vanessa nodded.
"The file was labeled PATERNITY—CONFIDENTIAL.""
Daniel grabbed the document.
His eyes moved across the page.
Then he sat down heavily.
Richard took it from him.
The document showed a private DNA test.
The alleged biological father was listed as Victor Mercer.
Mia felt the room spin.
"No.""
Daniel shook his head.
"No. This is fake.""
Richard examined the date.
The test had been conducted shortly after Mia's birth.
The result showed a 99.98 percent probability of biological paternity.
Daniel looked at his daughter.
"Mia, listen to me.""
She backed away.
"Is it true?""
"I don't know.""
"But Mom knew.""
Daniel couldn't answer.
Mia looked at the photograph again.
The little baby in the hospital blanket.
The blue cup.
The letter.
The recording.
Suddenly, everything seemed connected.
Victor hadn't just stolen her mother's work.
He might have been connected to her family from the beginning.
Richard folded the document.
"We need to verify this independently.""
Daniel nodded.
"Yes.""
Mia's voice was barely audible.
"What if he's my father?""
Daniel looked at her with tears in his eyes.
"Then that changes nothing about who loved you.""
Mia looked at him.
"Would you still be my dad?""
Daniel's answer came immediately.
"Every single day of your life.""
She wanted to believe him.
But before she could respond, Richard's phone rang.
It was an unknown number.
He answered.
A man's voice spoke.
"Mr. Hale, this is Victor Mercer.""
Richard stood.
"What do you want?""
"I understand you've been asking questions.""
"Where is Eleanor?""
"Safe.""
"Where are the original recordings?""
Victor laughed.
"That's what this is about, isn't it?""
Richard didn't respond.
Victor continued.
"I have a proposition. You give me Grace's notebook, the documents, and every copy of that hospital report. In return, I will tell you the truth about Mia.""
Mia grabbed Richard's sleeve.
"Ask him why he faked his death.""
Richard spoke into the phone.
"Why did you fake your death, Victor?""
A pause.
Then Victor answered.
"Because five years ago, Grace discovered something that could destroy all of us.""
"What's that?""
Victor lowered his voice.
"She discovered that the company was never really mine.""
Richard frowned.
"What?""
Victor laughed.
"That's right. The entire empire was built on someone else's work.""
Mia stepped closer.
"Whose?""
Victor heard her.
His voice softened.
"Your mother's, Mia.""
Then he delivered the final blow.
"And there's one more thing you should know. Your mother didn't die in an accident.""
Daniel went completely still.
Richard tightened his grip on the phone.
"Explain.""
Victor answered calmly.
"Grace is alive.""
The call ended.
For several seconds, the room was silent.
Mia stared at the phone.
Her lips parted.
"Did he say...""
Daniel shook his head.
"He could be lying.""
But Richard was already looking at the old photograph of Grace on the laptop.
For the first time in five years, he allowed himself to consider the possibility that the woman he had mourned might still be alive.
Then Vanessa noticed something on the screen.
The video had automatically resumed.
The final corrupted frame appeared.
Grace was still sitting at the table.
But behind her, reflected in the glass window, was another person.
A woman standing in the doorway.
A woman wearing the same black-and-gold patterned blazer Eleanor had worn at the fashion show.
And she was holding a newborn baby.
Mia stared at the image.
"That's me.""
Richard slowly zoomed in.
Then he noticed something even more disturbing.
The woman holding the baby wasn't Eleanor.
It was Grace.
May you like
And the woman standing behind her was holding a medical syringe.
*To be continued.*
