Clarissa always had a way with words. She could pull people in, trap them in her web of lies, and suck them dry of everything they had using just words. Sometimes, she wouldn’t even need to use too many of them, just a few gleaming gems from the English language that she knew men liked to hear. When those rounded syllables and purring r’s spilled from ruby red lips they turned into more than just words- they turned into chips of gold.

Clarissa knew she was pretty, it was just about the only thing both her and her mother had agreed on. Clarissas mother noticed that beauty at a young age and weaponized it, honing those pretty blue eyes and soft blond curls into a finely sharpened blade. Clarissa had always known that her power came directly from her beauty. When she had everyone gushing over her in school and men at the ready, she knew it was because of her looks. She began crave the affection overtime, not out of vanity, but for all the peripheral perks she gained. It was that attention and praise that gave her power. Power to do things like enter fancy venues or live lavishly beyond her means. Coming from a family that was not only broken, but actually broke- money wise- the high life was something Clarissa cherished dearly.

“Gods. You. Are. Stunning”

Clarissa turned to the sound of the voice and saw that a pretty blond man in a navy tux had sidled up to her. Though she was sitting alone at the bar, getting drunk on empress gin and totally at peace with the situation , it seemed as though this star struck man took it upon himself to converse with her. She supposed she could entertain him just this once. Judging by the gleaming watch on his wrist and the scent of expensive cologne perhaps he could offer her something more than just his good looks.

Clarissa let out a breathy laugh and feigned innocent.

“Me? Gosh aren’t you sweet”, she gushed, looking up at him through her eyelashes.

His grin widened and he looked her over, his expression advertising every dirty thought in his mind like a billboard. Lust was an expression Clarissa knew well, just as most people could read sadness or joy; and this man, with his dopey smile and puffed chest had lust printed on his forehead in big bold letters.

“Ethan Harl”, he said, reaching out a hand and catching Clarissas palm in his firm grasp. Clarissa recognized the last name immediately. Harl & Harding. The big shot lawyers who were the guests of honour at this party.L. The Harl in Harl & Harding was most certainly his father. This cocky boy before her looked too egotistical to do anything other than look pretty and flirt.

“Clarissa”

His hand lingered longer around hers. Warm and strong with fingers so long they almost wrapped around her wrist entirely.

“Just Clarissa?”, he asked with an eyebrow raise “no last name?”.

Clarissa shook her head and shot him a dazzling smile. ‘A smile like a cocaine. Pure white and entirely addictive’, her mother would say to her.

“Just Clarissa”, she responded coyly.

Ethan laughed and ordered himself a drink.

Ethan Harl proceeded to spend the rest of the evening talking. Talking and talking and talking- mostly just about himself. He was interning at his father law firm, something he said with such brazen cockiness, that Clarissa didn’t have the heart to tell him that the only reason he was even considered for the position was because of nepotism. He was loose lipped about his fathers cases, yabbering about juicy details that likely went against numerous confidentiality agreements. Clarissa listened closely to this information in particular, eager to learn about something other than the amount of summer homes Ethan owned. With every new topic he leaned in closer to her and placed a hand her arm unnecessarily.

“Ethan, love” Clarissa drawled when there was a gap in their conversation. “Mind if I head to the ladies room and make a quick phone call? My moms flying out to Vegas tonight and I want to catch her before she boards her flight” Clarissa added. The lies were polished beautifully on her tongue. One might actually think that her mother was in fact going on vacation to Vegas.

His face fell slightly but he nodded. “Yeah, go ahead”.

Clarissa got up from her chair and slipped her long white coat back on. From it’s pocket she withdrew a key card. She slid the card on the table towards Ethan and smiled cheekily.

“Meet you upstairs? I’m in room 508”

His face lit up again and she swore his entire body actually flushed with delight. Of course. As expected, it was sex he was really after. It was no surprise really, she knew she had that effect on people.

She sashayed away before he had a chance to say more and slipped into the hotel lobby. She then ducked into a secluded area away from watchful eyes. With a sigh in preparation, she whipped out her phone and dialed the familiar number. It was a burner phone of course, but her mother had been stealthy enough to now only sneak it into the prison, but hold on to it long enough that a Clarissa knew the number by heart now.

“Rissa?” Her moms voice was clear and hopeful, with a hint of breathlessness.

“Mom? Hey I missed you. How have you been?”

Her mother spoke for a bit, overdramatizing the events of prison life for Clarissas entertainment. After a while, she paused.

“So? How’d it go?”, She asked, her tone pitched lower than before.

“It went great. He fell right into my trap. I’m suppose to meet him up in my hotel room soon”, Clarissa replied, eyes skimming over all the laughing people walking in and out of the lobby in expensive clothing.

“Good girl. Remember what I told you right? We just need his phone and room key. He has all his passwords on his phone and you can use his room key to access his laptop. I just need you to send me copies of the case files that he’s worked on with his dad. Got it?”

Clarissa replied with more sass than necessary.

“Of course mother, we’ve talked about this a hundred times”, Clarissa clipped back with an eye roll. Even from her prison cell her mother couldn’t help but be controlling; it was as though she only believed Clarissa to be a pretty shell of a girl with no brain in her head.

“Watch your tone with me Clar- oh god just wait a second”, she could hear her mother arguing with someone in the background before returning her attention to the call.

“I have to go Clarissa. Don’t let me down”, and then she hung up.

Clarissa tucked the phone back into her pocket and took a rare moment to collect herself. When she was ready, she slipped back into the faux version of herself with her head held high and shoulders back. Tonight she had a job that she would not mess up on.

Not when she was so close to getting back at the Harl family for what they had done to her; for killing her father and framing her mother for it all.