Chapter 5: What Her Father Had Given Away
Avery took one step back.
“You told Aunt Delia I wanted nothing to do with the family?”
Thomas reached for her.
“Avery, please.”
“Answer me.”
“Yes,” he said.
“But I thought I was protecting you.”
“From whom?”
“From me.”
Conrad laughed softly.
“Touching.
Unfortunately, the archive was transferred with the owner’s permission.”
“I gave you a storage key,” Thomas said.
“Not ownership.”
“You accepted my payment.”
“You paid the hospital account your collectors kept calling about.”
Avery stared at her father.
“What hospital account?”
Thomas gripped the back of a chair.
“Your mother’s final treatment left bills.
I never told you how much.”
“You told me everything had been settled.”
“You were twenty-six and working three jobs.”
“And you decided lying was kinder?”
Thomas looked directly at her.
“You stopped designing after she was gone.
Every sketch made you cry.
I thought if the boxes disappeared, you might begin again.”
Avery pressed both hands over her mouth.
Delia rose and wrapped an arm around her.
Avery resisted for one second, then folded against her aunt.
“You let me believe Dad had sold her work because he didn’t value it,” Avery said through tears.
“I was ashamed,” Thomas replied.
“By the time I understood what Conrad wanted, he said you had already signed.”
Conrad checked his watch.
“This family reunion changes nothing.”
Celeste stepped toward him.
“Give me back control of my company.”
“Convince Avery to honor the contract.”
Celeste faced Avery.
“Continue the launch.
Name your price.”
Avery wiped her cheeks.
“You threw money at me before you knew my name.
Now you’re offering more because you need it.”
“I’m trying to save four hundred jobs.”
“You’re trying to save your chair.”
Celeste’s jaw tightened.
“Both can be true.”
“Then tell everyone what you knew.”
“I knew Conrad had acquired an old design archive.
I did not know how.”
Naomi pulled her laptop from her bag.
“That isn’t all.”
Conrad moved toward her.
Thomas stepped into his path.
“Don’t,” Thomas said.
Naomi inserted the flash drive.
“There are invoices from a company called Northcross Textiles.
Conrad paid them to reproduce Avery’s original sketches.”
Celeste leaned over the screen.
“Northcross is our factory.”
“Open the attachment,” Avery said.
Naomi clicked it.
Rows of garment labels appeared.
Celeste read the name aloud.
“‘Vale by Celeste.’ Where is AVERY?”
“Removed from the finished collection,” Naomi replied.
Conrad shrugged.
“A designer who hides behind one name cannot expect permanent control.”
Avery turned the laptop around.
“You never intended to credit me.”
“I intended to build something larger than your little sketchbook.”
“My mother’s handwriting is on half those pages.”
“And tomorrow,” Conrad said, “the world will applaud my judgment.”
Graham’s voice came from Celeste’s phone.
“Not if we file for an emergency order tonight.”
Conrad raised his own phone.
“Too late.
My attorneys filed first.
Until ownership is decided, Avery cannot interfere with company property.”
Celeste stared at him.
“You planned for her to discover this.”
“I planned for every possibility.”
Avery looked at Naomi.
“Can the factory stop production?”
Naomi typed quickly, then shook her head.
“The shipment left two hours ago.”
“For the launch venue?” Celeste asked.
“No,” Naomi said.
“The labels were changed, and the collection was sent to buyers under Conrad’s company.”
May you like
Conrad slipped his phone into his pocket.
“By sunrise,” he said, “AVERY will be nothing but a waitress claiming someone else stole her dream.”
