Chapter 3 - The Invitation to Execution
By noon the following day, Manhattan’s fashion elite were gathered at the Plaza Hotel for the annual Metropolitan Heritage Gala press conference.
Chloe sat at the center of the mahogany stage, surrounded by flashbulbs and reporters. She was wearing a dress from her new autumn line—a heavy, uninspired red satin gown that looked like a cheap imitation of my spring collection.
"It’s a tragedy what happened to my stepsister's little shop," Chloe crooned into the array of microphones, dabbing her eyes with a lace handkerchief that showed no tears. "Lyra was always so careless with her wiring. But Vance Luxury is stepping up to cover her debts. We’ve even offered her a job as a junior seamstress in our alterations department!"
The reporters chuckled politely, typing frantically on their tablets.
"Is that offer still standing, Chloe?" a smooth, icy voice called out from the back of the grand ballroom.
The room went dead silent. The flashbulbs stopped flashing.
The heavy oak doors of the ballroom swung open. I walked down the center aisle, my heels clicking against the marble floor with terrifying rhythm.
I was wearing a sleeveless, floor-length gown woven entirely from the restored phoenix thread. It didn't look like fabric; it looked like liquid moonlight wrapped around skin, rippling with iridescent gold whenever I took a step. The gown moved as if it were alive, catching the crystal chandeliers' light and casting radiant geometric patterns across the ceiling.
Chloe’s breath hitched. She pushed back her chair so hard it nearly tipped over. "Lyra? What... where did you get that?"
"You offered me a job, Chloe," I said, stopping at the front of the stage, looking up at her with complete, unflinching dominance. "But I'm afraid your entire design team couldn't replicate the hem of this dress if I gave them a hundred years."
A reporter from Vogue stood up, her jaw practically on the floor. "Lyra! Who designed that gown? What is that material?"
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"This is the Phoenix Line," I announced, turning to face the wall of cameras. "And every single piece in the collection will be revealed seven days from now at the Heritage Gala."
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