Chapter 14 - THE FASHION HOUSE ANNA NEVER GOT TO OPEN
Billy Ror had spent years sewing other people's clothes after midnight.
Now she was holding the original plans for a fashion company her sister had intended them to build together.
The sketches were beautiful.
Even more beautiful than Billy remembered.
Anna's designs combined unusual fabric cuts with reversed beadwork.
Some were evening gowns.
Others were jackets, dresses, and everyday clothing made to flatter different body shapes.
Anna had always said beautiful clothes shouldn't belong only to people who fit one designer's idea of beauty.
Billy traced the first drawing.
"She wanted all of us involved."
Deardra smiled.
"She did."
"Why didn't you show me these sooner?"
Her mother's eyes filled.
"Because every time I looked at them, I saw everything we'd lost."
Billy knelt beside her wheelchair.
"I know."
Deardra touched her daughter's cheek.
"But I think Anna would be angry with us for letting the designs stay in a box."
Billy laughed through tears.
"She would."
The next morning, Billy contacted an independent attorney specializing in intellectual property.
The original sketches, dated workshop videos, manufacturing records, and Anna's signed agreements were reviewed.
The evidence supported substantial authorship claims.
Negotiations and legal proceedings began over the unauthorized use of the designs and the compensation owed to Anna's estate.
Billy didn't receive a magical fortune overnight.
There were contracts to examine.
Ownership questions.
Claims from other designers.
And years of financial records to reconstruct.
But for the first time, her family had experienced legal representation that took their work seriously.
Meanwhile, the Second Thread Foundation was restructured under independent oversight while investigations into its finances continued.
Funds recovered from improper transactions were directed through appropriate restitution processes.
Several young designers received compensation after their claims were verified.
Billy met some of them.
A woman from Detroit who'd lost the rights to her first collection.
A student from Philadelphia whose scholarship money disappeared.
A mother of two who'd sewn hundreds of garments without being paid.
Their stories reminded Billy of her own.
And she decided Anna's company should become more than a fashion label.
It should become a place where young designers could work without being exploited.
Six months later, Billy opened the doors of a small studio in Dorchester.
The sign above the entrance read:
ANNA & BILLY DESIGN HOUSE
Inside stood her grandmother's old sewing machine.
The original cream-colored gown was displayed behind protective glass.
And on the wall hung a photograph of Anna laughing beside Deardra.
Rafe attended the opening.
He stood quietly near the back.
Billy noticed him but didn't approach immediately.
Their relationship had changed.
He was no longer the intimidating hotel chairman who could make an entire ballroom silent.
He was a man confronting the consequences of his past.
And she was a woman who no longer needed anyone's permission to be seen.
After the guests left, Rafe approached.
"Billy?"
She turned.
"Yes?"
He looked around the studio.
"Anna would've loved this."
Billy smiled sadly.
"I hope so."
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then Rafe said:
"I know you don't owe me anything."
Billy nodded.
"That's true."
He smiled faintly.
"But would you consider having dinner with me someday?"
Billy studied him.
"Not as an employee?"
"No."
"Not because you feel guilty?"
He shook his head.
"Because I'd like to know the woman who built all this."
Billy considered the question.
Then smiled.
"One dinner."
His expression softened.
"Really?"
"One."
She pointed at him.
"And if you interrupt me when I'm talking about fashion, I'm leaving."
Rafe laughed.
"Understood."
But before he departed, Deardra called Billy into the sewing room.
She was holding a final envelope.
"Your sister left this for you."
Billy stopped.
"What is it?"
Deardra smiled through tears.
"A letter Anna wrote the week before she died."
May you like
On the front were five words.
FOR BILLY, WHEN SHE WINS.
