Amira had never flown first class before. Not even once.
Everything about it felt surreal—from the curt smile of the airport staff escorting her past long queues, to the complimentary champagne she barely touched as she watched the world shrink below her window.
Despite the luxury, her nerves refused to settle.
The flight attendants were overly polite, but distant. She glanced at her boarding pass again. Her destination felt like something from a spy novel: Podgorica, Montenegro.
The estate address printed on her itinerary was vague—no GPS match, just coordinates.
She landed at night. The airport was quiet, the air cold and fresh. A tall man in a black turtleneck held up a sign that simply read: "A.L."
"Amira Lewis?" he asked, his accent unreadable.
She nodded.
He offered no smile, just took her luggage and walked ahead. No small talk. Just the soft hum of the car engine as they drove for hours in silence.
She dozed off once, only to wake up when the car stopped in front of a wrought-iron gate covered in ivy. Beyond it, a sprawling estate loomed. It looked like a castle, half-hidden in the fog.
The gate creaked open.
Inside, soft lights glowed from ground lanterns leading toward a mansion so pristine it looked untouched by time. A woman in a deep maroon robe stood at the door, waiting. She had silver-streaked hair tied back into a bun and a clipboard in hand.
"Miss Lewis," the woman said without introduction. "You'll be staying in the West Wing. Breakfast is served at 8. Your shoot begins at noon sharp."
"Shoot for whom?" Amira asked finally.
The woman didn't blink. "The bride."
"Right... but who is she? Where is she?"
"You will meet her in the morning."
That was it. No warm welcome. No chitchat. Just directions and silence.
Her room was grand—dark velvet curtains, gold trimming, and a bed large enough to lose herself in. But there were no mirrors. No clock. Not even a phone line.
Amira set her camera case down and stared at her reflection in the window.
Something about this place wasn't just strange.
It was wrong.