CHAPTER 64: PORTFOLIO

When she sat down, she leaned back against the wall, raising her folded right leg and bending it slightly to the left. Her left elbow rested on her raised knee, hand propped against her temple in a quiet, thoughtful pose. The fingers of her right hand brushed her knee lightly, relaxed. She looked directly into the camera—expression calm and gaze steady.

She made sure the frame ended just below her chest and knee, so the focus stayed on her face, the pose, and the lighting.

After several shots—and a few impatient sighs from Rita when the lighting refused to cooperate—they finally captured one that stood out: a natural, sun-kissed headshot that looked effortlessly professional.

Next came the video.

That part was easier. Acting as someone else had started to come naturally to Erisia—it was as if, the moment the lens focused on her, she could shed her own skin and breathe as another person entirely. Her posture, her tone, even the rhythm of her breathing changed with every role.

They filmed two short monologues, each charged with emotion in its own way.

In the first, she played a withdrawn woman burdened by grief—a character who’d lost everything but refused to break. Her voice trembled just enough, her eyes distant but alive with unspoken pain.

The second monologue was its opposite: a woman betrayed by the people she trusted most. This one demanded chaos instead of silence. Erisia’s voice rose, cracked, then steadied again; her expression raw and volatile, her hands moving to express the character’s state.

Rita, who’d been ready to tease her between shots, barely spoke during filming, just watched in stunned silence until the second take ended.

They edited the clips together with a clean transition, adding her name and contact email at the end in a simple serif font. No filters and no background music—just her voice and expression.

Finally came the bio. Erisia typed it herself—concise, and factual: her name, her age range, her height, contact information, and a short paragraph describing her motivation and background.

When everything was complete, they uploaded the files into a neatly labeled folder on her phone. The orange evening light had dimmed into violet dusk, and the faint hum of crickets drifted in through the window. They’d both skipped lunch without noticing.

"I’ll get something for you," Rita said, stretching her arms as she walked toward the kitchen. "You finish up."

Erisia nodded, sitting on the edge of her bed. The screen glowed in the fading light as she opened her chat with Soraya and found the contact information for Leonard Crewe.

She tapped the number, saved it to her phone, and after a brief pause, pressed Call.

The line rang twice before a voice answered—steady and deep.

"Leonard Crewe speaking."

"Good evening, Mr. Crewe. My name is Erisia Wrenford," she began, her tone respectful but confident. "I was referred to you by Soraya Lane. She mentioned you were open to reviewing my acting portfolio."

There was a short silence, then a sound of a chair creaking, followed by the rustle of papers. "Ah. Soraya’s friend," he said, his tone brightening slightly. "Yes, she spoke of you and sent a video that I didn’t ask her for. You’re the one who did the emotional scene, right?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good," Leonard said simply, though his voice carried a faint edge of curiosity. "Send me your reel and headshots by tonight if possible. I’ll review them in the morning. I usually don’t take blind recommendations, but Soraya insisted. Said you’ve got something rare."

Erisia smiled faintly. "I’ll send them right away."

"Excellent." His voice sharpened, that eccentric work intensity flickering through. "And, Ms. Erisia—when you send it, don’t write a cover message longer than two lines. Keep it minimal. I decide faster that way."

"I understand."

"Good." A pause. "And relax. I don’t bite—unless someone sends a video with background music."

That earned a laugh from her. "No music, I promise."

"Perfect. I’ll look forward to it."

The call ended, and the room fell silent again. Erisia stared at her reflection on the dark phone screen. Her pulse was steady, her eyes calm—but beneath that calm was a spark of anticipation.

She opened her files, attached the folder, and sent the email exactly as instructed.

Two lines.

One attachment.

When she hit Send, a strange warmth settled in her chest.

Rita returned with a bowl of instant noodles, her hair messy from the kitchen steam. "All done?"

Erisia smiled. "Yeah. Sent."

Rita grinned. "Then let’s eat. We have worked hard today."

Erisia laughed softly, "Yeah, we have."

_____

It was late at night when Erisia finally lay back on her bed, the faint hum of crickets seeping in through the half-open window. The glow from her phone screen painted her face in a pale blue light as she scrolled aimlessly—until curiosity finally won. She opened X and typed *Sierra Wrenford* into the search bar.

Almost instantly, her feed flooded with posts.

Her brows furrowed. Already? The amount of information circulating stunned her—timestamps, hospital names, and speculative threads all blending into a storm of information.

She sat up, resting her back against the headboard, and began scrolling through them one by one.

The first post that caught her attention was from a familiar account.

{ClowneryCentral ✧ 4h ago}

{Y’all gotta see this. Remember that post I made about @ErisiaWrenford almost becoming roadkill a while back? Yeah, well, apparently it’s deeper than that.

Word on the street is that Sierra Wrenford—yep, the biological daughter—was the reason Adrian Hoffman wanted Erisia dead. Looked like she manipulated the dude or something.💀

But here’s the kicker: instead of a public case or trial, they allegedly sent Sierra to a psych ward to keep things quiet. Either the Wrenfords wanted to protect their reputation, or they just didn’t want to deal with the court mess.

Thoughts?}

The post already had thousands of likes and even more comments, some dissecting every sentence like they were analyzing a mystery novel:

@peachdust: wait wait wait—so the crazy sister really tried to have her killed??

@velvettongue: "Sent to a psych ward" is crazy PR spin if that’s true 😭

@urbanmoth: that family’s been sus since the pool incident. no way this is new.

@spicybubbles: idk what’s worse—covering up a murder attempt or pretending it’s "treatment."

@Starling_X: y’all, this explains Adrian’s meltdown last week. He literally disappeared after that.

@teasbeforebeds: So Sierra’s in a psych ward now? If this is true then Adrian is definitely going to be sentenced to prison.

↳ Dude deserves it, he’s dumb. Allowing a girl to manipulate him.