THINK IT'S KARMA.

At Sera’s words, Vale rolled her eyes, unable to keep the sass to herself, even if she respected the woman to some degree — and for Vale, a tiny modicum of respect was more than anyone could ask for. And though she did agree that LA was getting boring, grifting and stealing from the same sorts of people  — but the island? To Vale, it felt much too small to have anything worth getting her fingers on.

Leaning forward, she raised an eyebrow, stuffing a piece of gum into her mouth and chewed on it, green eyes boring into the other’s figure. “Tell me,” Vale started, “what your plan is, then. ‘Cause I don’t see what you see in these neighborhoods, honestly.” She reclined into the seat again, snapping the gum, furrowing her brow as she came to a realization. “Is this about that Real Housewives shit they’re doing here?” A slow smile stretched across her face, and she clapped her hands together in glee. “Okay, now I’m down. Ugh, it’s going to be so easy fucking all their husbands and ruining their lives.” 

Her impulsiveness allowed Valentina into her real life, with the other person currently on this island being Ledger, that knew her as Seraphina McDowell and not Isla Dreyfus. It was too late now, and Sera was gambling with her life for the sake of bringing Vale along for the ride. But this was no easy job considering the scale of people they were trying to con. The town was metaphorically incestuous considering how tangled up everyone’s relations were, and that was simply based on initial research on Catalina.

The blonde eyed Vale at her words, waiting impatiently before the ball dropped, smirking slightly into her drink as realisation hit the woman. “Bingo,” She simply uttered, before the smirk stretched fully across her features at her question. “I was hoping you’d say that,” She grinned. “These women simply put targets on their backs by signing up for this show, and their egos really need to be taken down a notch.” Rolling her eyes at the thought of any of them in general, she couldn’t help but allow a chuckle to fall from her lips. “As far as the world knows, I’m not married. But you and I both know I’m a loyal wife to Ledger so I won’t be fucking anyone’s husband,” She started, before cocking a brow at the brunette. “Are you really willing to fuck the husbands just to ruin their lives, Vale?” Sera wouldn’t say it, but it would certainly benefit to their cause if Vale was willing to do the dirty work for her.

It was peculiar how worlds collided with one another especially when someone least expected it. Far from the sentimental type, perhaps the only moment when he added these emotions to cascade through was in reference to finding Sera, otherwise, everything was a fleeting pastime that did not haunt him to the slightest. Never did he imagine the possibility of finding a soul that matched with the complication of his own. Whilst he had everything imaginable in his life ─ money, legacy, endless amount of connections ─ it did not satisfy him as others had expected. After a while, the rinse and repeat cycle of attending gala’s due to the legacy of your surname because of her the great grandfather in the past was monotonous. All he wanted to do was search elsewhere. Yet, all of his searching not only allowed him to realize his passion in law was not to fight for those criminals but indulge himself in the criminal activity himself. Cunning, he always had been but as well meeting Sera around the time when his hobbies differed into criminal categorized further enhanced him to the man he currently was. The mastermind who allowed his breathtaking beauty of wife to take the reigns of their plans with full force. 

When the pairing had decided to wed each other, the news startled their families. Considering the fact their wedding was not the usual type but just going down to the courthouse without the lavish couple hundred thousand dollar wedding the Mellon’s thirsted over. Ledger was not the type to want the glitz and glamor. It was not his intention to please his family. Nor had he been on the best track ever since his birth. When Sera shared with him about her birth parents, which it had been something he learned throughout the time of building their relationship together, it had been something he did not forget about. There was a significance around the topic. The tone of her voice from that evening was differentiated to how Sera usually presented herself. The only part that astounded him was how long it took them to make their way to Catalina Island to further inch in on her birth parents. Only being here for a couple months, there were able to purchase a forever home ─ which he began to further invest money into in terms of security protection and the eventual private gate. Slow but steady steps, in his conscience, it was a logical investment for the type of individuals they were disguised as.  The more logical type of the couple, Ledger occupied himself with the usual work of preparing multiple plans in case one of them failed and doing the domestic chores as going over their expensive which included paying bills for every valuable item in their possession. This was his usual nine to five routine. Other times, he decided to occupy himself in the family room reading further into schemes or even reading for his own pleasures. Sometimes, he even challenged the staff to a game of chess. It was his game of comfort. Yet tonight, he decided to watch a movie, Inception, which ended right around the time when his wife’s voice echoing through the confines of their lavish, recently modernized home in Ventura. It was just them. All of the hands went off home. It caused him to be instantaneously on his feet. A hand in the pocket of his Brooks Brothers khaki chino pants, straight-forward lucent glasses perched on the bridge of his nose, he greeted Sera with a gentle grin. “What happened?” Intrigued, gaping tone returned in question. Making way to his side of the bed, the male occupied the space beside her, wedding hand intact considering he was home all day, one point of taking it off. Leaning in, he gave her a greet peek before melting into the plush pillows. “What nonsense did the housewives get up to today? A fight in the local restaurant? I’m pretty sure I heard someone yelling their heads off. It caused me to pause Inception to make sure I wasn’t losing it.” Chuckling, amused by the fact Catalina skyrocket of interest in the isle due to the upcoming reality tv show, around the time they made residency here. “I did the usual plan ─ preparing for the worst-case scenario, researching, taking care of finances. Boring day, but definitely was better than yours.” Especially since he didn’t have to deal with others. Although, that was going to change tomorrow because he made his appearance around town and took a few measures into his own hands. 

This was no story of two star-crossed lovers; they were partners in crime, taking on the world on their shoulders, facing the issues they crossed paths with and dealing with those matters on their own. Seraphina had learnt from a young age that the authorities were useless. Like many current politics going on in this world, that assumption was still proven to be true. So like the rest of her family, they took from and punished people where needed. Sometimes for personal gainings, sometimes for the sake of the injustice of the world. Although the blonde always let the world known that her intentions were the first and not the latter. As she believed having a soft heart in this line of business was merely a recipe for disaster. Still, she had no remorse for most of her targets. They could hardly lose a night’s sleep from what she stole from them. It was only fair to share the wealth when most of these upper class people barely lifted their fingers to do any work ever. 

Ledger was an unpredicted curveball in her life plan. Although she had come to learn that crossing paths with the man himself became one of the best thing that happened in her life. While the blonde was not the one to share much sentiment, Seraphina was sure that the exchange of wedding vows was enough to show her affection for the man she fell head over heels in love with. Of course, with the lifestyles they lived, her family was concerned, suspicious of a man with his family background to fall back to a life of crime. How ironic it was for Ledger to switch sides and work on the opposite side of what his life was built up on. His family was the exact group of people that her family would plot against, taking every part of their fortune if they could try. To unite their families together was a conflict of interest, but Sera fought for their love, told her family to give them the benefit of the doubt. It was what they did with her when they adopted her, and considering Ledger’s family had no idea what they were up to, she couldn’t foresee any danger could come in their way.

The topic of her birth parents and the need to search for them had been circulating her mind for a while, Seraphina had told her husband about them once trust was built between them, although it wasn’t until news of this reality show that provided them the opportunity to infiltrate this circle of rich wealthy families residing on Catalina Island. Yes, Sera wanted to face her birth parents again, but she wasn’t hoping for a happy reunion. She was hoping to find out why they decided to abandon her, before taking what she deserved from them. She wasn’t hoping to stay on this god awful island and live her happily ever after. Her life belonged with her adoptive family and the man she shared this home with. The gated household that they purchased was beautiful and their sanctuary. If it hadn’t been for the fact that they moved here with ulterior motives, she might had wanted to stay behind, live in this bubble with Ledger for the rest of her life. But this wasn’t the life they were destined for, the lives they lived brought excitement and light into their lives, and she wouldn’t want to give it all up simply because a part of her wanted to be comfortable. Eyes closed and leaning into his kiss, a soft sight fell from her lips when he pulled away, before turning to face her husband. “Gossiping, it’s all they do for the entire day. Who’s cheating on who, who’s acting shady and what not. It’s exhausting thinking that they all live like that daily. I wished there was a fight that actually broke out, now I would’ve been entertained by that.” The left side of her lips curved up into a smirk, before brows raised slightly at his words. “Oh, don’t tell me our neighbors are noisy. We have to deal with enough noise the moment we set foot outside of the house. I missed you out there though.” The smirk on her face was now replaced with a genuine smile, one that was only reserved for Ledger to witness. “Anything I should know about right now?” She asked, wondering how his research went and if any curveballs could come their way despite being in the early stages of their grand plan. Dropping the smile on her features for a moment, a look of seriousness crossed her features whenever they were talking business. “This whole...reality TV show that’s happening — I think we could use it to our advantage to the con. I think I can use some of these housewives to track my parents down too. But that means I have to befriend with some of them, and it might be dangerous if I get anywhere too close to those cameras. I think the risk is worth it but...what do you think, Ledge?”

Meeting Ledger Mellon was never in her plan, nor the fact that the man turned to live the same thrilling lifestyle as Sera did. Trust was a fragile bridge for the woman, so when the man she ended up falling head over heels in love with a man that lied as much as she did for a living, the thought of it terrified her. But he helped her open her eyes to a life where she could live with the support of another, having a crutch to lean on and most importantly call her out when needed. She could keep the man on his toes and the vice versa; and it was the first time ever the man could keep up with her. 

Although initially it frustrated her to no end that Seraphina fell for Ledger’s charms, their whirlwind romance soon turned into an impromptu marriage, then as people said, the rest was history. They became partners in crime, pulling cons together, sometimes as a couple, sometimes pretending as they had no associations to each other. Returning to Catalina was her request and he followed her without a second of doubt. It was how their marriage had always operated; although more often than not, her husband had to pull her back before her mind spiral too far. Sometimes she simply acted on her gut feelings and if it hadn’t been for him, she was sure she would’ve found herself behind bars by now.

After a long day of recon, trying to infiltrate the town’s inner circle, attending to charity functions and exposing Isla Dreyfus to the community, the blonde was more than relieved to turn into the driveway of the house she shared in Ventura. Her ankles were aching from wearing heels all day long as she stumbled in their home, leaving Isla behind and revealing Seraphina underneath the false identity she had been living in all day. “Ledge?” Seraphina kicked off her heels, casting her keys to one side as she wandered deeper into their home, finding her way to the master bedroom. Reaching over to the bedside table, she slipped on her wedding bands again, a sigh fell from her lips as she sank onto the side of their bed, turning as her husband came into view. “These people should be locked inside a mental asylum, I’m telling you. Tell me your day has been better than mine.” 

for → @isladreyfus location: tbd time: february 24th, 4pm

There was a start to everything — and Seraphina McDowell and Valentina Gonzalez’s start was one for the books. Growing up with nothing with nine other siblings meant that if Vale wanted anything, she’d gotten it through illicit means. Whether it meant pickpocketing tourists or swindling with her easy charm and good looks, it didn’t matter to the beauty, who’d dreamt of having the world in the palm of her hand, rolling, all at her whim.

It was why she found the Instagram game (and once upon a time, acting) so alluring. There was nothing real about it; it was all smoke and mirrors and pretty little things, and men, above all, loved to have pretty little things, and that was where they started.

Vale didn’t know where Sera came from originally, but she’d been at a party, sponsored seemingly only by Grey Goose and flashing disco lights, paired with a thumping backdrop of a deep electronic bass. It’d been easy for Vale to touch a couple thighs, throw a few smiles to get free drinks but her real targets were wrapped around their fast wrists, tucked away in the sides of their too-tight dress pants.

She had a Rolex in her bra and a couple hundred bills tucked into her thong before Vale had noticed a stern eye on her — and as they say, the rest was history. Soon enough, Vale learned of her pseudonym, and then of the mysterious Ledger, and she’d went along with it, well — because she was bored, and there was nothing else to do in the goddamn city of angels at this point anyways.

“Tell me,” Vale started, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear as she sipped at her drink, “why we’re on this godforsaken island without only one decent club and no Chanel flagship?” She asked, furrowing her brow.

Despite all the tricks her adoptive parents had passed onto her, and the numerous of cons they pulled as a family, Seraphina preferred to work alone. She was a lone wolf by nature, the thrill of pulling her first con on her own turned into somewhat of an addiction; as years went by, the blonde never returned from the high. It was why her successes contributed to the lifestyle she led now. But still, she never fell to the traps of what wealth brought to a person. She had never forgotten where she came from. 

So when she stumbled upon a pretty brunette in the midst of a recon for a con Sera was trying to pull on a local socialite, recognising Valentina from her prior research, the blonde almost looked over the woman as another Hollywood wannabe until she watched her over the course of the night as she stole from nobodies, left, right and centre. Sure, Vale was smooth, the patron she stole from wouldn’t notice their losses until the next day, but it was surely messy. The sight of the woman struck something inside her, and somehow she decided to welcome the brunette into her life, like she couldn’t turn her eyes away from a stray kitten.

Of course, Seraphina was aware of her husband’s apprehension when Valentina entered into their actual lives. The blonde was wary too, but for some reason, she saw something inside Valentina that reminded herself of her. While she wasn’t prepared to pass on all of her tricks to the woman, she needed an extra pair of hands for these series of con and maybe, she wanted to take her under her wings. It also helped that there was someone else that was aware of her true identity, sometimes, as much as she loved and adored her husband, she simply needed girl time.

“Because,” The blonde started, leaning back on the bar stool as they situated themselves at a rooftop bar. “The people that live here can buy you more than what a Chanel flagship can hold and give you more drama and entertainment than a club.” She answered simply. “I think it’s about time we stir the pot a little more, and LA was starting to get boring anyway.” 

OPEN / to whomst tf ever LOCATION: Outside of The Brunch Club TIME: February 20th, 1PM-ish

Brunch used to be sacred to Reina. It used to be a time she’d get to sit back and listen to the vapid women she’s been forced to coexist with act like idiots, to judge them with Dinah and laugh about how they’re all cows. Now she’s been thrown into the midst of it and while it’s not entirely sacred anymore, she’s found a new sort of appreciation for brunches that are being filmed. Each and every one of the women on the show showed up that day with the intent to bring it and by the end of their little get together, the drama has exceeded all of Reina’s expectations. Of course, Evelyn Halliwell’s been managing to get on her last fucking nerve for the entirety of their filming block, and she’s happy to let her know it. After all, the only advice she’d been given from producers is don’t hold back. “Oh, fuck off, Evelyn. Come on,” she rolls her eyes, her words sharp as she makes a dig at the woman. “Everyone at this table knows you’re on nose job number sixteen. Look in the goddamn mirror for once, good God.”

Despite her love of chaos, Reina can’t help but come off of the high of a catfight with mostly irritation. They’ve technically ended their brunch but they’ve all been asked to stick around for a little while longer so she takes a minute to pop outside and shove a much needed cigarette between her lips, letting the nicotine chill her nerves as much as it can. She barely acknowledges the person who joins her outside with anything more than a scowl, her eyes narrowed as she watches the road instead of her company. “These women are fucking lunatics.” And so is Reina, but that’s neither here nor there.

The filming of the Real Housewives of Catalina Island was a travesty of its own. The prospect of airing out all of their dirty laundries of national television made her want to gag to begin with; but with the trail of her biological parents that led her back to Catalina, and the fact that it was filled with no one but a bunch of superficial people showing off their wealth and causing drama where possible, these people simply put big red targets on their backs, all for Seraphina to take them down. Just like any other time the blonde went through with her schemes, she would most certainly not feel guilty for this one. Rich people and their nonsenses, it was actually pathetic.

When the blonde was out in public, the facade surfaced and returned Isla Dreyfus, her current alias. Today she was exploring around the island, trying to gather intel and figuring out how this con, or a series of them, were going to plan out. Her sources had led her to the filming of the reality show, although it was obviously closed for the public to wander straight into set. Instead, she sat on a table of the outdoor seating, sipping on a mimosa whilst keeping attentive of her surroundings as she thought of a way to weasel inside. But it seemed as though luck was on her side today, Reina Rhodes in her glory decided to grace her with her presence. Downing the rest of her drink, she made her way towards the brunette, fishing out a pack of cigarette despite being merely a social smoker. It was a bad habit she promised her husband that she would cut, but it was a tiny sacrifice to a huge cause. Hearing Reina’s words, Isla couldn’t help but smirk and nod in understanding. “Catalina has a way of attracting lunatics, keeping them all on an island is a recipe for disaster. Is that what all the cameras are about?” She pulled out a cigarette, before turning to the woman. “You got a light?”