Chapter 7: The Man Who Wanted Her Father's Legacy
The first warning arrived at 7:16 the following morning.
Nia was sitting in Evelyn's private design studio, carefully examining the photograph of her father's unfinished gown, when her phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
You have something that doesn't belong to you.
She stared at the message.
Another arrived.
Your father understood the consequences. You should too.
Nia immediately showed Evelyn.
The older woman read both messages and called her security director.
“Lock down the building. Nobody enters the design archives without my authorization.””
Nia frowned.
“Who is it?””
Evelyn hesitated.
“Richard Hale.””
Nia looked at the photograph again.
The man in the picture stood beside her father, smiling as though they were lifelong friends.
“Why does he want the dress?””
“Because it represents the final stage of Daniel's textile technology. Whoever controls the patent controls the licensing rights.””
“Then why didn't he just buy it?””
“Because Daniel refused to sell.””
Evelyn walked toward the window.
“Richard believed the technology belonged to the company. Daniel believed the original concept was his personal invention. They argued for months. When Daniel discovered Richard had secretly copied several prototypes, he removed him from the business.””
Nia looked down at her hands.
“And Vanessa helped him?””
“I believe so.””
Nia remembered the stolen medical fund, the forged signature, and the money transferred to Sterling Properties.
“Then why did Richard wait five years?””
Evelyn turned.
“Because he thought Daniel had destroyed the original prototype before he died.””
“But he didn't?””
“No. Daniel hid it.””
Nia looked at the black garment bag in the corner.
“Inside the old workshop?””
Evelyn shook her head.
“I don't know. Your father never told me where he put the final piece.””
Nia examined the photograph.
The silver-blue gown had an unusual neckline. A delicate star-shaped structure extended from the bodice, while the skirt appeared almost transparent.
She recognized the construction.
It was similar to the dress she had made overnight.
Not identical.
More sophisticated.
Her father had used a series of layered reflective panels to create the illusion of moving light.
Nia leaned closer.
“Evelyn, can I ask you something?””
“Of course.””
“Did my father ever show you how he made the fabric?””
Evelyn smiled faintly.
“He tried. I was never as patient as he was.””
Nia picked up the old photograph.
“What if the technology isn't hidden in a machine or a laboratory?””
Evelyn looked at her.
“What do you mean?””
“What if it's hidden in the construction?””
She spread the photograph across the table.
“Look at the skirt. Those aren't ordinary reflective panels. They're arranged in a pattern.””
She took out her notebook and began sketching.
A series of intersecting lines formed a star.
Then she added smaller marks along the edges.
Evelyn watched.
“Oh, my goodness.””
“What?””
“Daniel used to draw that symbol on every experimental pattern.””
Nia stopped.
“Why?””
“He called it the light map.””
Nia looked at the sketch.
“Then the original design might contain the instructions.””
Before Evelyn could answer, the studio door opened.
A security officer stepped inside.
“Mrs. Whitmore, Richard Hale is downstairs.””
Evelyn's expression hardened.
“Did he have an appointment?””
“No. He says he has an urgent matter involving Miss Carter.””
Nia stood.
“Let him come up.””
Evelyn caught her arm.
“You don't owe him a conversation.””
“I know. But I want to hear what he has to say.””
A minute later, Richard entered.
He was in his early sixties, tall and impeccably dressed in a charcoal suit. His silver hair was neatly combed, and a diamond watch glinted beneath his cuff.
He smiled at Nia.
“Daniel's little girl.””
Nia didn't return the smile.
“My name is Nia.””
“Of course. You've grown up.””
“You knew my father.””
Richard looked toward Evelyn.
“Quite well.””
“Then you know he left me his company.””
Richard laughed softly.
“Your father left behind many complicated arrangements.””
“He left me the patents.””
“Some patents, perhaps.””
“All of them.””
Richard's smile disappeared.
He placed a leather folder on the table.
“I've come to make you an offer.””
Nia didn't touch it.
“What kind?””
“Three million dollars. Immediate payment. You transfer the remaining intellectual property rights to my company, and everyone walks away happy.””
Evelyn scoffed.
“Daniel would have thrown you out of the building.””
Richard ignored her.
“Three million dollars is an extraordinary amount for someone who has never managed a business.””
Nia looked directly at him.
“And what happens to my father's designs?””
“They become commercially available.””
“Under your name?””
“Under a joint licensing arrangement.””
“Would my father receive credit?””
Richard sighed.
“Your father is gone, Nia. You need to stop treating this like a personal disagreement.””
Nia slowly closed her notebook.
“He made these designs.””
“Your father was a brilliant man. But brilliant men sometimes become unreasonable.””
“And you think stealing from him made you successful?””
Richard's expression hardened.
“Be careful.””
Nia stood.
“My stepmother already tried to steal my company. I'm not interested in listening to another man explain why I should give away what belongs to me.””
Richard gathered his folder.
“You sound exactly like Daniel.””
“Thank you.””
He looked at Evelyn.
“You should have taught her how this business works.””
Evelyn stepped forward.
“I taught her how to recognize a thief.””
Richard's jaw tightened.
He turned toward the door.
Then stopped.
“One last thing, Nia. The fashion competition is tomorrow evening. I suggest you don't embarrass yourself by displaying that little homemade dress.””
Nia froze.
“How do you know about my dress?””
Richard smiled.
“People talk.””
He left.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Evelyn looked at the security officer.
“Find out how he knew what was happening inside this building.””
The officer nodded and left.
Nia returned to the table.
She stared at her sketches.
“He knows about the dress.””
“He knows enough to be dangerous,” Evelyn replied.
Nia looked at the photograph of her father.
“Then I'll show the judges.””
Evelyn frowned.
“Are you sure?””
“Yes.””
“Nia, this competition is not a simple fashion contest. Richard has connections throughout the industry.””
“That's exactly why I want to enter.””
Evelyn studied her.
“What are you planning?””
Nia smiled slightly.
“I'm going to make the dress my father never finished.””
That afternoon, they returned to the Carter workshop.
Nia spent hours examining the old patterns, looking for the light map.
She compared the markings on her father's sketches with the seams of her own gown.
At first, nothing made sense.
Then she noticed something.
The silver star symbol appeared on the inside of the bodice, not the outside.
She carefully removed a small section of lining.
Beneath it was a narrow pocket.
Inside was a folded strip of fabric covered in tiny numbers.
Nia held it up to the light.
The numbers formed a sequence.
Evelyn leaned closer.
“Is that a production code?””
“No.””
Nia looked at the pattern.
“It's a sewing sequence.””
She laid the strip against the dress.
The markings matched the placement of the reflective panels.
Her father hadn't hidden the instructions in a machine.
He had hidden them in the dress itself.
Nia began to understand.
The prototype was not one finished garment.
It was a technique that could be reproduced through a precise arrangement of layers, threads, and reflective fibers.
She spent the next four hours reconstructing the pattern.
By midnight, she had finished the first section.
When Evelyn switched on the ultraviolet work light, the fabric illuminated.
Blue.
Silver.
Violet.
The entire wall seemed to disappear beneath a field of stars.
Evelyn covered her mouth.
“Nia…”
Nia stared at the fabric.
For a moment, she imagined her father standing beside her.
Then her phone rang.
The caller ID displayed Vanessa's name.
Nia answered.
“What?””
Vanessa's voice was trembling.
“You need to come home.””
“Why?””
“Madison is missing.””
Nia stood abruptly.
“What?””
“She left the house after we argued. I can't find her anywhere.””
Nia's heart began pounding.
“When did she leave?””
“About an hour ago.””
“Have you called the police?””
Vanessa hesitated.
“Not yet.””
“Why not?””
“Because I found a note in her room.””
Nia gripped the phone.
“What does it say?””
Vanessa began crying.
May you like
Then she whispered:
“Richard Hale took her.””
