New York City, 2000:** Armand Models is a legendary high-fashion agency, ruled by the enigmatic Mr. Armand—a man whose word can make or break a career.

Into this world steps Simone, a 19-year-old Black model from Harlem, whose rare beauty and quiet strength immediately captivate Armand. He makes her his muse, obsessively managing every detail of her rise to stardom.

Simone’s debut at Paris Fashion Week is imminent, but days before her flight, she vanishes. Armand announces to the staff that Simone has relapsed into destructive habits and run away, painting her as a tragic figure lost to her flaws. The industry accepts this story without question; Simone becomes a cautionary tale and is quickly forgotten.

A week later, Armand unveils a stunningly lifelike mannequin in his private, locked atelier. Dressed in vintage couture, the mannequin is an exact replica of Simone, down to her intelligent gaze and unique features.

He claims it’s a custom piece—a tribute to his lost muse. The mannequin becomes an object of fascination and unease within the agency, its realism unsettling to all who glimpse it. Only Franklin, the agency’s long-time janitor, regularly enters the atelier, maintaining the room and its silent occupant. He is troubled by the persistent chemical smell Armand attributes to experimental leather preservation, but he keeps his suspicions to himself.

**Twenty years pass.** The fashion world changes, but Armand and Franklin remain, and the mannequin stands unchanged, an eerie icon. Armand grows older and more reclusive, the agency’s prestige fading into legend.

Franklin, now in his seventies, continues his weekly cleaning, haunted by the mannequin’s uncanny realism and the chemical scent that never dissipates. He avoids looking too closely, accepting Armand’s explanations and the industry’s silence.

**2020:** Armand dies suddenly, and the agency collapses. Liquidators descend to dismantle decades of fashion history. Franklin is tasked with clearing the atelier, including packing the Simone mannequin for storage.

As he moves the figure, he’s struck by its unnatural weight and rigidity. A slip causes the wig to dislodge, exposing a crescent-shaped scar behind the ear—identical to one Simone had. Franklin’s unease turns to horror as he examines the figure more closely: the skin has pores, the nails are real, the hair is rooted in the scalp. The mannequin is not a sculpture, but Simone herself—preserved and displayed for twenty years.

Franklin discovers a tiny puncture mark on the neck, suggesting a clinical preservation process. Overwhelmed by the monstrous truth, he flees the room. The weight of two decades of silence and complicity presses down on him. Realizing the gravity of the crime, Franklin calls the police, finally breaking the silence that protected Armand’s dark obsession.