Chapter 8 - The Silver Stitch
I climbed the steps and faced Alexis in front of two hundred students, teachers, and parents.
"My mother, Claire Bennett, worked for the Westbridge Opera House for fifteen years," I said, turning to address the crowd. "She designed costumes that won state awards. But she didn't donate this dress to any archive."
"Lily, stop lying to protect yourself," Alexis warned, stepping closer, her voice dropping into an angry whisper. "Take it off in the locker room right now, or I swear I will have you arrested."
"If this dress belongs to the theater archive, Alexis," I asked loudly, "then why did you sew this mustard brocade over it on Thursday night?"
I reached up to the shoulder of my dress.
I pulled out the small pair of embroidery scissors I had kept in my clutch purse. With one swift, practiced movement, I snipped the decorative silver anchor thread holding the right sleeve panel.
The mustard-colored sleeve segment I had left loosely attached as a secret lining peeled open, exposing the shining champagne silk beneath.
"Lily, take it off!" Alexis begged, reaching out to grab my arm, mascara running down her cheeks as panic finally broke through her calm facade.
She wasn't looking at me like an unruly stepdaughter anymore. She was looking at me like I was wearing evidence.
"Look at the interior lining, Principal Vance," I said, stepping away from Alexis and turning toward the principal.
Principal Vance stepped forward, pulling out his reading glasses. He looked down at the exposed inner panel where my mother’s handwriting had been painstakingly stitched in silver thread.
Designed for Claire by Julian, 1998.
May you like
And right beneath it, revealed by the opened seam, was a small, plastic-sealed storage tag attached to the interior zipper—a tag from the Westbridge Safety Deposit Vault, bearing a registration number and my mother’s full legal signature.
Principal Vance gasped. "This isn't theater property. This is a private trust asset registered to Claire Bennett's estate."
