“You are embarrassing yourself.”
“Am I?”
“You are having some kind of emotional episode because your dress changed.”
I almost admired her.
Even cornered publicly, Victoria Whitmore knew how to rewrite reality.
So I clicked again.
The Maison Aureline contract appeared.
My forged signature was enlarged across the screen.
“This isn’t about a dress.”
My mother froze.
I pointed toward the signature.
“I never signed this agreement.”
Lila’s eyes flew toward our mother.
Interesting.
Not everything had been shared between them.
“The agreement gave Maison Aureline exclusive commercial rights to photographs of me wearing this gown.
In exchange, payments were routed through a company called Belladonna Creative.”
Lila’s mouth opened.
“Claire—”
“Belladonna receives thirty percent.”
My mother whispered something to Lila.
I continued.
“And Belladonna Creative is controlled by my sister.”
People began turning toward her.
Lila looked around wildly.
“This is business.”
“Forging my signature?”
“I didn’t forge anything.”
“Maybe not.”
My mother stepped forward.
“Stop this now.”
I looked at her.
“No.”
Her mask cracked.
Just slightly.
But I saw it.
For the first time in my life,
my mother was afraid of me.
I moved my hand behind my back.
Her eyes dropped.
She understood immediately.
“Claire.”
I found Mara’s hidden fastener.
“Don’t.”
Click.
The first section released.
A whisper swept through the ballroom.
“What are you doing?”
Lila demanded.
I pulled.
The enormous crystal overskirt loosened.
Someone in the audience laughed in disbelief.
Then I stepped out of it.
The glittering dress collapsed onto the marble floor around me.
Underneath was ivory satin.
Simple.
Elegant.
Mine.
For one second, nobody reacted.
Then Daniel’s mother stood.
She started clapping.
Daniel’s father joined her.
Then Mara.
Then guests I barely knew.
The sound grew until the ballroom shook with applause.
I stood beneath the lights wearing the dress they had tried to erase.
Daniel looked at me as if three hundred people had disappeared.
“You look…” he whispered.
I smiled.
“Different?”
He shook his head.
“Like you.”
That nearly broke me.
But the night wasn’t finished.
Not even close.
My mother stared at the crystal gown lying on the floor.
Her face had gone unnaturally still.
“You think you won something?” she asked.
The applause faded.
I looked at her.
“What?”
“You have no idea what you’ve done.”
Lila suddenly grabbed her arm.
“Mom.”
My mother pulled away.
“No.
She wants a spectacle?
Fine.”
She looked directly at Daniel.
“Ask your husband what he knows.”
The room went silent again.
I felt Daniel stiffen beside me.
My mother smiled.
There was triumph in it now.
A final weapon.
“Go ahead, Claire.
Ask him.”
Several guests turned toward Daniel.
I did too.
My mother laughed softly.
“You actually believed you were the only one gathering secrets?”
“Victoria,” Daniel said.
“Oh, don’t.”
She pointed at him.
“Tell her about our meeting.”
My heartbeat slowed.
Not accelerated.
Slowed.
I said, “What meeting?”
Lila looked almost relieved.
My mother saw my expression and mistook it for fear.
