Starhall Hotel – Grand Ballroom
Cassie stepped into a different world.
Crystal chandeliers hung like frozen waterfalls from the arched ceiling. A string quartet played a lilting melody near the marble staircase. Elegant people in designer gowns and sleek suits milled about, sipping champagne and chatting under golden lighting. Screens displayed Liya's image in a soft loop: laughing, smiling, tossing her hair back with practiced innocence.
Cassie felt like a smudge in a painting.
She tugged at her dress nervously, heels clicking against the marble floor as she tried to stay invisible. Her invitation had gotten her past security with ease, but now she didn't know what to do. She clutched her small purse like it was a lifeline.
"Excuse me, miss? Would you like a program?"
A well-dressed woman in a blazer handed her a glossy booklet. Cassie murmured thanks and looked at it - an itinerary. Speeches. Awards. A surprise performance. Fan Q&A. Raffle giveaways.
Cassie bit her lip. "This is way too much for a fan celebration."
Still, she wandered toward the crowd, pretending to be just another fan. Everyone was buzzing about how beautiful Liya looked during her last livestream, or how generous her giveaways were. Cassie listened with a small frown.
"I heard she sponsored that orphanage last month." "She never stops smiling, like, ever. She's basically a saint." "And her skin! It's like porcelain! I bet she never even gets pimples."
Cassie rolled her eyes. She didn't trust people who never stopped smiling. Especially if their touch was cold.
"Cassie! You made it."
Cassie turned, startled. Liya stood there in her emerald gown, looking like a goddess descended from some celestial livestream. Her hair was styled in soft waves, lips red as rubies, skin radiant. But Cassie noticed it again, that cold aura beneath the warmth.
"Oh yeah. Thanks again for the invitation."
Liya gave her that practiced smile, warm on the surface but just a little too perfect. "I'm so glad. I don't usually do this, but… I had a feeling you were special. I think we're a lot alike."
Cassie forced a smile and tried not to let her skepticism show. "That so?"
"Yes. It's in the eyes." Liya's gaze narrowed with eerie certainty. " And yet you're still standing. Still beautiful."
Cassie blinked. "That's… flattering, I guess?"
Liya's giggle was feather-light and unsettling. "Flattering? No, darling. It's the truth."
Cassie looked around nervously. "You sure know how to make a girl feel seen."
There was a brief silence between them, but it wasn't awkward at least not for Liya. She leaned a little closer, lowering her voice. "Have you ever felt like the universe owes you? Like no matter how many people cheer for you, it's still not enough for the pain you had to crawl through?"
Cassie's spine tingled. "Everyone has pain, I guess. Some more than others."
Liya tilted her head, studying her. "You don't just guess. You know."
Cassie cleared her throat. The moment was turning too strange, too fast. She glanced down at her drink, then back at Liya's smile, the same one she had on every billboard across the city. Only now, up close, it didn't seem like a smile at all. It was the mask of someone who hadn't known peace in a long time.
Cassie hesitated, then took a breath and asked, "Do you know someone named Marcuk?"
The name dropped like a stone into a still pond.
The light in Liya's eyes flickered. That beat of silence stretched too long.
"I'm sorry?" Liya asked softly, though her voice had sharpened, just a touch.
"Marcuk," Cassie repeated, watching her carefully. "He was a dancer. He used to admire you. Said he got to meet you once at a dance event."
Liya's expression didn't crack, but the tension in her jaw betrayed her. "I meet many fans," she said coolly. "That name doesn't ring a bell."
Cassie's brow furrowed. "He died recently."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Liya replied without emotion, her gaze now scanning the crowd instead of Cassie's face. "But I'm not sure why you're telling me this."
Cassie didn't back down. "Because he's still here."
That got her attention.
Liya's eyes whipped back to her, smile dropping just enough to reveal the iron beneath. "Excuse me?"
Cassie leaned closer, lowering her voice. "You don't have to pretend with me. I know something's going on. He asked me for help."
There it was, the crack. A subtle shift. The shadow beneath the diamond.
Liya's lips parted slowly. Then she gave a hollow laugh. "You're joking, right?"
Cassie stared at her. "Am I?"
Liya leaned in, face close now, her perfume dizzying. "I invited you here because I thought you had potential. But now you're accusing me of what, haunting people? Don't ruin a good thing by playing detective, sweetheart."
Her voice never rose, but the steel in it was undeniable.
"I just want the truth," Cassie said, pulse quickening.
Liya smiled again only now, it was barbed wire wrapped in silk. "The truth is overrated."
She turned with the elegance of a queen, and Cassie stood frozen as she disappeared into a crowd of adoring fans, like a ghost of herself. Cold dread bloomed in Cassie's chest.
That wasn't just a superstar with a secret.
That was a woman possessed by ambition, by obsession… and possibly something far worse.
Later That Evening – Backstage Lounge
Cassie finally managed to escape to a quiet corner behind the stage, heart pounding.
Everything about this place was beautiful but strange. People kept smiling too wide. Everyone adored Liya to a fault. No one asked questions. It felt... rehearsed.
She took a breath, looking around. Then her phone buzzed.
Message from Unknown Number: "Becareful. Not everything that glitters is gold.""
Cassie stared. "What the hell..."
Before she could respond, the lights in the lounge flickered.
A chill swept down her spine.
Her breath fogged in the air.
She turned slowly and swore she saw a flicker of something in the glass.
Not her.
Something behind her.
A voice whispered in her ear, so soft only she could hear it:
"She took it from me. She took everything."
Cassie whipped around.
No one was there.