Chapter 6
The anonymous sender agreed to meet Camille.
Her name was Patricia Ellis.
She was sixty-one years old.
Fifteen years earlier, she had worked as an administrative assistant in Carter Holdings' design division.
She arrived carrying a cardboard folder.
Her hands trembled as she placed it on the conference table.
"I've wanted to tell somebody for years."
I sat beside Camille.
Arthur sat across from us.
For the first time, I saw him look genuinely nervous.
Patricia opened the folder.
Inside were photocopies of emails.
Design registration records.
Meeting notes.
And a photograph of my father standing beside a garment rack.
He was smiling.
My heart tightened.
I'd never seen that photograph before.
Patricia noticed.
"He was a good man."
I nodded.
"He was."
She looked down.
"Daniel was the most talented designer we had."
Arthur covered his mouth.
Patricia continued.
"Victor wanted to lead the fashion division."
I frowned.
"Wasn't he already working in finance?"
"Yes."
She nodded.
"But he wanted public recognition."
I felt sick.
"Recognition for what?"
"For the collection Daniel created."
I stared at her.
Patricia explained that my father had developed Midnight Garden while working with the company.
Victor began presenting the designs to investors as his own.
At first, Dad believed it was a misunderstanding.
Then he found his name missing from contracts.
He challenged Victor.
The brothers argued.
And shortly afterward, the money disappeared from the company's accounts.
Patricia reached for another document.
"I processed some of the meeting notes."
Camille examined them.
One note referenced a dispute over the collection's authorship.
Another mentioned financial transfers.
Then Patricia showed us an email.
Its date matched the week Dad left the family.
The message was from Victor to the company's finance director.
Prepare the account summary showing Daniel as the responsible signatory.
My stomach dropped.
I looked at Arthur.
He stared at the screen.
His face had gone gray.
Patricia swallowed.
"I didn't understand everything then."
She looked ashamed.
"But when Daniel was accused, I began asking questions."
I leaned forward.
"What happened?"
"Victor told me to stop."
My hands tightened.
She continued.
"He said I'd lose my job."
I looked down.
My father had lost his family.
His career.
His reputation.
And the people who knew something was wrong had been frightened into silence.
Patricia opened another page.
"This is the part I kept."
It was an internal reconciliation report.
The disputed money had not gone into Dad's personal account.
Instead, it passed through a holding account associated with Victor's department.
Arthur leaned forward.
"Why wasn't I shown this?"
Patricia's eyes filled.
"I don't know."
She took a breath.
"I submitted it to Victor's office."
The room went quiet.
Arthur closed his eyes.
For years, he'd trusted his eldest son to manage financial information.
Now the records suggested Victor had used that trust against his own brother.
I stared at Patricia.
"Why are you coming forward now?"
She looked at me.
"Because I saw the video."
My stomach tightened.
"The gala?"
She nodded.
"When Vanessa pushed you, I recognized your name."
Her eyes filled.
"Then I saw Arthur defend you."
I looked toward my grandfather.
Patricia continued.
"I realized maybe somebody would finally listen."
I couldn't speak.
She reached across the table.
"Your father tried to tell the truth."
I felt tears rising.
She squeezed my hand.
"He wasn't a thief."
I began crying.
Not quietly.
Not with dignity.
I cried for the man who had spent fifteen years carrying an accusation he didn't deserve.
For the father who worked until his hands cracked.
For the dreams he abandoned.
For every time he told me he was proud of my sketches while hiding his own heartbreak.
Arthur stood.
He walked toward the window.
His shoulders shook.
I had never seen him look so old.
After several minutes, he turned.
"Patricia, will you cooperate with an independent investigation?"
She nodded.
"Yes."
Arthur looked at Camille.
"Review everything."
His voice cracked.
"The accounts. The designs. The reports. Every document."
Camille nodded.
Then Arthur looked at me.
"Maya, I can't give your father back those years."
I stared at him.
He continued.
"But I can make sure his name is no longer buried."
My throat tightened.
I wanted to believe him.
I needed to.
But I still had questions.
"What about Victor?"
Arthur's expression hardened.
"He will be removed from any position where he can influence the investigation."
Camille explained that formal corporate procedures would be necessary.
Arthur agreed.
That afternoon, the company board suspended Victor from his executive duties pending the investigation.
A preservation notice was issued for relevant records.
The foundation also began reviewing Vanessa's access to the gala's selection committee.
I thought everything was finally moving toward the truth.
Then my phone rang.
It was my friend Tasha.
She sounded frightened.
"Maya, have you seen the internet?"
I frowned.
"What?"
"Vanessa posted something."
I opened my social media.
A video appeared.
Vanessa sat in a luxurious room, crying.
She claimed I had attacked her first.
She said Arthur was manipulating the situation because I wanted money.
Then she held up a photograph.
My father.
And beneath it, a document titled:
DANIEL CARTER — FINANCIAL MISCONDUCT REPORT.
My stomach dropped.
Vanessa looked directly into the camera.
"The public deserves to know what kind of family this girl comes from."
I stared at the screen.
Then her final words made my blood run cold.
"Her father was a thief. And now she's trying to become one too."
May you like
I dropped my phone.
Because even after Dad's death, they were still trying to destroy his name.
