ASHES & THREADS

### **Opening Scene: The Sky Splits Apart**

*(Cut to black. The roar of jet engines fills the audio. Then—a deafening explosion. Flames rip through the cabin as oxygen masks drop. Screams. Static. Silence. The camera pans to a lone designer scarf—Sophia Laurent’s signature piece—floating amid the wreckage before dissolving into smoke.)*

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### **Scene 2: Funeral of a Fallen Star**

*Rain lashes against black umbrellas outside Paris’s La Madeleine Church. Paparazzi lenses zoom in on **Sophia Laurent**, the "Queen of Couture," now a ghost of herself. Her gloved hands clutch a framed photo of her daughter, **Claire**, who boarded that doomed flight to New York for Fashion Week. Sophia’s lips move—a whisper lost in the downpour:*

**"I should’ve been on that plane with you."**

*(Cut to reporters murmuring: “Will the Laurent fashion empire survive without an heir?”)*

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### **Scene 3: Small Town, Big Dreams**

*Smash-cut to sunlit lockers at **Oakridge High School, Michigan**. Meet **Eva Moretti**—17, Converse sneakers splattered with paint, sketching dress designs on her algebra homework. Her best friend **Mira** snatches the paper:*

**MIRA** *(teasing)*

“Another Eva Original? Girl, Mrs. Parker’s gonna fail you *again*.”

**EVA** *(grinning, grabs it back)*

“Worth it. Someday, these doodles will walk Paris runways.”

*(Overhead announcement: “Eva Moretti, report to guidance office.”)*

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### **Scene 4: The Guidance Counselor’s Office**

*Eva’s smile fades as **Mrs. Greer** slides a community college pamphlet across the desk:*

**MRS. GREER**

“Be realistic, Eva. Fashion design? With your family’s income?”

*(Eva’s fists clench. Flashback to her mom crying over bills at their kitchen table—the same table where Eva taught herself to sew.)*

**EVA** *(quiet, fierce)*

“Then I’ll get a scholarship. Or work ten jobs. I

### **Scene 5: The Sewing Machine Rebellion**

*Eva’s tiny bedroom. Moonlight leaks through a cracked window onto her thrift-store sewing machine—a 20-year-old Singer that jams every third stitch. She’s altering a secondhand prom dress for Mira, fingers flying as she rants:*

**EVA** *(muttering)*

“Mrs. Greer thinks ‘realistic’ means giving up. But since when did fashion *ever* play by the rules?”

*(Her phone buzzes—a TikTok notification: “Sophia Laurent Cancels Fall Show After Daughter’s Death.” Eva pauses, zooming in on the grieving designer’s face. Something flickers in her eyes—unplaceable, uneasy.)*

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### **Scene 6: The Crash That Changes Everything**

*Next morning. Eva bikes to her weekend job at *Stitch & Save Fabrics*. A radio blares breaking news:*

**RADIO ANNOUNCER**

“…and in tragic fashion news, sources confirm the plane carrying Laurent heiress Claire’s personal designs crashed near Iceland. No survivors…”

*(Eva freezes. The camera lingers on a bolt of Sophia Laurent’s iconic crimson silk—the exact shade from the funeral scene—now discounted to $9.99/yard.)*

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### **Scene 7: Fate’s Stitch**

*Closing hours. Eva’s sweeping scraps when the shop door slams open. A woman in oversized sunglasses staggers in—**Sophia Laurent**, disheveled, clutching a smoke-scented garment bag.*

**SOPHIA** *(hoarse, desperate)*

“I need this restored. *Now*.”

*(She unzips the bag. Inside: Claire’s half-burned wedding dress, embroidered with peonies—identical to Eva’s algebra-sketch designs. Eva gasps. Sophia’s gaze snaps up, really *seeing* her for the first time…)*

**SOPHIA** *(whispering)*

“*Claire?*”

*(Eva recoils—but the camera catches Sophia’s trembling hand brushing Eva’s wrist… where Claire had the same cherry-blossom birthmark.)*

**FADE TO BLACK.**

TO BE CONTINUED

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