mall under the high ceiling. The receptionist looked up, polite and smooth, then nodded w

?" Zara w

short laugh. "No

it took them in with steady eyes. They walked down a long hall lined with photos of dresses and people in appl

Elena, his expression did not change much. It was small things that s

e voice was even, not war

ner, phone down, watching. Leah stood near the door with a clipboard. The room smelle

hair. "Please sit. We

ap and held. The contract on the desk looked h

uld like to offer a limited collaboration. We will bring you into a project for one season, pro

e like a small drum. Elen

et Carter. She was taken from us. She was accused of stealing a design years ago.

ed the old files. There were complications. Paperwork was thin

ny-took it. They took her name. She died with that on her neck." She

posthumously. To make the record show what you want." He tapped the contract. "Sign, and we will announce your

ered. It sounded like a tr

I work with you, who owns what?

fic pieces created during the collaboration. We will provide royalties and

f you take a piece I designed now

breath. "We have precedent. Contract

of her mother's hand sketching with a cheap pen. She thought of Cecilia Cole's face in old gossip-smoot

d out and took the paper. The words looked dense and polite. She read line by line. Mos

elated sketches, drafts, or prior works associated with the designs submitted dur

yan watched her like a man rea

es yours," she said. "But what about what I already brou

We offer royalties and credit to avoid dispute. If you have prior claims, w

e. She had not come to sign away pieces of the past. She ha

my mother's designs. I want her name cleared. I don't want

redit. You'll have access. You'll have a pl

as two machines. Two. They keep us fed. I can't give away the things

softer. "You'll be part of something

ck of Elena's chair. "Ellie, they're of

hand out. The pen gleamed on

. "Security alert," she said. "There's been an incident at a property un

ch dropped. "

lowed. "Y

f the desk. The city outside went on in its soft, indifferent way. Jord

Aryan sai

rived: a shaky camera angle, a narrow street, the sign of Elena Carter's Tailoring. Two men in plain clothes moved i

s through the window, chairs overturned, a box being lifted. Her bro

like steel and lies. She had a man across the desk who had promised to set her mother'

aid without thinki

lat mask. "We can," he said

rs tightened until the pape

gan to pray in a way Elena had heard before-quick, sharp l

soft sound. She stared at the screen and then at Aryan. For the first time

mera saw the corner of her mother's old postcard pinned t

he first night had become a race. He

in the hall. A knock