Chapter 11: The Sponsor Who Wasn't Telling the Truth
Nobody spoke.
The recorder sat between us.
I replayed the last few seconds.
Grandma's voice.
The static.
Then Michael Harris.
There was no mistaking it.
"Play it again," I whispered.
Eleanor pressed the button.
Michael's voice emerged from the tiny speaker.
"Rose, you need to understand. Gloria isn't the only person who stands to lose everything.""
Then came another voice.
My grandmother.
"You people have already taken enough.""
The recording ended.
I stared at Eleanor.
"Michael was involved?""
She looked shaken.
"He's the executive representative for the sponsor.""
"The man who offered me the bakery?""
"Yes.""
I stood up.
"Then he's part of this?""
"I don't know yet.""
"How can you not know? That's his voice!""
Eleanor carefully removed the recorder's memory card.
"We need to preserve this recording. I don't want anyone tampering with the evidence.""
Tessa looked toward the hallway.
"Mom knew.""
I turned.
"What?""
"She knew Michael would be here.""
"How?""
Tessa pulled out her phone.
She opened a message conversation with Gloria.
The last message was dated the previous evening.
Make sure Michael sees the girl with the flowers. Once he approves the bakery arrangement, everything can finally be settled.
My stomach turned.
I read it twice.
"What bakery arrangement?""
Tessa scrolled up.
Another message appeared.
Daniel says the original certificate is the only thing we still need. Michael will handle the sponsor side.
I felt dizzy.
Michael hadn't offered me a bakery because he believed in my talent.
He wanted something.
Something connected to Grandma's company.
Eleanor stood immediately.
"We need to return to the competition venue.""
"Why?""
"Because Michael still has access to the sponsorship documents. If he knows we've found this recording, he may try to destroy evidence.""
Tessa grabbed her handbag.
"I'm coming.""
I looked at her.
"Are you sure?""
She nodded.
"I've spent four years being afraid of Mom. I'm tired.""
We returned to the convention center just before noon.
The awards ceremony had ended, but the sponsor representatives were still meeting behind the main exhibition hall.
Michael stood near a glass conference room, speaking to two executives.
He smiled when he saw me.
"Aaliyah! Congratulations again.""
I didn't smile back.
"Can we talk?""
"Of course. Everything all right?""
I placed Grandma's photograph on the table.
His smile faded.
"Where did you get that?""
"From Grandma.""
He picked it up.
For several seconds, he examined the image without speaking.
Then he put it down.
"This isn't appropriate for a business meeting.""
"Why is your voice on my grandmother's recording?""
His expression changed.
"What recording?""
"The one where you told her Gloria wasn't the only person who stood to lose everything.""
Michael glanced toward Eleanor.
"You shouldn't be discussing confidential business records in public.""
Eleanor folded her arms.
"Then perhaps you should explain why you were speaking with Rose Johnson three days before her death.""
Michael straightened his jacket.
"I was negotiating a commercial arrangement.""
"With whom?""
"Rose.""
"She had refused your offer," Eleanor replied.
He sighed.
"Rose was difficult. She didn't understand how modern licensing agreements worked.""
I stepped forward.
"She understood enough to refuse.""
Michael looked at me.
"You're young. You don't know what happened.""
"Then tell me.""
He lowered his voice.
"Your grandmother's business was collapsing. We offered to preserve her recipes, her brand, and her commercial legacy.""
"But she owned seventy percent of the company.""
"That's a technicality.""
Eleanor's expression hardened.
"No. That's ownership.""
Michael smiled without warmth.
"You're making a serious accusation, Eleanor.""
"I'm asking a question.""
He turned toward me.
"Your mother has already signed an agreement with our company. Once the remaining ownership questions are resolved, Tessa will be able to manage the family brand.""
I stared at him.
"Why Tessa?""
He hesitated.
"That was the arrangement.""
"Who authorized it?""
"Your mother.""
"But she didn't own the company.""
Michael took a breath.
"Look, Aaliyah. You have an opportunity here. You've won the competition.
We can give you a bakery, financial support, and a future. Why ruin it by reopening old arguments?""
I looked at Eleanor.
Then I looked at the photographs of Grandma sitting in her bakery.
"Because my grandmother already gave me a future. Someone stole it.""
Michael closed his folder.
"I think this meeting is over.""
He started walking away.
Tessa suddenly spoke.
"What did you do with the original agreement?""
Michael stopped.
"What?""
"The agreement Grandma refused to sign.""
He looked at her.
"Who told you about that?""
Tessa swallowed.
"My mother.""
Michael's expression changed.
For the first time, I saw fear.
He took two steps toward her.
"Listen to me carefully. You need to stop repeating things you don't understand.""
Tessa stepped behind Eleanor.
"Why? Are you afraid someone will hear the truth?""
Michael grabbed his briefcase and hurried toward the elevator.
Eleanor immediately called the competition director.
I stood frozen.
The man who had offered me everything had just revealed that he'd been involved in the same scheme that destroyed Grandma's business.
My phone vibrated.
A message from Gloria.
I know where you are. Come home immediately. Daniel is here.
I showed Eleanor.
She read it twice.
"Daniel is at your mother's house?""
Tessa shook her head.
"Mom told me he was leaving town.""
"Then why is he back?""
My phone rang again.
This time, it was my mother.
I answered.
"Hello?""
Her voice was strangely calm.
"Aaliyah, sweetheart. We need to talk.""
"What do you want?""
"I want to give you something.""
"What?""
"Your grandmother's original recipe book.""
I frowned.
"Grandma's recipe book is with me.""
"Not that one.""
I felt the blood drain from my face.
Gloria continued.
"There's another one. The one she kept locked in the old bakery office.""
Eleanor heard her and immediately leaned closer.
"Why are you telling me this?""
"Because Daniel found it.""
"Where is he?""
"At home.""
"Mom, what does he want?""
Gloria was quiet for a moment.
Then she whispered:
"He says the book contains the name of the person who actually owned Rosewood before Grandma.""
My pulse quickened.
"Grandma owned Rosewood.""
"No, Aaliyah. That's what you've always been told.""
"What are you talking about?""
My mother started crying.
"Rose was protecting someone. She built the company using someone else's money.""
I looked at Eleanor.
She had gone completely still.
Gloria continued.
"And that person was your father.""
The call disconnected.
I stared at my phone.
My father had disappeared when I was three.
For years, Mom had told me he abandoned us.
She said he'd left Atlanta, remarried, and never wanted contact.
I had grown up believing I was the child of a man who didn't care enough to stay.
But now my mother was claiming he had financed Grandma's entire business.
Eleanor slowly reached into her folder.
She pulled out an old photograph.
In it, Grandma stood beside a young man holding a newborn baby.
The handwriting beneath the photograph read:
*Rose, David, and baby Aaliyah. The beginning of everything.*
I looked at the baby.
Then at the man.
It was my father.
May you like
And written beneath his name was a second sentence.
*Original founder and controlling investor of Rosewood Sweets.*
