Chapter 4: The Secret Inside the Seams
For three seconds, nobody in the ballroom moved.
Elise Monroe stood between Brianna and me, her fingers hovering over the pearl embroidery on my stolen gown. Under the stage lights, the tiny loops gleamed like silver thread.
Brianna forced a laugh.
"I don't know what you're talking about.""
Elise looked at her.
"Then you won't mind explaining where you learned the Carter lock stitch.""
My stomach dropped.
The Carter lock stitch.
My father had called it that as a joke when I was twelve. He'd watched me struggle to secure a slippery piece of satin and shown me how to hide a locking knot beneath overlapping threads. I had refined the technique over the years, developing a distinctive three-loop pattern that held delicate fabric without leaving a bulky seam.
It wasn't a famous technique.
It wasn't even patented.
But it was mine.
And Elise Monroe knew it.
Brianna glanced at Vanessa.
That single glance told me more than any confession could have.
Elise noticed it, too.
"Miss Carter," she said, turning toward me, "did you teach your stepsister this technique?""
"No.""
"Have you ever shared your unfinished designs with her?""
"Never.""
Vanessa stepped onto the runway.
"Elise, I think we're making an innocent mistake sound like a criminal investigation. The girls live in the same house. Of course they've seen each other's work.""
Elise finally looked at her.
"Vanessa, I've spent thirty years examining original garments. I know the difference between inspiration and replication.""
Her voice remained calm, which somehow made it more frightening.
"Especially when the stitching appears on a garment the original designer claims was stolen.""
A murmur spread through the audience.
Brianna's cheeks flushed.
"Nobody stole anything! Nia gave me the dress.""
I stared at her.
"I did not.""
"You're always so dramatic!""
"You ripped the side seam in front of me!""
"Accidents happen!""
"Then why did you repair it using my private stitching technique?""
Brianna opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
Vanessa reached for her daughter's arm.
"That's enough, Brianna.""
But Elise raised a hand.
"No. I'd like to hear the answer.""
Brianna's eyes darted toward the judges' table. Cameras were still flashing. Several contestants had gathered near the curtain, pretending not to listen.
"I fixed the dress because it was damaged," she said finally.
"I wanted to help.""
"You wanted to help yourself," I replied.
Vanessa's expression sharpened.
"Watch your mouth.""
Elise turned toward the stage coordinator.
"Rachel, please bring me the original submission records for both contestants. I want the sketches, design notes, and the dates they were received.""
Rachel nodded and hurried away.
Brianna looked as though someone had pulled the floor from beneath her.
Vanessa, however, recovered quickly.
"Certainly. You'll find Brianna's work is entirely her own.""
Elise regarded her for a moment.
"Then the records will settle this.""
As Rachel disappeared backstage, Elise asked me to demonstrate the wings.
I stepped toward the center of the runway and pulled the concealed cord at my waist. The panels opened in sequence, revealing the painted patterns beneath the translucent organza.
Elise circled the dress slowly.
"Interesting," she murmured.
She crouched slightly to inspect the lower frame.
"You've used tension distribution rather than a rigid support throughout the wing.""
"I wanted the panels to move naturally without dragging the bodice backward," I explained.
"The weight is distributed across the shoulder blades and the waist.""
"And the release mechanism?""
"Hidden beneath the left seam. If the wearer turns sharply, the outer panels open first. That prevents the entire structure from twisting.""
Elise straightened.
"How long did it take you to develop that mechanism?""
"Three nights.""
Her eyebrows rose.
"Three nights?""
"I had a deadline.""
For the first time, Elise smiled.
Not politely.
Genuinely.
"Sometimes desperation produces extraordinary engineering.""
Behind her, Brianna let out a disbelieving laugh.
"So she's supposed to win because she made a costume with wires?""
Elise's smile vanished.
"You're welcome to critique the construction when you can explain how it works.""
Brianna fell silent.
I almost smiled.
Then Rachel returned carrying two folders and a tablet.
Elise opened the first folder.
Inside were my original sketches, my application essay, and photographs of the silk gown before it had been damaged. Each document carried the scholarship committee's submission timestamp.
The second folder contained Brianna's application.
Elise studied the pages.
Then she looked at the tablet.
"Rachel, what is the date on Miss Carter's original design submission?""
"Four months ago, on June twelfth.""
"And Miss Brianna's?""
Rachel hesitated.
"Three weeks ago.""
Elise turned another page.
"That is interesting.""
Vanessa stepped closer.
"What is?""
Elise placed the two sketches side by side.
The designs were different, but both featured the same unusual three-loop stitch in their technical illustrations.
I had drawn that symbol on every seam that used my signature technique.
Brianna had copied it onto her own technical sheets.
Elise tapped the page.
"This mark is not a standard fashion notation. It's a personal construction symbol. Miss Carter's submission predates her stepsister's by several months.""
Brianna shook her head.
"I've never seen that page.""
"It's in your application," Rachel said quietly.
The audience began whispering again.
Vanessa's face tightened.
"Perhaps Brianna saw it in the house. That doesn't prove anything.""
"No," Elise agreed.
"Not by itself.""
She closed the folders.
"But I would like both contestants to remain available after the judging. There are questions the committee needs to resolve.""
Brianna looked at me with pure hatred.
"You planned this.""
I blinked.
"What?""
"You made me look like a thief in front of everyone!""
I stared at her, stunned by the audacity.
"You wore my dress.""
"You can't prove that!""
Elise stepped between us.
"Actually, Miss Brianna, I believe we can.""
She turned toward the audience.
"Before we continue, I have one more question for Nia.""
I faced her.
"Yes?""
"Your father was Daniel Carter, wasn't he?""
The room seemed to tilt.
I hadn't heard anyone say my father's full name in months.
"Yes," I whispered.
"How did you know?""
Elise looked down at the gold stitching along my waist.
Then she reached into her jacket and removed a small, faded photograph.
A young man stood beside a woman in a white blouse, holding a folded piece of blue fabric. I recognized my father immediately.
Elise's voice softened.
"Because your father once saved my first collection from being destroyed.""
I forgot how to breathe.
Vanessa took an involuntary step backward.
Elise turned the photograph over.
Written on the back were six words in my father's handwriting.
For Elise. Never let them erase her.
I stared at the inscription.
"Who is 'her'?"" I whispered.
Elise looked directly at me.
May you like
"Your mother.""
And suddenly, the stolen gown was no longer the biggest secret in the room.
