The NOER sample gown hung in tatters from Isabella's trembling frame, its once-pristine tulle shredded like confetti at a funeral. Sophia Sterling circled her prey, silver scissors glinting under the expo's industrial lights, each snip echoing through the stunned silence.
"Stop!" Isabella shrieked, clutching the remnants of the bodice. "You're insane!"
Sophia smirked, blade hovering over a sequined shoulder. "Insane? No, darling. Thorough." With a surgeon's precision, she slit the seam beneath the armpit, revealing a hidden tag stitched in Cyrillic. The livestream drones zoomed in.
Livestream Chat:
[@FashionForensics]: HOLY SHIT THAT'S VERA KOVALCHUK'S MARKER
[@DesignDetective]: STOLEN FROM KIEV'S 2023 COLLECTION
[@IsababyExposed]: CAUGHT IN 4K WITH A SIDE OF TULLE
Isabella's porcelain complexion turned corpse-gray. "Plagiarism allegations are libel," she hissed, but her voice cracked like cheap veneer.
Sophia tossed the scissors to Pang Xie, who caught them midair. The struggling designer's hands steadied as he peeled back the gown's lining, exposing a patchwork of pilfered patterns—Moscow's avant-garde cuts spliced with Milanese drapery, all poorly stitched over knockoff lace.
"Libel?" Sophia plucked a threadbare hem, letting it disintegrate. "Honey, this isn't a lawsuit. It's a autopsy."
Livestream Chat:
[@CoutureCult]: MAMA'S GIRL JUST UNLEASHED FASHION NUREMBERG TRIALS
[@ThreadOfTruth]: ISABELLA'S CAREER JUST WENT VIRAL… IN THE WORST WAY
Ada Chen, NOER's creative director, vaulted onto the stage, her YSL capelet flapping like panicked wings. "You'll tank our IPO!"
Sophia whirled, clutching a swatch of stolen brocade. "Our IPO?" Her laugh cut sharper than the shears. "You turned couture into a cut-and-paste operation. Congratulations—you're the Wish.com of haute fashion."
The expo's holographic billboards flickered, algorithms scrambling to replace NOER's ads with Sophia's viral hashtag: #ScissorsDontLie.
Livestream Chat:
[@InvestorInsider]: NOER STOCK CRASHING 40% IN PRE-MARKET
[@MamaGirlMogul]: SOPH'S PORTFOLIO JUST GAINED A ZERO
Isabella lunged, rhinestone nails aimed at Sophia's eyes. "You ruined me!"
Sophia sidestepped, letting momentum carry her rival into a rack of counterfeit handbags. "You did that," she purred, adjusting her choker of black diamonds. "I just held up the mirror."
Pang Xie stepped forward, trembling replaced by steel. "These…" He spread the butchered gown across the runway, exposing its Frankenstein seams to the drones. "…are my designs. Sketches NOER rejected last season."
Gasps rippled through the front row as he unfolded his portfolio—watercolor renderings of deconstructed trench coats and asymmetrical skirts, now mirrored in the destroyed garment.
Livestream Chat:
[@ArtistryAlert]: PANG XIE'S THE REAL GENIUS HERE
[@JusticeForDesigners]: CANCEL NOER. JUSTICE FOR INDIE CREATORS
Ada crumpled, Louboutins scraping against scattered beads. "We'll settle. Name your price."
Sophia knelt, plucking a monogrammed button from Ada's hair. "Keep your blood money." She nodded to Pang Xie. "He's taking 51% equity. Creative control. Royalties. Everything."
Isabella crawled through the debris, smeared mascara mimicking abstract art. "Lucian will sue you into oblivion!"
"Lucian?" Sophia tapped her phone, unleashing a recording through the PA system:
"—just slap some Russian tags on it, who'll notice?" Isabella's voice echoed, tinny and damning. "Those Kiev hicks can't afford lawyers—"
The livestream flatlined as NOER's sponsors pulled the feed. Too late.
Livestream Chat (Final Frame):
[@EpicFail]]: ISABELLA'S FACE = NEW 'SCREAM' MEME
[@SophiaStans]: LONG LIVE THE QUEEN OF CHAOS
As security dragged Isabella kicking into a black SUV, Sophia lit a Sobranie cigarette with Pang Xie's scissors. "Revival starts Monday," she told him, smoke curling around the words. "We're burning the archives."
He grinned, clutching his resurrected sketches. "What's left to burn?"
"The lies." She crushed the cigarette underfoot, embers dying on the runway. "And maybe a few egos."
In the shadows, Isabella's shattered reflection mouthed silent threats against a car window. But Sophia Sterling was already striding toward the next fire, lighter in hand.