Scarred Seductress

The First Frame

Marina’s fingers clawed through her hair as her heart thundered wildly against her ribs. She drew in a series of deep breaths to calm down, to hold together her spiralling thoughts, to think.

A woman was dead because of her. She had pushed her, in a spur of anger, off the balcony of the top floor and had watched her crash to the ground. It was only a matter of time before the chaos of the police and the press came knocking, and she wasn’t going to remain at the crime scene to get caught in it.

She glanced around quickly to be sure she wasn’t leaving anything of hers behind—anything at all that would link this night back to her.

Get out of here, Marina… her subconscious voiced, and just as she was about to bolt, she heard the door creak open.

Her eyes snapped wide, a sharp gasp escaping her.

“f**k,” she cussed. Too late. Someone was already walking inside, and in no time there’d be a witness, and getting out of this unscarred would be more than a hassle.

She shook her head quickly at the slightest thought of being exposed by this witness. She wasn’t going to let that happen, even if it meant having to send whoever it was to their grave too. But for now, she was just going to hide.

She turned and was just about to slip into a corner when Selene’s voice sliced through the air, freezing Marina in place.

“Is everything okay, ma’am?” Selene asked, feigning ignorance as she walked into the suite quietly, clicking the door shut behind her.

Marina exhaled in quiet relief and turned, meeting Selene’s gaze. She forced a nervous smile.

“It’s you…”

“Yeah… I was only passing when I heard—”

Marina leaped forward and clasped her palm over Selene’s lips, shutting her up.

“Be quiet…” she whispered, Selene pressing a slow nod, confusion etched on her face.

“And thank you for your concern, Selene… everything is fine with me,” Marina added, glancing around quickly before reluctantly freeing Selene.

“Are you sure—”

“Of course, Selene… everything is fine. Or is there some reason you think it’s not?”

Selene scoffed, quiet enough to escape Marina, then faked a relieved smile and said, “If you say so, ma’am…”

Marina chuckled dryly and looked around again, even more restless. “You can drop the formalities now, Selene… just call me Marina.”

Selene scoffed again.

“I mean, at this point—”

“Are you sure everything is fine, ma’am?” Selene pressed again.

Marina nodded quickly, shoving Selene out of the way as she moved toward the door. But an idea crawled into her mind, halting her in her tracks as she bit down on her lower lip, contemplating it without hesitation. Selene hadn’t seen the body yet. With how cluelessly worried she was about her, she had absolutely no idea what lay lifeless on the ground floor of this suite.

“You don’t look well…”

“How about we spend a little time to ourselves, to know each other better, Selene…” Marina blurted, a slow smile curling her lips. “What do you say?”

Selene’s fist clenched, an uneasy feeling curling in her stomach as that familiar glint in Marina’s eyes gave her away—the same glint she’d worn when she burned Selene’s world to the ground back then.

“What are you up to now, Marina?” Selene muttered under her breath, masking her face with a smile.

“What did you say?” Marina asked.

“I said, why not… I would totally love that, ma’am,” Selene mouthed, pressing a slight bow.

Marina tore her eyes away and scoffed. She had absolutely no clue.

“Marina…” Marina corrected, her eyes lingering on Selene as her mind desperately pieced together her next action.

“Do we stay here?” Selene asked, glancing around quietly, pretending she had zero idea about the balcony, just about to settle on a couch when Marina spoke.

“Of course not, Selene… come with me.”

Marina led the way to the door. Selene straightened quietly and followed behind her. She watched Marina monitor the hallway for a short while before proceeding through, and she scoffed.

“You know I’ve always liked you, Selene…” Marina teased, drawing a dry chuckle from her.

“I was only hostile to you because I feared that if I got too fond of you, it would cause some type of misunderstanding between my friends and you. They’d hate you, and even come for you unprovoked for stealing their friend from them… I was protecting you,” Marina said.

Selene smiled.

Marina stole a quick glance, as though confirming whether her flattery was taking effect, whether it was the perfect time for the last step.

“I really admire you a lot, ma’am… like I said, I would love to be on your side. But if it would cause any misunderstanding between your friends and I—”

“I’ll take care of them,” Marina cut in quickly.

“You don’t have to worry about them,” she added, flashing Selene an assuring smile as she led the way into the elevator.

Soon, the chime sounded and the doors slid open. Marina stepped out first, took a few steps, then halted abruptly. Selene paused too.

She turned.

“Yes.”

Selene raised a confused brow. “Yes?”

“You’re on my side now, Selene…” Marina interrupted.

Selene’s eyes lit up, a happy smile brightening her face. “Really, ma’am?”

Marina nodded and tore her eyes away.

“Thank you so—” The words caught in Selene’s throat as Marina suddenly closed the space between them, her eyes carefully taking in the bracelet on Selene’s wrist.

“It’s beautiful…” she said, and that was when it dawned on Selene.

She was going to ask for it—not as a token of friendship, but as evidence. This was what Marina was up to. So if things went wrong, she would simply frame Selene for it, turn in the bracelet as evidence, and close the case before anyone discovered the real truth.

“I want it,” Marina said, seizing Selene’s wrist and peeling off the bracelet before she could get a word out.

“Thank you for this, Selene… let's hang out another time. I'm too tired tonight,” Marina cooed, chuckling softly. She gave Selene a quiet pat on the shoulder before walking away, the echoes of chaos already erupting outside not stopping her for a second.

Selene watched Marina disappear from sight, an annoyed hiss tearing from her lips. She was on Marina’s side, no doubt—but for how long would things remain quiet on her end? Of course, in no time, the Marina she knew so well would pin this night on her. And right now, she had nothing incriminating enough to keep Marina at bay.

“There’s been an accident… there’s been an accident…” she heard as more chaos spread through the hotel, staff and even the press scampering around.

She hissed again and walked out of the building, ignoring the noise. She spotted her car waiting a few meters ahead and hastened inside, slamming the door shut as her mind spiralled with wild thoughts. She was safe for now—but she knew Marina too well. In no time, she would discard her, and the only way Selene wouldn’t bear the cost of tonight's death was to have something even bigger over Marina’s head by then—something that would render her carefully laid plan utterly useless.

“Drive…” Selene mouthed as a soft chime rattled her phone. She dipped her hand into her purse and fished it out, her heart skipping a nervous beat as her eyes landed on the text on the screen.

No more impulsive decisions, Selene… or you’ll bear the cost yourself.

She bit down on her lower lip and tossed the phone aside, her fingers shaking with anger as they searched her purse for cigarettes—when a quiet figure behind her cleared his throat.

Selene froze.

“I must say, you’re very good at hiding…” a voice followed, and just before Selene could turn, someone seized her from behind, clamping a drugged scarf over her nose.

Selene fought and clawed for a while, but to no avail—then everything went black.