One Night in Valeria - Chapter 14: Chapter 14

The rain had returned to Velaria, soft but persistent, painting the city’s glass towers in melancholy grey. Inside her apartment, Jessica sat curled in the corner of her studio, her fingers ghosting over the paper that held her mother’s lost sketches designs that never saw the light of day, stolen before Klara Hale could claim her rightful place in fashion history.
Now someone had them.
And they wanted her to pay for what she'd just built.
The message was still on her phone, glowing like a curse.
“Design for me. I will fund your empire.
Refuse, and I will rip it from the ashes myself.”
D.”
Her thoughts tangled with every possibility. Was it Smith? Was it someone else from the Velar empire trying to bury her all over again? Or was it someone new entirely, someone who knew the weight of legacy and how easily it could be weaponized?
She leaned back against the wall, staring up at the exposed beam ceiling. The world had finally begun to recognize her not just as Klara Hale’s daughter, not just as the woman in the red dress at the Legacy Gala, but as Jessica Hale.
And now… they wanted to buy her silence.
Or burn her if she refused.
Her fingers tightened around the edge of the sketch.
Not this time.
The next morning, Jessica boarded a train heading for South Velaria the only place left that still held her mother’s scent. The land there was different. Humble. Forgotten. And yet, the moment the countryside rolled past the window, she felt something settle in her chest.
Her childhood apartment was quiet, like it had been waiting. Dust lay thick across the windowsills, but the air still smelled like lavender oil and sun-warmed fabric.
She opened the wardrobe Klara used to keep locked.
Inside were boxes.
Letters.
And a worn notebook tied shut with red ribbon.
She untied it carefully, almost reverently. Inside were more sketches some half-finished, others annotated with fabric notes and dates. But one page in particular caught her eye: a list of names.
One was circled.
Alex Devane.
She’d never heard it before, but somehow it sent a chill crawling up her arms.
Back in Lunaria, Liam watched the city move from the top of Velar Global. His gaze hadn’t left his phone in hours. No new messages. No updates.
She hadn’t answered since the show.
And he hadn’t blamed her.
He turned when Celeste entered, a file in her hand. Her eyes were guarded, her movements tight.
“I found something,” she said. “About that message.”
Liam straightened. “You traced it?”
Celeste nodded. “Sort of. The message was encrypted, bounced through three ghost servers. But the account it came from? It’s registered under a holding company. Guess who owns it?”
He didn’t answer. She dropped the file on his desk.
Smith Delacourt.
Jessica stepped out of the train again three days later, notebook tucked under her arm and the locket Vera gave her resting on her chest like armor.
The city felt colder now. Brighter. Hungrier.
She barely made it to her apartment before a shadow peeled itself from the alley across the street.
“Running from me, princess?”
Smith's voice was smooth as velvet, but there was no charm left in his smile. Only warning.
“I see you’ve been busy,” he continued, stepping closer. “Making waves. Making statements. Making enemies.”
Jessica stood her ground. “Not afraid of you.”
“You should be.” His gaze flicked to the notebook in her hand. “That doesn’t belong to you.”
“It does now.”
“You think you’re untouchable because you walked a runway in a broken church?” he sneered. “This is Velaria. Power doesn’t play fair.”
She didn’t flinch when he leaned in.
“Neither do I.”
Then he was gone a shadow slipping into the street just as Liam’s car pulled up on the curb.
He hadn’t planned to find her like this windblown, breathless, cheeks flushed from confrontation but the sight of her froze him in place.
Jessica turned slowly at the sound of his footsteps. Her jaw tightened. She didn’t speak.
He stopped a few feet away, eyes scanning her face.
“You’re not safe,” he said finally.
“I never was,” she replied, voice cool.
He hesitated. “Let me help.”
She almost laughed. Almost.
Instead, she shook her head. “You had your chance. Now watch me do it without you.”
Her door closed before he could stop her.
And Liam stood alone in the rain, the truth slipping further from his fingers with every drop.