I Made His Wife’s Dress Now I’ll Marry Another Chapter 61
That same night, the board suspended Grandfather’s management authority.
It wasn’t a sudden crisis of conscience.
Cross had halted all purchase talks. The company’s insurers were demanding a re-examination of the old factory accident. Royalties from the nine core silhouettes were under court supervision. Every one of those consequences led directly back to decisions Grandfather himself had made.
In the end, the interests he valued most were the first to cut him loose.
A month later, the copyright case was resolved.
All nine master patterns were formally restored to Clara Whitmore as original designer. The names of samplemakers, embroiderers, and patternmaking collaborators were added back into the production credits according to the old records. The past six years of unpaid royalties, plus interest, were transferred to my account. The design bonuses Sabine had received would be repaid in installments, as per the agreement.
Her brand ambassador contract was terminated.
My father kept an ordinary board seat but resigned from operational management. Grandfather retained his shares but lost all sole-signature authority.
The lawyers asked whether I wanted to halt the brand’s use of all nine silhouettes immediately.
I read through the workshop employee list.
Many of the names belonged to the same older workers who had bowed their heads six years ago. They had been silent—but they had also fed their families on those weekly wages.
“Three silhouettes stop immediately,” I said. “The other six get a ninety-day transition license. At market rate. And all sales pages must be corrected for credit before anything else.”
“Are you saving Whitmore?” my father asked.
“I’m giving the workers time to adjust.”
After ninety days, whether the licenses continued would be reassessed by my studio.
This time, there would be no family discount.