"Are you sure there's no other option?"

"No, sir. That man has earned her trust. Her mother sold her six months ago for a considerable amount. The crime is scheduled for this Saturday, and it will be streamed on the dark web. The only way… is for you to do it first."

Bastien loosened his collar and leaned back in his chair. A cigarette rested between his fingers as he tapped the ash into an overflowing ashtray. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, overwhelmed.

"She'll hate me forever for this."

"But sir, if you don’t do it, her fate will be worse. They won’t stop until you send proof."

"Fine. Do it." Bastien exhaled a painful breath while Lucca, his right hand, issued the order over the phone.

"Lucca..."

"Mmm?"

"Don’t hurt her," he warned.

"Understood."

The man walked out of the office, leaving Bastien lost in thought, a glass of whiskey in one hand and a cigarette in the other.

Meanwhile, at the university, Katherine was reviewing her notes when a pair of hands suddenly covered her eyes. It was her fourth year studying fashion design. Her whole life she had dreamed of creating clothes. As a little girl, she would dress her dolls with unique outfits. She even made new garments from old clothes and gave them to underprivileged children in her neighborhood.

Her greatest masterpiece came at age ten: a coat she crafted from one of her father's old jackets, which had a torn sleeve. She worked on it for months. When winter came, she was on her way to school and noticed the quiet boy who lived on the corner, sitting silently on his porch, waiting for his adoptive parents to arrive. He was thin—probably from malnutrition—with black hair and soft brown eyes.

That afternoon, it had snowed, and the cold was brutal. Katherine—or Kate, as her friends called her—ran home, grabbed the coat, a thermos of warm milk, and some cookies. She stood at the gate with a smile and greeted him:

"Hi."

The boy, lips nearly purple from the cold, lifted his head. Kate, as confident as ever, stepped inside and placed the thermos beside him.

"Stand up."

The boy, almost frozen, slowly got to his feet. Kate wrapped the coat around him. It was so thick, not even a trace of cold could seep through. She looked at her creation and sighed:

"Perfect..."

The boy looked down at himself. The coat was burgundy, lined with sheepskin on the inside, making it incredibly warm. Almost stammering, he whispered:

"Thank you..."

"Don’t thank me yet. Sit down."

Kate opened the thermos and poured hot chocolate into two cups she’d brought. She handed him one, along with a cookie.

"Here, this’ll warm you up. I made the cookies myself, so even if they’re bad… you have to eat them anyway."

The boy gave a small smile at her mock-threat. He bit into the cookie, and his taste buds sang with joy.

"They’re delicious. Thank you."

"Obviously. Everything I do, I do well. So, why are you out here in the cold?"

"My adoptive parents are still out with their family, and I don’t have keys."

"Well, when that happens, come to my house. I get home from school at 5:30, and after that I sew and design. You could be my model."

The boy smiled, sipping the hot chocolate. That became their routine. Each afternoon, Sebastián would come to Kate’s house. She’d give him milk and cookies, and he would model for her creations. He got the occasional pinprick, but called them “battle scars.”

Then, one day, Sebastián stopped coming.

Kate’s father found out that his adoptive parents had left town suddenly the night before, without a trace. Kate was heartbroken for months, but eventually moved on. Still, every time she walked past Sebastián’s house, she’d glance at the porch and miss her sweet friend.

Years passed. Kate enrolled in fashion school and eventually met Sebastián—a young man from another city. She was drawn to him at first because he shared the name of her childhood friend. But when she checked his arm and didn’t find the small crescent-shaped birthmark above his wrist, her heart sank.

They had been dating for two months, and Kate was happier than ever. Sebastián was the perfect boyfriend.

She felt his hands covering her eyes, and his unmistakable cologne filled her senses.

"Mmm… who could it be? Let me guess… the color theory professor?"

"What?! How dare you confuse me with that bald old man!" Sebastián shouted, pretending to be wounded.

Kate smiled sweetly, gazing into his beautiful blue eyes.

"I’m just kidding. How could I not recognize the soft, handsome hands of my boyfriend?"

She stood up and kissed his sweet lips. They’d been together for two months, and he still hadn’t taken things further, no matter how much she tried. She was in love and wanted him to be her first. She had tried to initiate more, but he always stopped her.

"Baby, stop… I came to invite you to something." Sebastián gently pulled away.

"Where to?"

"There’s a party this Saturday. Can we go? And afterward… we could head somewhere more private. Just the two of us. What do you think? I’ve got a place booked—rose petals, champagne, soft music..."

Kate lit up. At last, she’d be with the man she loved for the first time.

"I’d love that. Although… I should tell Delia. Talking to her is torture. Ever since Dad died, she’s hated me."

"Maybe she never loved you and just pretended to."

"I think that’s true. She used to be my mom’s best friend. When my mom passed, she took over—claimed she was helping my dad… but all she wanted was to sleep in his bed. And she succeeded."

"I know, sweetheart. Don’t worry. If you want, I can talk to her. I’ll ask for permission myself."

"You’d really do that?"

"Of course. I’d do anything for my princess."

Sebastián kissed her lips sweetly and drove her home. As expected, Delia was sitting on the couch flipping through a magazine when Kate walked in.

"Good afternoon, Delia."

"Hello. So early? Weren’t you coming later?"

"Yeah, but Sebastián brought me home."

Delia looked up and greeted Sebastián, who stood just behind Kate.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Delia. I wanted to let you know that I’ll be taking Kate to a party outside the city this Saturday. I promise to bring her back before noon on Sunday."

"That’s fine."

Kate’s eyes widened. Delia had never been this agreeable.

"Thank you."

Sebastián smiled at Kate and gave her a short kiss.

"I’ll pick you up at university tomorrow. See you, baby."

"Bye, love."

After he left, Kate closed the door and went up to her room. Her scraps of fabric, threads, and mannequin stood waiting. In the closet hung a small black coat—the one she had made for her childhood friend Sebastián, nearly identical to the first one she ever gave him. She had planned to give it to him the day he disappeared.

Kate gently touched the sleeve, lost in the memory. She took a bath and went to bed.

The next morning, she was walking to university when a black van stopped beside her. Several men got out. At first, she thought they would rob her—but it was worse. One of them pressed a cloth to her mouth before she could scream. Her books fell to the ground as she slowly lost consciousness in the arms of her attacker.