“You already are.”
The woman smiled.
“Bellrose.”
Arielle sighed.
“Of course.”
“What would you do differently?”
She thought.
“Believe Elena faster.”
The investigator looked surprised.
“You didn’t believe her?”
“I believed enough to investigate.”
“Not enough to act.”
“What action?”
“Freeze inventory controls before the field audit.”
“Preserve records earlier.”
“Maybe we catch more.”
“Maybe fewer people panic.”
The younger woman nodded.
“Anything else?”
Arielle smiled.
“Wear cheaper shoes.”
“What?”
“My feet hurt for twelve hours.”
They laughed.
Then the investigator became serious.
“Do you think undercover audits are ethical?”
“Sometimes.”
“That sounds evasive.”
“It’s conditional.”
“Did you manipulate people into showing bias?”
“No.”
“Did my presence alter behavior?”
“Yes.”
“Every investigation alters something.”
“What matters is whether you manufacture the misconduct.”
She paused.
“And whether you could have learned the truth with less intrusion.”
The young investigator nodded.
“Margaret wanted certainty.”
“So did I.”
“Certainty is expensive.”
“What’s better?”
Arielle thought of her mother.
Tasha.
Elena.
Daniel.
Lydia.
Margaret.
Every imperfect person inside the story.
“Enough confidence to protect people while you keep asking questions.”
The investigator wrote it down.
Arielle laughed.
“Don’t quote me.”
“Too late.”
At sixty-seven, Arielle returned to Bellrose Manhattan for the last time.
Not the original store.
That building had become offices.
The new flagship was preparing an exhibit about Bellrose craftsmanship across six decades.
Elena, now CEO, had asked Arielle to review one part.
A small panel about the fraud case.
Arielle resisted.
“You don’t need scandal in a heritage exhibit.”
Elena disagreed.
“If heritage only includes what flatters us, it’s advertising.”
Arielle smiled.
“Look at you.”
“Your fault.”
They stood before the draft panel.
No names of victims without permission.
No viral image.
No Lydia photograph.
No self-congratulation.
Just:
Between 2023 and 2026, internal actors exploited Bellrose inventory and loss-prevention systems in a multimillion-dollar fraud. Several customers were falsely accused of theft as part of the scheme. Those failures led to criminal prosecutions, customer restitution, and permanent changes to Bellrose’s governance and security practices.
Arielle read.
“Fine.”
Elena stared.
“Fine?”
“That’s the highest rating.”
“You built a career insulting people.”
“Investigating.”
“Same energy.”
They walked through the store.
Employees preparing displays.
Someone polished glass.
Someone counted inventory.
A young Black woman entered carrying a canvas tote and wearing sneakers.
No one followed.
She browsed jewelry.
Asked to try on a bracelet.
Sales associate smiled.
Verified process.
Placed the item on a tray.
No one read character from clothing.
No one saw prophecy in a bag.
Arielle watched.
Elena noticed.
“You always do that.”
“What?”
“Look for problems.”
“It’s habit.”
“See any?”
Arielle looked toward the young customer.
“No.”
Elena smiled.
“Terrible day for you.”
“Disappointing.”
They laughed.
Then the young woman accidentally knocked a display card onto the floor.