Chapter 5: The GALA

~ EVANGELINE ~

The car ride to the gala was silent.

Jason sat in the front seat next to the driver. Victoria sat beside me in the back. Veronica was in her own car following behind us.

I stared out the window and watched the city lights blur past. My hands were folded in my lap so no one could see them shaking.

"Remember what I said," Victoria whispered to me. "Smile. Behave. One wrong move and you'll regret it."

I didn't answer.

We pulled up to Palazzo Reale and cameras flashed everywhere. Reporters lined both sides of the red carpet. Security guards stood at the entrance.

Jason got out first and buttoned his jacket. He smiled for the cameras like nothing was wrong. Like he hadn't been arrested just hours ago.

Victoria got out next and waved at the photographers.

Then it was my turn.

I stepped out of the car and the cameras went crazy. Flashes blinded me from every direction.

"Mrs. Blackwood! Over here!"

"Emma! Look this way!"

"Is it true your husband was arrested tonight?"

Jason grabbed my arm hard enough to bruise and pulled me close. He smiled at the cameras but his words were sharp in my ear.

"Wave and smile," he hissed. "Now."

I waved. I smiled.

We walked down the red carpet together like the perfect couple. His hand stayed tight on my arm the entire time.

Inside the hall was massive. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling. Round tables filled the space and a long runway stretched down the center. At least three thousand people were already seated.

A woman in a headset rushed over to us. "Mr. Blackwood! You're at table seven, front row. Right this way."

We followed her to a table directly in front of the runway. The best seats in the house.

Veronica was already there waiting. She smiled when she saw us. "There you are! I was starting to worry."

Jason let go of my arm and sat down next to Veronica. Victoria sat on his other side.

I was left standing.

"Sit down, Emma," Victoria said without looking at me. "You're making a scene."

I sat in the empty chair at the end. Away from all of them.

The lights dimmed and music started playing. The show was beginning.

Models walked down the runway one after another. Beautiful gowns and sharp suits. The crowd clapped politely for each one.

I barely saw any of it. My mind was somewhere else.

Then the music changed. A dramatic orchestra piece filled the hall.

The lights shifted to deep red and gold.

My heart stopped.

I knew this music. I picked this music three months ago when I submitted my designs.

The Phoenix Rising dress appeared at the start of the runway.

The lights poured too bright. I could barely see the crowd but I heard them. Three thousand people filling the hall gasping all at once.

The sound of everyone clapping and screaming for my dress made my chest tight.

The Phoenix Rising gown flowed down the runway. Red silk caught the light. Gold threads sparkled with every step. The gown was covered in feathers that shifted from deep crimson to bright gold at the hem.

It was beautiful and I made it.

I made this gown on nights when Jason was out with Victoria. I sketched when Victoria finished slapping me. This dress kept me alive when I wanted to give up.

The model reached the end of the runway and the crowd went wild. Reporters flashed their cameras. People jumped out of their seats.

The spotlight changed and Alessandro Ferretti walked onto the stage. He held a crystal trophy shaped like a phoenix. His voice echoed through the microphone.

"Tonight we finally honor the woman who has changed fashion for three years. The mysterious genius we've all been waiting to meet. Please welcome... Evangeline!"

The spotlight swung to our table.

Veronica stood up first.

She wore a copy of my Phoenix dress but it looked cheap. The silk was too thick and the feathers were already falling off. The gold thread looked fake under the lights.

But she smiled like she owned the world. She walked toward the stage stairs waving at the crowd.

I counted to two in my head.

Then I stood up.

"Emma, sit down!" Jason hissed from three seats away. His face turned red. "Don't embarrass me in front of all these people."

I ignored him.

My black sequin gown sparkled as I walked toward the stage. My heels clicked on the floor.

The crowd gasped. Phones came up everywhere to record.

I walked up the stage stairs and stopped right next to Veronica. Alessandro's eyes went wide but then he smiled. He looked like he was enjoying this.

He leaned into the microphone. "Well this is interesting! I called for Evangeline and now I have two women on my stage. Ladies... which one of you is the real designer?"

Veronica grabbed the microphone from his hands.

"I am Evangeline!" Her voice was too loud and fake. "This crazy woman has been stalking me for weeks! She's obsessed with me! She stole my designs! She stole my name! She stole everything I worked for! Security, get her off this stage right now!"

The crowd started murmuring. Some looked confused. Others kept recording.

Jason stood up in the audience looking furious. "Emma! Come down here right now! You're making a scene!"

I didn't look at him.

Veronica kept talking and getting louder. "She's nobody! Just some woman who married rich and thought she could steal my life! I'm the real Evangeline! I have proof! I have contracts! I have witnesses! I have everything!"

Some people in the crowd nodded. They looked like they believed her.

"Look at her!" Veronica pointed at me. "Look at her cheap dress! Her cheap shoes! Does she look like a world famous designer? No! She looks like... like..."

"Like what?" I asked calmly.

Veronica's eyes lit up. She thought she won. "Like trash."

The crowd gasped louder.

Somewhere offstage I heard Marty laugh.

I stepped closer to Veronica. Close enough to smell her perfume. The expensive kind Jason bought her with my money.

"Do you really want everyone to know the truth?" I asked quietly.

Her smile got bigger. "There's only one truth and it's mine."

I smiled back.

Then I slapped her hard across the face.

The sound echoed through the microphone. She stumbled backward and her hand flew to her cheek. A bright red mark appeared immediately.

The hall exploded. People screamed. Someone in the back yelled "Oh my God!"

Veronica screamed and jumped at me. "You crazy bitch!"

I caught her wrist and squeezed hard.

"That slap?" I spoke directly into the microphone so everyone could hear. "That was for every single night you wore my wedding ring while sleeping with my husband."

I let go of her wrist. She staggered backward and grabbed the podium.

"And this..." I turned to face the crowd. "This is for everyone watching right now!"

The crowd went silent.

"My name is Evangeline Moreau, not Emma Sterling! That was a fake name I used to hide from my family. I created every single design this woman has been claiming as hers!"

"LIAR!" Veronica screamed. Spit flew from her mouth. "She's lying to all of you! I have contracts! I have emails! I have proof!"

"You have fake contracts," I shot back. "Fake emails. Fake everything! You stole my original sketches from my house six weeks ago when the police arrested Jason. Tell me I'm lying, Veronica!"

The crowd's whispers got louder.

"She's insane!" Veronica turned to the audience with tears running down her face. "Please you have to believe me! I'm Evangeline! I created all of this! The Phoenix dress! The Spring collection! Every single piece!"

Some people still looked uncertain.

"If you're really Evangeline..." I kept my voice calm. "Then tell everyone here what inspired the Phoenix dress. Go ahead. We're all listening."

Veronica's eyes went wide and she started shaking. "It's... it's about... um... rebirth! And fire! It represents rising from... from..."

"Wrong." I waved her off. "The Phoenix Rising dress was inspired by my escape from my marriage. Every red silk thread represents a day I survived in that hell. The gold threads are the hope I held onto when I wanted to give up. The feathers symbolize freedom."

I pulled out my phone. Behind me the screens lit up with images. My original hand drawn sketches filled the giant screens. Yellowed paper. Detailed notes in my handwriting. All dated from three years ago.

The crowd erupted into murmurs.

"These are the originals," I explained while pointing at the screens. "You can see the dates. The progression of the design. The changes I made over weeks of work. This isn't something anyone can fake."

Veronica's face went completely white.

"You're... you're still lying!" She tried one more time but her voice was weak. "She probably faked those dates! Anyone can fake dates on old paper!"

"Can they?" Alessandro spoke up and smiled. He pulled out a folder from behind the podium. "Because I have the original sketches right here. Evangeline, the real Evangeline, submitted them to Milan Fashion Week three months ago. Long before you ever claimed to be her, Ms. Mills."

The crowd went crazy. People pointed at Veronica. Some shouted. Others booed.

Jason suddenly charged up the stairs. His face was purple with rage. "Enough! Emma, you've embarrassed me for the last time!"

He raised his hand high getting ready to strike me the way he'd done a hundred times before.

The crowd gasped.

I closed my eyes and waited for the pain.

But the slap never came.

"Lay one finger on her..." A deep voice warned. "And you will not leave this hall alive."

I opened my eyes.

Damien Blackwood stood at the bottom of the stage stairs. Tall in his black suit. His gray eyes were locked on Jason with a stare that could kill.

Behind him stood four security guards with their hands on their weapons.

The entire hall went silent.

"Uncle Damien?" Jason's voice came out like a child's. His hand was still raised. "What... what are you doing here?"

Damien walked up the stairs slowly. He stopped right in front of me and put his body between me and Jason.

"I came to support my wife," Damien said. His voice was ice cold. "And to watch you get exactly what you deserve."

"Your wife?" Veronica choked out. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Damien reached into his jacket and pulled out papers. He held them up for everyone to see.

"A marriage certificate," he announced. "Dated three days ago. Emma Sterling, or should I say Evangeline Moreau, is now Evangeline Blackwood. My wife. Under my protection. Anyone who touches her answers to me."