Chapter 3: The Name Beneath the Stitching
Clara stepped back.
Her hand brushed the inner seam of the gown instinctively—searching for something she wasn’t even sure existed.
Then she felt it.
A hidden tag.
Not Vance Bridal.
Not Clara Vance.
A third name.
Her fingers froze.
Eleanor noticed instantly.
“Don’t,” she said quietly.
But Clara had already pulled it open.
The stitched label read:
“Project E.V. — Original Design: Eleanor Vance.”
Clara’s face went pale.
“That’s… impossible,” she whispered.
Eleanor’s voice softened dangerously.
“Nothing about you is independent, Clara.”
A beat.
Then the final strike:
“I designed you the same way I designed that dress.”
Clara looked up slowly.
For the first time—
May you like
fear wasn’t the emotion in her eyes.
Recognition was.
