Alexander was my biological father.
When he called after the second result, neither of us knew what to say.
“Did you see it?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you okay?”
“I have no idea.”
He laughed quietly.
“Me neither.”
I didn’t take the test because Alexander was wealthy. I took it because I’d spent twenty-six years believing my father had known about me and simply chosen not to care.
Finding out that wasn’t true didn’t suddenly make Alexander my dad.
It just gave us somewhere to start.
Unfortunately, his first instinct was to start with money.
He offered to pay my boutique lease.
I refused.
Then he offered to renovate it.
I refused that too.
One afternoon he sighed and said, “I’m obviously doing this wrong. What am I actually allowed to do?”
That question helped.
Eventually, he offered me a job at Vale.
“What job?”
“We can find something that fits you.”
“No. If I didn’t know you, what job would I qualify for?”
He thought about it.
“Probably sales or visual merchandising.”
“Then I’ll start there.”
He frowned.
“You don’t need to prove anything to me.”
“I’m not proving it to you. I need to know I earned whatever comes next.”
So I started on the sales floor at a Scottsdale store without telling anyone I was Alexander Vale’s daughter.
A few months later, I helped a sixty-two-year-old woman named Carol find a dress for her daughter’s wedding.
She stepped out of the fitting room and immediately shook her head.
“No. This looks terrible.”
I checked the waist and shoulders.
“The dress looks terrible. You don’t.”
She laughed.
“That’s nice of you.”
“I’m serious. The waist is sitting too low.”
I pinned the shoulder and adjusted the side.
Carol looked in the mirror again.
“Oh. That’s completely different.”
That interaction gave me an idea.
Customers didn’t always need another size. Sometimes they needed different proportions, easier alterations and prices that were clear from the beginning.
I wrote a proposal and submitted it through my manager without telling Alexander.
Vale tested it in several stores.
Sales increased.
Returns dropped.
Only after the company decided to expand the program did Alexander discover I was behind it.
He called me into his office and held up my proposal.
“You did this?”
“Yeah.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because then I’d never know whether it got approved because it was good or because I’m your daughter.”
He thought about that.
“Fair point.”
I stood to leave.
He smiled.
“Can I at least tell you I’m proud of you?”
I looked back.
“You can do that.”
What I didn’t notice was Renata standing outside his office.
Then Alexander Changed His Will
A few weeks later, Alexander invited me to dinner.
His wife, Veronica, had always been polite to me, although I never felt completely comfortable around her.
After dinner, Alexander mentioned that he’d updated his estate documents.
“Anything set aside for my children will eventually be divided equally between Sophie and Renata.”
Renata stared at him.
“You’re giving her half?”
“I’m dividing it between my two daughters.”
“You’ve known her for a few months.”
“She’s still my daughter.”
Renata looked at me.
“Did you ask him to do this?”
“No.”
“Of course you didn’t.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
She pushed her chair back.
“You don’t have to ask for anything. You just show up and suddenly everything changes.”
I looked at Alexander.
“Take me out of the will.”
“No.”
“I don’t need the money.”
“This isn’t about whether you need it.”
Renata grabbed her purse.
“Exactly. It’s about Dad feeling guilty, and apparently I’m supposed to lose half of everything so he can feel better.”
Alexander stood.
“You’re not losing me because Sophie exists.”
Renata shook her head.
“You don’t get it.”
Then she left.
Veronica remained at the table.
She folded her napkin neatly.
“She’s scared, Alexander.”
He looked toward the doorway.
“Then she should talk to me instead of blaming Sophie.”
Veronica didn’t answer.
Two weeks later, I learned what she had been telling Renata when Alexander wasn’t around.
The Sapphire Necklace Fell Out of My Bag
Vale held a gala for the national launch of my collection.
Before the presentation, Alexander called me backstage and showed me a sapphire necklace that had belonged to his mother.
“I wanted you to have this.”
I shook my head.
“Alexander, we’ve talked about expensive gifts.”
“Would you at least look at it before saying no?”
He opened the box.
Then his expression changed.
He picked up the necklace and examined the clasp.
“This isn’t hers.”
“What?”
“It’s a copy.”
Renata was standing nearby.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Security was called.
While everyone tried to figure out where the real necklace had gone, Renata said:
“What about the employee lockers?”
I looked at her.
“Why the lockers?”
“Because employees have been going in and out all evening.”
Something about how quickly she said it bothered me.
I picked up my bag.
“Fine. Start with mine.”
Alexander shook his head.
“Sophie, you don’t have to do that.”
“I’d rather get it over with.”
I opened the bag myself.
Wallet.
Keys.
Makeup pouch.
Cardigan.
When I lifted the cardigan, something dropped onto the carpet.
The sapphire necklace.
Nobody moved.
I stared at it.
Then I looked at Alexander.
“Do you think I took it?”
His answer didn’t come immediately.
He looked at the necklace, then at me.
“I want to believe you. I just don’t understand how it got into your bag.”
Those few seconds mattered.
I zipped my bag.
“Then check the cameras.”
Renata Had Been Inside the Locker Room
Security footage showed Renata entering the employee locker area before the gala.
She stayed there for nearly four minutes.
Alexander turned toward her.
“What were you doing in there?”
“Looking for Sophie.”
“You could’ve called me,” I said.
“I didn’t think of it.”
Then the security director mentioned that Veronica had requested a master key earlier that afternoon.
Alexander looked at his wife.
“Why did you need a master key?”
“There was a problem with one of the event rooms.”
The security director shook his head.
“That key isn’t used for the event rooms.”
Veronica’s face changed.
I looked at Renata.
“You knew where to tell them to search.”
