Chapter 2 - THE SECRET INSIDE THE CRYSTAL CLASP
For several seconds, nobody moved.
The memory card was barely larger than my fingernail, but Victoria stared at it as though I were holding a loaded weapon.
"Give that to me," she demanded.
I tilted my head.
"Why?"
"Because it's private property."
I laughed.
"Interesting. You suddenly understand the concept of property."
Nathan stepped between us.
"Mom, what is on that card?"
Victoria straightened her shoulders.
"Nothing important. Your fiancée is creating a spectacle because she cannot accept that Brittany helped save your wedding."
"Helped save it?" Nathan repeated.
"Exactly. Madison disappeared. Someone had to step in."
"I didn't disappear," I said. "I was preparing to walk into my own wedding."
Brittany began crying.
"Madison, please. I made a mistake."
"You didn't make a mistake. You entered my studio with a key you weren't authorized to use, removed my gown, and wore it in front of two hundred people."
"I thought you weren't coming!"
"Who told you that?"
She looked at Victoria.
It was only a brief glance.
But everyone saw it.
Nathan's expression hardened.
"Mom, did you tell Brittany Madison wasn't coming?"
Victoria said nothing.
I unfolded the paper found inside the clasp.
It was a note written in my mother's handwriting.
Madison, if you are reading this, someone has tried to take what belongs to you. Do not trust the Caldwell family with anything connected to the original Bellamere collection.
Nathan looked confused.
"Bellamere collection?"
I nodded.
"My mother worked for the Caldwell family thirty years ago. She designed a collection of ceremonial gowns for your grandmother. One of those designs was never publicly released."
Victoria's face tightened.
"Your mother was a seamstress. She had no ownership over anything."
"She was the original designer."
"That's ridiculous."
I took out my phone.
"Would you like to see the signed contracts?"
Victoria's mouth opened, then closed.
My mother had kept everything.
Original sketches.
Invoices.
Copyright registrations.
And a private agreement signed by Nathan's grandfather, Edward Caldwell.
The agreement granted my mother ownership of her original designs while allowing the Caldwell family limited permission to use selected pieces.
Victoria had spent years claiming those designs belonged to the Caldwell estate.
She had even attempted to register several of them under a family-owned fashion subsidiary.
But the original documents were hidden.
Until now.
The memory card contained scanned copies, recorded conversations, and financial records.
I had discovered the first irregularity eight months earlier when a supplier contacted me about a design that appeared almost identical to one of my mother's unpublished sketches.
The supplier had been paid by a company connected to Victoria.
I investigated quietly.
Then I found something much worse.
The Caldwell family had been receiving licensing payments for designs they didn't own.
Some of that money had come directly from my company.
I had unknowingly paid royalties to a company that was using my mother's stolen work.
The memory card contained proof.
And Victoria knew it.
"Madison," Nathan said carefully, "why didn't you tell me?"
I looked at him.
"I tried."
"When?"
"Three months ago. I showed you the first set of documents."
He frowned.
"You told me it was a business disagreement."
"You told me not to make trouble with your mother."
Nathan looked down.
He remembered.
I could see it.
At that moment, the wedding planner approached.
"Mr. Caldwell, the guests are asking whether the ceremony is continuing."
Nathan rubbed his forehead.
"Give us a few minutes."
Brittany suddenly grabbed my arm.
"Please, Madison. Don't destroy everything."
I pulled away.
"You destroyed it when you decided my life was something you could wear."
She stared at me with hatred.
Then she whispered something I would never forget.
"You always get everything."
I looked at her dress.
"No, Brittany. I work for what I have."
Victoria stepped forward.
"Enough. This family will not be humiliated by a woman who doesn't understand how the world works."
I slipped the memory card into my handbag.
"Then I suppose today will be educational."
I turned toward the guests.
"My apologies for the interruption. There will be no wedding today."
A murmur swept through the hall.
Nathan stared at me.
"Madison, wait."
I removed the engagement ring from my finger.
It was a beautiful diamond.
Expensive.
Carefully selected by Victoria.
I placed it on the altar.
"I don't marry into families that steal from me."
Nathan's eyes widened.
"You're ending our engagement over this?"
"No. I'm ending it because I finally understand what you have been protecting."
I walked away.
Behind me, Victoria shouted my name.
But I didn't turn around.
Outside, my business attorney, Daniel Brooks, was waiting beside a black sedan.
He opened the door.
"Did you get it?"
I held up my handbag.
"Every bit of it."
He nodded.
"Then we can begin."
I looked back at Bellamere Estate.
Through the enormous windows, I could see Brittany still wearing my dress.
And Victoria was no longer trying to comfort her.
She was arguing with someone on the phone.
For the first time, I wondered whether the stolen gown had been only one part of a much larger plan.
Daniel confirmed it ten minutes later.
"Madison, there's something else you need to know."
"What?"
He handed me a folder.
"Your mother didn't just leave you the designs."
May you like
He paused.
"She left you a controlling interest in the company that owns Bellamere Estate."
