PRODUCED / IN PRODUCTION

The Heartbreaker

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In production

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Genre: Drama

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Page count: 89

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Logline: When Toya meets Cory, she falls head over heels for him, and once she allows him to move in, he shows her the true monster he really is.

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Synopsis: Act 1 Summary

The story opens with Toya bruised and unconscious, hooked up to machines, lying on a hospital bed in the ICU ward. As the screen fades out, we hear her EKG machine go flat. A month earlier, Toya and her friend Drea are at the bar having drinks. They're having a discussion about men, and that's when Cory approaches them. Drea believes his approach is beneath them, and just as he gets ready to walk off, Toya decides to give him a chance, and shockingly the two instantly click with each other. 

 

That night when Toya arrives home, she debates on calling Cory, coming to the conclusion she would seem desperate if she calls him first, so she video calls her best friend Wayne. The two have a conversation about Toya's evening, and she tells him about Cory. After a few more words, and both of them avoiding the fact they like each other as more than friends, she ends their conversation. 

 

Act 2 Summary

The following day at work, Toya is having a conversation with one of the patients in the nursing home, Ms. Sanders. They're talking about Toya avoiding getting into a relationship with Wayne because she's scared of getting heartbroken. Meanwhile, Wayne and Drea are having a conversation about what happened at the bar. Drea sarcastically makes a joke because she's confused about why Wayne cares and he's not trying to start a relationship with Toya.

In the evening, Cory gives Toya a call, and the two get to know each other better. Cory explains how he's recently divorced, and went to school for toxicology. Toya explains how she never experienced true love, despite being in a relationship with her ex for some years. Before they get off the phone, they agree on having a date. The next day, Toya and Wayne are sitting on the steps of his house. He's explaining what a man's true intentions are when he approaches a woman, and after they have sex. Toya laughs him off, and Wayne advises her to be careful while she's out on her date with Cory.

 

Cory and Toya have a wonderful evening, and before he takes her home, he invites her to his house because he has a few things he needs to move into storage. The house is basically empty, except for the bedroom which is still fully furnished. Toya tells him she loves the decor and makes a sexual gesture Cory instantly catches hold of, and it leads to a sexual engagement.

 

Now that they're a couple, Toya allows Cory to move in with her. Everything is going perfect, until one day when they're out on a date, and Toya runs across her Ex from high school. Cory acts as if he's not bothered by their interaction, but Toya has no idea this triggers a part of him she's not prepared to handle. The romantic evening Toya had in mind quickly turns into a brutal nightmare, when Cory beats and rapes her because of the friendly conversation she had with her Ex.

 

Act 3 Summary

Cory's abusive, degrading torture gets worse with each encounter, installing so much fear into Toya that when her friends try to help her out of the situation, she believes they're in the wrong because Cory can do no wrong. Wayne and Drea attempt to save Toya from her torture one last time, and again, they're both shot down. So, because Toya had contact with them, it leads to another beating. 

 

After Wayne and Drea have a talk about how Wayne should've admitted from the beginning he wanted to be with Toya, he decides to pay her a visit, but it's too late. Toya finally stood her ground against Cory, and they have a brutal fight that leaves Toya on the brink of death. Scared of what could happen, Cory devises a way to set Wayne up for the beating, and when Wayne arrives at Toya's house, the police are already there to arrest him. While Toya lies asleep in the hospital hooked up to machines, Cory says a few foul words before injecting her I.V. with cyanide. When the doctors come to check on her, Cory slithers away unnoticed. Weeks later, Cory is back at the bar on the prowl for another victim.