Rewriting My Heart's Fate

Whitney kept her stance and got even more fired up. "Thank goodness you're here, Officer Watson! Evelyn Wiley's a thief! She stole my designs and is shamelessly trying to showcase them at Lendora Fashion Week. This is beyond outrageous! I demand justice!" She took out a pile of sketches from her handbag, her voice full of confidence. "Look, these are my designs from 20 years ago. Evelyn plagiarized them, right down to every detail! Isn't this infringement?"

I felt a rush of dizziness.

Lianne hurried to catch me, her eyes brimming with tears. "Evelyn, w-what's going on? How does Whitney have your designs? C-Could she be telling the truth?"

"No way!" I shook my head firmly. "I swear, everything I design comes from my head. I've never stolen anyone's work! Someone's framing me for this!"

Ethan took a step forward, his tone sharp. "Ms. Fenton, sorry to interrupt, but I can vouch for the fact that all of Evelyn's designs are original. There's no plagiarism involved.

"Yet, with no actual proof, you show up with these sketches from who knows where and falsely accusing us of infringement. Don't you think that's irresponsible?"

Whitney shook with anger. "You punk! Who do you think you're talking to? I've been around the fashion world long enough! Do you think I'd accuse someone without a reason? The evidence I've shown is undeniable! Who are you to question me?"

Ethan sneered. "Undeniable? Then why not show the original files, sketches, and samples from 20 years ago and compare them right here in front of the police? We'll see who's lying and who's the real thief."

Whitney's face dropped, and she stammered, "T-Those materials were lost ages ago. It's been so long. I never thought I'd need them here—"

Before she could finish, Officer

Watson cut in. "Ms. Fenton, vague excuses aren't going to cut it. If you're accusing someone of infringement, you need real proof.

"You expect us to believe Ms. Wiley plagiarized you over a few sketches from who-knows-where? No offense, but doesn't that sound a little absurd?" Whitney was at a loss, her face going beet red.

Ethan and I shared a look and

sighed in relief. This designer who claimed to have so much experience was clearly just talking big and throwing out baseless accusations.

en

Just then, a buzz went through the crowd. A tall, stunning woman gracefully walked up to the platform and stood next to Whitney.

I took a better look, and my breath caught. Wasn't that Caroline Durant, the star model from our studio? Why was she with Whitney?

Caroline scanned the crowd, her

voice cold and clear across the

plaza. "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm Caroline Durant, a contracted model. I'm here to tell the truth and expose the lies."

My heart stopped for a second. What was Caroline getting at? Was she about to...

I didn't even have time to finish thinking when Caroline shrugged off her coat and revealed the gown underneath.

Whispers and gasps rippled through the crowd.

The gown Caroline had on was the same one that had been stolen from me! It had the same style, fabric, and pattern-exactly the same!