The night was beautiful when the sharp click of a cupboard echoed through the otherwise serene bedroom. Annelise's breath hitched as her eyes locked onto something that didn't belong...a velvet pouch .
"No...…" she whispered, her voice cracking. "Where did this come from? "
She stared at the pouch as if it were a viper. The clothes she had come to take lay untouched. Slamming the cupboard shut, she took a step back, her heart thundering.
"Annelise?" a familiar voice called.
Merci entered the room casually, a towel wrapped around her damp hair. They had been living together for nearly eight months now....friends turned flatmates. Or so she thought.
"You're still not dressed?" Merci raised an eyebrow, eyeing Annelise in her undergarments. "You're gonna catch a cold. Put something on."
"I'm fine," Annelise snapped, her voice laced with irritation. "Can you leave for a second?"
Merci tilted her head, half-smiling. "Don't be silly." She walked toward the cupboard.
"No....!" Annelise's voice broke into panic, but it was too late.
Merci swung the doors open.
Silence.
The smile dropped from Merci's lips. Her eyes grew wide. "What the hell is this?"
Annelise stumbled forward. "I….... I don't know. I swear to God, Merci, I didn't steal that. Someone's trying to frame me!"
Merci turned toward her slowly, expression unreadable. "You're telling me this just appeared in your cupboard?"
"Yes!" Annelise cried. "Please, you have to believe me....."
The doorbell rang.
Both women froze.
"No one should be here," Annelise whispered. "Not at this hour."
Merci walked toward the door, but Annelise stepped in her way. "Don't open it!"
"I think you should calm down," Merci said coolly, brushing past her. A struggle followed.....subtle, restrained, like a performance for unseen watchers. In the end, Merci won.
The heavy oak door creaked open.
Five women stepped in. Models. Gleaming, statuesque, and utterly venomous.
Yvette, tall with cascading silver-blonde hair, wore a slit navy gown with diamond clasps.
Rosa, curvy and dusky-skinned, wore a body-hugging red latex dress.
Julienne, small and angular, wore a metallic blazer and leather pants.
Cleo, sharp-faced with a pixie cut, donned a high-fashion trench over a bare chest.
And lastly, Vivienne...the ringleader—walked in like royalty in a black corset and lace shawl.
Annelise's heart dropped into her stomach. "What are you doing here?"
Yvette chuckled. "We just came to visit the celebrity thief before the news breaks."
The insult slapped Annelise harder than any hand could. "What….... what did you just say?"
"You heard us," Julienne chimed in. "Everyone's been talking. You're going to lose everything."
Annelise's eyes darted around. "How do you know about the...."
Then it clicked. The cold, cruel truth.
"You…..... You planted it. You framed me," she said, voice barely above a whisper.
Cleo snorted. "Took her long enough."
Annelise's voice turned feral. "I'll call the police. I swear..."
Vivienne didn't flinch. Instead, she strolled past her. "You sure you want to do that?"
Annelise turned just as Vivienne opened her bedroom door. The model reached beneath the dresser and pulled something out.
A black box.
Vivienne opened it, revealing a hidden camera...its tiny red light still blinking.
"We've got everything," she said softly. "Including your little 'prize collection.'"
Annelise stepped back. The strength in her legs was gone.
Merci stood near the door, watching with a strange sadness in her eyes.
"What…..... what do you want?" Annelise asked. Her voice broke. "Please....… don't ruin me."
Vivienne exchanged a look with Rosa.
Rosa raised a brow. "Now she begs."
Cleo smirked. "We want you to remember who you are . You were nothing, Annelise. Just a desperate face in the crowd. Now, we're taking it back."
Annelise's eyes brimmed with tears. "Merci… please...tell them. Tell them I'm not like this."
Merci stepped forward.
And smiled.
"Sorry," she said. "I was always the second choice. You were always the star. And I was just your 'plus one.'" Her smile wavered. "I didn't want it to be like this, but you left me no choice."
It felt like glass cracking inside Annelise's chest. The tears came hot and fast now. "You were my friend."
"No," Merci said, her voice flat. "I was your shadow."
The world tilted.
Vivienne stepped close, cupping Annelise's face. "You'll keep quiet. You'll smile on stage. You'll wear what we give you. Or we leak everything."
Annelise tried to speak but couldn't find words. The walls felt like they were closing in.
"You'll do what we say," Rosa added, her voice soft and final, "or you'll never walk a runway again."
The women didn't leave.
Instead, Vivienne turned back, a cruel smile curving on her lips. "Oh, sweetheart," she said, stepping over Annelise's collapsed form. "You thought this was about us? No. Someone far above you wants you at his mercy."
One by one, the models made themselves at home...kicking off heels, pouring wine from Annelise's cabinet, lounging on her velvet couches as if they owned the place.
"This house?" Julienne said, spinning in the grand hallway. "It's his now. We're just the messengers."
Annelise tried to crawl away, her voice shaking. "Please…....."
Merci knelt beside her, fingers curling tightly into Annelise's hair and yanking her head back with a vicious jerk. "You're not a star anymore," she whispered. "You're someone else's property now."
The room erupted in laughter....cold, merciless, echoing like a nightmare that wouldn't end.