Chapter 5: What a Mother Failed to See
Dr.
Shah asked us to bring both reports to her office.
She placed them beneath a magnifying lamp and tapped the seals.
“These are imitations.
Our seal has six points.
These have five.”
“Can you put that in writing?” I asked.
“I already have.”
Daniel leaned over the desk.
“Can you identify the printer?”
“Not from the paper.
But this barcode contains an internal vendor code.”
Emily gripped the edge of her chair.
“What vendor?”
“A bridal alterations shop called White Rose Designs.”
I looked at Emily.
“That’s where your dress was fitted.”
Dr.
Shah sealed the reports in a clear evidence sleeve.
“Someone used their printer to create these.”
Outside, Emily stopped beside my car.
“You still haven’t said it.”
“Said what?”
“That you believe Dad didn’t betray you.”
“I believe the reports are false.”
“That isn’t what I asked.”
Her voice shook, but she did not look away.
“Do you believe me now, Mom?”
I reached for her.
She stepped back.
“You stood in that bedroom and counted every dollar while I was losing the man I loved.”
“Emily, I didn’t know.”
“You didn’t ask long enough to know.
You made my pain sound like an invoice.”
My knees weakened, and I sat on the curb.
“I failed you.”
Emily’s expression softened, but tears still rolled down her face.
“I needed my mother.”
“I know.
And I gave you a bill.”
Daniel crouched beside us.
“She came back today.”
Emily wiped her face.
“Because I finally told her the truth.”
“No,” I said.
“You came back even though I made it hard.
That was your kindness, not mine.”
Emily knelt and took my hands.
“I don’t want to lose you too.”
“You won’t.
If I have to spend the rest of my life proving that, I will.”
A woman called my name from across the parking lot.
Elaine Mercer, the seamstress who had altered the dress, stood beside an old sedan.
She held a paper bag against her chest.
“I heard you asking about the printer.”
Daniel rose.
“Did you make those reports?”
Elaine’s chin trembled.
“Patricia paid me to print them and sew the envelope into the lining.”
Emily stared at her.
“You watched me try on that dress.”
“I know.”
“You pinned the hem while that lie was against my skin.”
Elaine opened the bag and removed a bundle of receipts and printed messages.
“My husband needs heart treatment.
Patricia offered me ten thousand dollars.
I took half, then hated myself every day afterward.”
“You could have told us,” I said.
“She said she would ruin my shop and make sure my husband lost his insurance.”
Daniel examined the messages.
“These show her instructions and the payment.”
“There’s more.” Elaine held out a small flash drive.
“The shop camera recorded her using my computer.”
Emily’s hand remained stiff at her side.
“Why help us now?”
Elaine stepped closer and placed the drive in her palm.
“Because my husband said he would rather lose the house than watch me help Patricia destroy another family.”
Daniel’s phone chimed.
He read the message and turned pale.
“What is it?” I asked.
He showed us Patricia’s words.
WITHDRAW YOUR ACCUSATIONS, OR THE BOARD WILL SEE THE VIDEO OF EMILY TAKING CONFIDENTIAL COMPANY FILES.
May you like
Emily closed her fist around the flash drive.
“That video is real.”
