Chapter 9 - THE SECRET INSIDE THE ORIGINAL DRESS
The original dress had been in Billy's house for four years.
Folded inside a cedar chest.
Wrapped in tissue paper.
Never worn.
Never sold.
Anna had wanted to use it for her first independent collection.
After she died, Deardra refused to let anyone touch it.
She said the gown was the last beautiful thing her daughter had made.
Now Billy stood beside the cedar chest with tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Mom?"
Deardra looked toward her.
"What is it?"
"Anna hid something inside the lining."
Her mother stopped moving.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then Deardra whispered:
"I know."
Billy's heart dropped.
"What?"
Her mother began crying.
"Anna showed me the pocket."
"Then why didn't you tell me?"
Deardra looked toward the window.
"Because she told me not to open it unless someone came asking about the dress."
Billy swallowed.
"Mom, people have been asking for years."
"I know."
Deardra's voice broke.
"I was frightened."
Billy knelt beside her wheelchair.
"I'm frightened too."
Her mother reached for her hand.
For a long moment, neither spoke.
Then Deardra nodded.
"Open it."
Billy carefully unfolded the gown.
The cream silk had darkened slightly with age.
The reversed silver beadwork still caught the light.
One hundred and forty-seven beads.
Exactly as Anna intended.
Billy found the hidden seam beneath the lining.
Inside was a tiny fabric pocket.
She opened it carefully.
A small storage device slipped into her palm.
Beside it lay a folded note.
Anna's handwriting.
Billy, if you're reading this, I couldn't finish what I started.
Billy covered her mouth.
I found where the foundation's money went.
But I need you to understand something.
Sabine didn't invent the scheme.
Someone taught her how to steal from people who couldn't afford to fight back.
Tears blurred Billy's vision.
The note continued.
Tell Mom I love her.
And don't let anyone convince you that we were too small to matter.
Billy broke down.
Deardra held her until the shaking stopped.
The storage device was later examined by independent forensic specialists.
Inside were financial records and video clips.
One recording showed Dominic Santangelo meeting Gideon at the Windmir loading dock.
Another showed Sabine discussing payments to shell companies.
Then investigators opened the final file.
A video dated the evening before Anna's crash.
Anna sat inside her workshop.
She looked frightened.
But determined.
"If something happens to me," she whispered, "look at the man who owns the delivery companies."
Then she held a photograph toward the camera.
Dominic Santangelo.
Beside him stood another man.
Older.
Gray-haired.
Wearing an expensive watch.
May you like
Rafe's father.
The man everyone believed had died ten years earlier.
