Chapter 5 Chapter 5

Guilt tugged at Iris's conscience. She hadn't been home in months, too busy with classes, work, and competitions. "Soon, I promise. After the Lawson competition."

"The one on your birthday?" Carol asked, her voice softening. "Honey, you know you don't have to work that day. We could come up, celebrate with you."

Iris tensed. Her birthday was always complicated, a reminder that someone had left her, had decided she wasn't worth keeping. "It's fine, Mom. It's just another day."

Carol sighed, recognising the shutdown in her daughter's tone. "Alright. But we're here if you need us. Always."

After they hung up, Iris sat in silence, staring at her designs without really seeing them. Her conversation with Tony had stirred up questions she usually kept firmly buried. What if her birth parents had been looking for her? What if there had been some mistake?

No. She shook her head firmly. That was fantasy thinking. Her reality was here: her designs, her plans, her adoptive family who had chosen her when her birth family hadn't.

Her phone pinged again.

Antony_K: Just wanted to say I really enjoyed our business meeting today. Your plans are impressive. I've attached some resources on small business grants that accept younger applicants. No pressure to use them.

Iris stared at the message, surprised by Tony's thoughtfulness. Most people she knew wouldn't have bothered to follow up, let alone research alternatives to the options she'd already dismissed. She clicked the attachment and found a meticulously organised spreadsheet of grant opportunities, complete with eligibility requirements, application deadlines, and notes on which ones might be most relevant to her business model.

"Huh," she murmured, scrolling through the document. Several of the grants were specifically for entrepreneurs under 21, contradicting what she'd believed about age restrictions. One in particular, the Young Innovators Fund, accepted applications from designers as young as 18 and offered up to $10,000 in startup capital.

While Iris reviewed the spreadsheet, Tony paced his apartment, checking his phone every few minutes. He'd spent hours compiling those resources, calling in favours from contacts in his father's network without revealing why he needed the information. His mother would be furious if she knew he was helping a scholarship student instead of cultivating relationships with the daughters of her approved social circle.

But there was something about Iris that drew him in, her fierce independence, her talent, her complete lack of interest in impressing anyone. Unlike everyone else in his world, she didn't seem to be playing some elaborate game of social chess.

His phone finally lit up with a notification.

Iris_M: This is... really helpful. Thank you. I didn't know about some of these programs.

Tony smiled, relief washing over him. He'd half-expected her to reject his help outright.

Antony_K: Happy to help. The Young Innovators one seems perfect for you. Deadline's next month.

Iris_M: I'll look into it after the Lawson competition. One thing at a time.

Tony sat down at his desk, hesitating before typing his next message. He wanted to see her again, but didn't want to come on too strong. Iris clearly valued her independence and seemed wary of anything that might compromise it.

Antony_K: Makes sense. Good luck with your final designs. If you need a second pair of eyes before you submit, I'm around.

Across campus, Iris read his message with mixed emotions. Part of her, the practical, strategic part, recognised that having someone review her work before submission could be valuable. But another part, the fiercely independent part that had gotten her this far, bristled at the idea of needing anyone's help.

She set her phone aside without responding and returned to her sketches. The centrepiece of her collection was a gown that transformed through a series of intricate clasps and hidden seams, allowing it to be worn multiple ways. It was ambitious, possibly too ambitious, but if she pulled it off, it would showcase both her technical skill and creative vision.

Hours passed in a blur as the last of her sketches came together. The submission deadline was three weeks away, but the results came out on her birthday. She hated surprises and wasn’t interested in doing anything but helping. Her thoughts circle back to the newspaper clipping from when they found her; for some reason, she pulled it out.

It read NEWBORN BABY FOUND

12-hour-old baby girl was found at a fire station, but the Canadian Border at 11 pm on the 24th of January 2000

Found in a basket, wrapped in a blanket and a pin, the police are not describing the pin at this time to ensure that her rightful parents can come forward. They believe that her mother may have been a young teenager or her grandmother may have dropped her off as they couldn’t take her of this little baby.

The police and medical professionals would like the mother to come forward to get checked over to make sure that they are healthy.

For some reason, she thought it would be best to take a photo of this and send it to Tony. She had no idea why, but she hoped this would be the end of the whole matter, as it was almost impossible that she could be the missing heiress, given where she was found, compared to where the heiress had been stolen from in New York.

Tony stared at the photo Iris had sent, his heart hammering in his chest. The date, the location, it all aligned with what he knew, yet contradicted it at the same time. The Lawson heiress had disappeared from her nursery in New York, not near the Canadian border. But the timing...

He opened his laptop and pulled up the old news articles about Roxanne Lawson's disappearance. The official story stated she had been taken from her nursery in the middle of the night, with no witnesses and no demands for ransom. The case had gone cold within months, despite the Lawson family offering a substantial reward for information.

What if someone had taken her across the country? What if Iris really was...?

No. He shook his head firmly. This was ridiculous. Thousands of babies were born on January 24th, 2000. The coincidence of Iris's birthday and abandonment wasn't enough to draw any conclusions. Besides, if she were the missing Lawson heiress, surely there would have been DNA testing, investigations.