Chapter 6 - The Files She Kept
Vivien woke to a message from an unknown number.
You should stop asking questions about Adrian Vale.
She stared at it for a long time.
Then she took a screenshot and sent it to Damien.
His reply came less than a minute later.
Do not answer. Are you home?
Yes.
Lock your door. I'll call.
She almost threw the phone across the bed.
A moment later, it rang.
“Did you sleep?” Damien asked.
“Not after that message.”
“I'm sending someone to check the building.”
“I told you I don't want a bodyguard.”
“This is not about what you want. Someone has threatened you.”
“Don't speak to me like I'm one of your employees.”
A pause.
“You're right,” he said. “I'm sorry. Would you allow me to send someone to make sure the building is safe?”
Vivien closed her eyes. “Yes. But I want to meet them first.”
“Agreed.”
An hour later, Marco arrived with a woman named Elena, a former police officer who worked in Damien's corporate security division. Elena showed Vivien her identification and explained that she would be nearby, not inside the apartment.
Vivien found her surprisingly easy to talk to.
After they checked the locks and the building entrance, Elena left.
Vivien sat at her desk and opened the old external drive containing her design files.
She had kept everything: drafts, emails, contracts, invoices, and the final brand package she had created for Adrian's first company, Vale Creative. She also had a voice memo from a meeting in which Adrian promised her a share of the business.
The files were organized by date.
She began copying them to a new encrypted drive.
Then she found an email she had not opened in years.
Subject: Final partnership terms.
The email was from Adrian, sent three days before he removed her from the company website. It contained a draft agreement that transferred the intellectual property to Vale Creative only after a payment that had never been made.
Vivien had never seen the attachment.
She downloaded it.
The document showed that Adrian had signed a false statement claiming he had paid her in full.
Her hands began to shake.
She forwarded the file to Damien.
He called immediately.
“Where did you find this?”
“In an old email. I never opened the attachment.”
“Do not edit it. Don't rename it. Keep the original email.”
“Why?”
“Because it may prove more than plagiarism. The payment account listed here belongs to a company connected to the Sinclair group.”
Vivien stared at the screen.
“What does that mean?”
“It means Adrian may have used your work as collateral in a transaction.”
“That's impossible.”
“I'll have my attorney examine it.”
“Your attorney?”
“I have several.”
“Of course you do.”
He laughed softly. “Vivien, I need to ask you something. Would you be willing to give a statement about the original agreement?”
She hesitated.
“Not to your people,” she said. “To a lawyer. Someone independent.”
“Agreed.”
“And I want to know what happens with the files.”
“You keep copies. Your lawyer keeps copies. Nothing gets handed over without your consent.”
She nodded, though he couldn't see it.
That afternoon, Vivien met Damien at a law office downtown. His attorney, Sofia Ricci, was in her forties, sharp-eyed, and completely unimpressed by Damien's reputation.
She reviewed the contract, email chain, and original design files.
“This is significant,” Sofia said. “It doesn't prove every claim, but it gives us a strong basis to challenge the assignment and demand the accounting records.”
Vivien leaned forward. “Can I get my work back?”
“Potentially. At minimum, you can seek compensation and correction of the public record. But we need to establish exactly what was used and when.”
Damien remained quiet during the meeting.
Afterward, Vivien stopped him in the corridor.
“You didn't tell me you were bringing a lawyer.”
“I thought it was better than asking you to trust my word.”
She studied him. “That was actually thoughtful.”
“I have occasional moments.”
She smiled.
Then her expression faded.
“Adrian knows I have the files.”
“Probably.”
“Will he try to take them?”
“He may try to pressure you. That's why we will make sure the evidence is preserved and your legal position is clear.”
Vivien looked at the elevator doors.
“I thought the worst thing he did was leave me for someone richer.”
“What did he do?”
“He made me believe I was replaceable. He told people I was emotional, unprofessional, difficult. He took something I created and acted as if I should be grateful he had let me work on it.”
Damien's face softened.
“You were not replaceable.”
She looked at him.
“You don't know my work.”
“I know what it means to build something and have someone else claim it.”
For a moment, the hallway seemed very quiet.
Then Sofia opened her office door.
“Vivien, one more thing. The company listed in this agreement is currently under investigation for suspicious transfers.”
Vivien's stomach tightened.
“By whom?”
Sofia glanced at Damien.
“Federal investigators.”
The meeting with Sofia took place in a conference room overlooking the river. Vivien brought her laptop, the old drive, and a printed copy of the original freelance contract. Damien arrived a few minutes later with Marco, but he left the security chief outside.
Sofia examined the files in silence.
“Your original contract gives you ownership of the work until the final payment clears,” she said. “The company never paid the final invoice?”
“No.”
“Do you have the invoice?”
Vivien opened a folder.
Sofia read it. “And this email shows Adrian knew the payment was outstanding.”
“Yes.”
“Good. Do not contact him directly again. Any communication should come through counsel.”
Vivien nodded.
Sofia then examined the attachment Adrian had sent years earlier. The false payment statement had been signed electronically. Its metadata showed that the document was created after the supposed payment date.
“This may be useful,” Sofia said. “But we need a forensic copy and an independent expert.”
Damien remained silent.
Vivien looked at him. “You really are letting the lawyer handle this.”
“I hired her because she is better at it than I am.”
Sofia did not look up. “A rare moment of self-awareness.”
Vivien laughed.
After the meeting, Sofia asked Vivien to wait while she spoke privately with Damien. Vivien stepped into the hallway. Through the glass wall, she could see Damien listening with his arms folded. His expression was unreadable.
When he came out, she asked what Sofia had said.
“She wants to keep your case separate from the financial investigation.”
“Good.”
“She also wants you to know that if you decide to withdraw from the matter, she will still represent you in the intellectual-property claim.”
Vivien looked at him. “You asked her to tell me that?”
“I asked her to make sure you had the choice.”
She studied him.
“Why are you doing this?”
“Because you were wronged.”
“That's not enough to explain all this.”
He paused. “Because I like you. And because I don't want you to regret trusting me.”
The honesty made her chest tighten.
“I haven't decided whether I trust you.”
“I know.”
“But I like you too.”
He looked at her, and for a moment the hard lines of his face softened.
“That's a start.”
They walked toward the elevator together. Before the doors closed, Vivien reached for his hand.
It was a small gesture. He looked down at their fingers, then back at her.
He did not smile, exactly.
But he held on.
Sofia also explained that Vivien could register her original designs with a professional archive and create a dated record of the source files. It would not solve the dispute by itself, but it would make future ownership claims easier to establish.
Vivien spent the afternoon organizing her work. She found sketches she had forgotten, color studies, rejected logo concepts, and notes written on the backs of receipts. Each item reminded her how much of herself she had put into the project.
For years, she had thought of the Vale Creative identity as something Adrian had taken from her. Now she began to see it as proof of what she could create.
She selected a few pieces for a new portfolio and added a short note explaining her role.
When she sent it to Sofia, the lawyer replied that it was a good start.
Vivien leaned back in her chair.
The case was no longer only about what Adrian had stolen. It was about what she would build next.
That evening, Damien called to ask whether she wanted dinner. She said yes, but chose the restaurant herself.
Before leaving Sofia's office, Vivien asked whether she could use the disputed work in her portfolio while the case was ongoing.
Sofia considered it. “You can show material that establishes your authorship, but let's avoid publishing confidential business information. I'll review the captions before you post anything.”
Vivien nodded.
She had spent years hiding the work because Adrian had made her feel that showing it would create trouble. Now she wanted people to see what she had made, but she wanted to do it carefully.
That evening, she selected three pieces and wrote a short description of her role in each. She did not mention Adrian by name. She simply stated the dates, the concept, and the design process.
When the post went live, several former clients contacted her. One asked for a proposal. Another wanted to know whether she was available for a rebrand.
Vivien looked at the messages and felt something shift.
May you like
Her reputation had not vanished. It had been buried beneath someone else's story.
She was beginning to uncover it.
