The video starts at 3:42 AM.
Anthony's screams rip through my phone speaker before I can lower the volume. He's thrashing against restraints I can't see, his face contorted in agony. The sound is visceral—wet and raw, the kind of pain that lives in your bones long after the moment passes.
"Please!" His voice breaks. "Harlow, please, just do what they—"
The video cuts to black.
I'm shaking so hard the phone slips from my hands, clattering against the hardwood floor. Ninety-seven dares. Ninety-seven pieces of myself scattered across Manhattan like breadcrumbs leading nowhere. And still, they want more.
The text arrives before I can catch my breath.
"Task 98 of 1000: Bergdorf Goodman, 10 AM today. Third floor, accessories. Steal the red silk scarf, item #BG-4721. Let yourself be caught. Accept all verbal abuse from management. Do not defend yourself. Do not apologize. Stand silent. Film everything."
My stomach lurches. Bergdorf Goodman—where women in pearls spend more on handbags than most people earn in a month. Where I'll be the entertainment, the cautionary tale, the trash they sweep out before it stains their marble floors.
I press my forehead against the cool floor and grip Mom's locket until the metal leaves an imprint in my palm.
---
The store gleams like a temple at 9:55 AM. Crystal chandeliers cast prismatic light across displays of cashmere and silk. Everything smells expensive—leather and perfume and money.
I'm wearing my oldest jeans and a stained sweater. I look exactly like what I'm about to become: a thief.
The third floor is quieter. Scarves draped like art installations, each one worth more than my monthly rent. I find the red silk easily—it's beautiful, actually, hand-painted with gold thread. My fingers brush against it and I think about all the things I used to be before this nightmare began.
I slip it into my bag.
The security sensor screams immediately.
Two guards materialize from nowhere, their hands already reaching for me. A woman in a severe black suit—the manager, her name tag reads "Patricia Whitmore"—approaches with the kind of smile that promises violence.
"Miss." Her voice could freeze blood. "I need you to come with me."
She leads me to a back office, all glass and chrome and judgment. My phone is propped in my bag, camera lens pointed out, recording everything.
"Empty your bag."
I do. The red scarf spills out like an accusation.
Patricia's expression shifts from professional to disgusted. "You thought you could steal from Bergdorf Goodman? You?" Her gaze rakes over my stained sweater, my unwashed hair. "Look at you. You're pathetic. Desperate. The kind of trash that makes our real customers uncomfortable."
I stand silent. My nails dig crescents into my palms.
"Nothing to say?" She leans closer, her perfume overwhelming. "No excuse? No sob story about how you need it for your sick grandmother?" She laughs, sharp and cruel. "You're not even creative. Just another worthless thief who thought she could play in a world she doesn't belong in."
The words land like physical blows. I think about the coffee I poured over my head. The trash can sandwich. Crawling through Times Square. This is just another dare. Just another piece of myself I'm carving away.
"Security is calling the police," Patricia continues. "But honestly? They probably won't bother. You're not worth the paperwork. You're nothing. A nobody. A waste of space who should be grateful we're letting you walk out of here instead of pressing charges."
She's still talking—something about banning me from all luxury retailers, about how people like me ruin everything—but her voice fades into white noise. I'm somewhere else now, somewhere deep inside where the pain can't quite reach.
My phone buzzes in my bag. Once. Twice.
Patricia finally stops. "Get out. And if I ever see you in this store again, I'll have you arrested on sight."
I walk out through the main floor. Every eye follows me. The guards escort me to the door like I'm contaminated. A woman pulls her daughter closer as I pass.
Outside, the November air bites through my sweater. I check my phone with trembling hands.
"Task 98 complete. Exceptional work, Harlow. You're almost there."
Almost where? I want to scream. Almost to what?
The next message arrives before I can breathe.
"Tasks 99 and 100 will conclude your first hundred dares. Tomorrow, 7 PM. The Ashford Penthouse, 432 Park Avenue, 86th floor. A package will arrive at your apartment today at 4 PM. Wear what's inside. Come alone. This is your final test before we discuss Anthony's release."
My heart stutters. Final test. Release.
I'm almost there. Almost to him.
---
The package arrives at 4:03 PM. Heavy, wrapped in plain brown paper.
Inside is a dress.
No—calling it a dress is generous. It's a bridesmaid gown, the kind worn by women in wedding parties designed by sadists. The color is an aggressive shade of salmon that would make anyone look jaundiced. The fabric is cheap polyester that crinkles when I touch it. Ruffles cascade down the front like a tragic waterfall. The bow at the back is the size of a small child.
A note card sits on top: "Wear this. Nothing else. 7 PM sharp. Don't be late."
I hold the dress up to the light. It's hideous. Humiliating. Exactly the kind of thing they'd choose.
But if this is what it takes to see Anthony again—to end this nightmare—I'll wear it.
I'll wear anything.
I hang the monstrosity in my closet next to Mom's wedding dress. The contrast is obscene—delicate ivory silk beside cheap salmon polyester. Beauty and degradation, side by side.
My phone buzzes: "Tomorrow, everything changes. Be ready."
I grip Mom's locket and whisper to her ghost: "Just one more day. I can survive one more day."
But deep in my chest, something whispers back: Can you?
