First published 2026
Veronica Van Arden used to be Hollywood royalty. Now she is navigating box office failures and tabloid headlines that won't quit. When she lands a part in a film that could turn things around, she lets herself believe the worst is behind her. Her young costar Sienna Vale makes that easier. Sienna is warm, talented, and completely devoted to Veronica, showing up for her through a fresh scandal when almost no one else does. Veronica pulls Sienna close, sharing her world, her contacts, her trust. She sees a protégé. She sees a friend. What she does not see is what Sienna actually wants. Liv Constantine, the New York Times bestselling author, builds the tension between these two women slowly and carefully. Every act of loyalty from Sienna carries a second meaning. Every door Veronica opens leads somewhere she did not intend to go. This is a short story about fame and what it costs, told through two women whose ambitions are not nearly as different as one of them believes.
Genres: drama, suspense, contemporary, adult-fiction, psychological-thriller
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, intimate, psychological, suspenseful, tension-filled
Tropes: deception, power-dynamics, toxic-friendship, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Hollywood
Period: 21st-century, contemporary
48 pages · Kindle Edition · Amazon Original Stories
Content warnings: emotional-abuse, gaslighting