Chapter 1

"Mom! Where’s my black leather briefcase? My original pitch sketches and encrypted flash drive are in there!"

I stood in the living room, shaking with rage.

Only forty minutes left until the doors locked for the final pitch for Global Lead Designer at L'étoile.

I gave five years of my life for this one chance.

My mom, Evelyn, was sitting on the leather sofa with her legs crossed, sipping fresh coffee.

"What are you screaming about this early?" She didn't even look up. "God teaches us to stay graceful. Acting like this is a sin."

"I’m not kidding!" I rushed over and slammed my hand on the table. "That bag has a whole year of my designs! It has my only pass into the board meeting today! Where is it?!"

I knew something was off last night when she tried to sneak my Porsche keys to my cousin.

I lost it then and warned her not to touch any of my things, or I’d call the police.

She gave me some vague answer.

Now the Porsche was still in the garage, but the briefcase on my desk was gone.

"It’s just a bag. Do you really need to yell at me like a mad dog?" Evelyn set her cup down, her voice cold and unbothered. "I don't know what bag you’re talking about. You lost it yourself. Don't blame me for your mistakes."

She acted totally innocent and leaned back in her seat.

"You don't know?" I let out a bitter laugh and pulled out my phone. "Fine. I have a hidden camera in my room. I’ll call the cops right now and pull the footage. If you took it, that's grand larceny. You’ll be in jail for years!"

When she heard "cops" and "jail," Evelyn’s calm face cracked.

She cared about her holy, pure image in the church more than anything else.

"You ungrateful brat! You want to send your own mother to prison?!" She snapped, jumping up and poking me hard in the forehead. "I took it! But I did it to earn you good karma with God!"

An ice-cold chill ran straight down my spine.

"What did you do with it?!" I glared at her.

"Our neighbor Mrs. Smith’s granddaughter is studying fashion design too. The poor girl had no ideas and was crying her eyes out." Evelyn sounded totally justified, almost proud. "Mrs. Smith came over to pray with me this morning, so I lent her your bag. She’s just copying it for inspiration. What’s the big deal?"

"Inspiration? Those are my unreleased haute couture designs! L'étoile owns the copyright! If they leak, I could be sued for millions or go to jail!" Tears of rage filled my eyes as I screamed, "Without that drive and pass, I can't even get into the building! Are you insane?!"

"Watch your tongue! How dare you call your mother crazy?!" Evelyn slapped the table, her eyes wide. "Good deeds cleanse your soul! Show some generosity to our church members, and God will bless you with that Lead Designer spot! You really think your stupid drawings are going to get you there?"

"Tell Mrs. Smith to bring it back! Now!" I couldn't listen to her crazy brainwashing anymore. I checked my watch.

8:35 AM.

Morning traffic would take at least twenty minutes. I was losing my mind.

"What’s the rush?" Evelyn rolled her eyes and sent a quick voice message. "Mrs. Smith said she’ll send it back with a courier within ten minutes. Just sit there and wait!"

I forced down the urge to scream and stood by the door with my fists clenched.

The clock kept ticking. Every second was chewing away at my nerves.

I kept telling myself that as long as it got here in twenty minutes, I could floor it in my Porsche and still make it.

Ding-dong—

The doorbell broke the silence.

My eyes lit up. I didn't even wait for the security panel to unlock—I just yanked the door open!

Standing outside was a courier in a bright yellow uniform.

He handed me a sleek black box and smiled.

"Good morning. Rush delivery for a new briefcase from Mrs. Smith. Sign here, please."