The Belles Come Out at Night
Night 5 of 13: The Money Mover
October 21, 2025
Delphine Crane
The Cadillac Witch
"Brooms are for hags.
Cadillacs are for witches in charge."
When the other Belles still joke about broomsticks, Delphine Crane arrives in her mint-green Cadillac Eldorado—top down, fur coat trailing, cigarette holder glinting in the moonlight. She doesn't sneak through back alleys or whisper incantations in the dark. She parks in front of the mansion, lets the valet take her keys, and walks in like she already owns the place.
Because, darling, she practically does.
Delphine is not the kind of witch you find barefoot in a swamp. She is high-gloss. Chrome-plated. Anne Rice by way of Real Housewives. She is the woman who turned a Garden District mansion into a supernatural empire, who manages the coven's money like a Fortune 500 CFO, and who treats every entrance like a coronation.
The Cadillac Christening
At 22 years old, newly initiated into the coven, Delphine was expected to follow tradition: accept the blessed broom, learn the old ways, respect the hierarchy, know her place.
The older Belles presented her with an antique broom at a formal ceremony—hand-carved, blessed, supposedly once owned by a legendary New Orleans witch. It was an honor. It was also a leash.
Delphine looked at that broom—beautiful, traditional, completely wrong for her—and made a choice that would define her forever.
She excused herself, drove to the most expensive car dealership in New Orleans, and used every dollar of her first con money to make a down payment on a mint-green Cadillac Eldorado. She couldn't afford it. She didn't care.
She drove that Cadillac straight back to the ceremony, parked it directly in front of the mansion's entrance—blocking the traditional broom-parking area—and walked back in wearing her most expensive dress and her most dangerous smile.
"Ladies," she announced, cigarette holder in hand, "I appreciate the history and the honor of this gift. Truly. But I've given it some thought, and I've decided that brooms are for hags who need to stay hidden, who apologize for their power, who sweep their ambitions under the rug. And I, darlings, am none of those things."
Half the room wanted to expel her immediately. The other half—led by a cackling Cordelia Thibodaux—thought it was the funniest, most audacious thing they'd ever seen.
Cordelia cast the deciding vote: "Let her stay. Anyone with that much nerve is either going to rule us or destroy us, and either way, I want a front-row seat."
The Woman Behind the Wheel
Delphine Crane comes from an old French-European lineage—Her family owned the Garden District - think Anne Rice
But inheritance comes with its own curse: the constant terror of losing what you were born with.
At 42 years old, Delphine has spent two decades perfecting the art of appearing to have never worked a day in her life. In truth, she works harder than anyone in the coven—it's just that her labor is invisible, performed in silk and diamonds, disguised as leisure.
She is wealthy, vain, and sharp-tongued—but always wrapped in charm. She delivers insults like compliments and always sounds fabulous doing it. Think Southern luxury with a bite, Anne Rice glamour with a balance sheet, and the strategic mind of a woman who knows that controlling the money means controlling everything.
The Con: "The House Cut"
In the Belle Covenant, every member owes the reigning La Reine Queen Belle 20% of all hustles from magical services, cons, seductions, or supernatural rackets. This is the Queen's tithe—supposedly used to maintain coven operations and keep everyone protected.
Delphine's official role? She's the Banker. The Treasurer. The Money Manager.
Her method? She makes it look like accounting. Legitimate expenses. "Mansion maintenance for coven gatherings." "Security and discretion fees." "Magical supplies and rare ingredients." The numbers always add up on paper—just not in reality.
When a Belle starts asking questions about the numbers, Delphine deploys her most effective weapon: generosity. She gives gifts—expensive, thoughtful, seemingly spontaneous. A silk scarf. A weekend at a Quarter hotel. A vintage bottle of wine. She even gave an old, hand-me-down Hermes purse to the maid.
Most Belles take the bait. Cordelia, however, is not the most Belles. Cordelia keeps her own ledgers.
The Rival Who Understands
Delphine's relationship with Cordelia Thibodaux is the most complex and crucial in her life. They are the two most powerful women in the coven, circling each other like beautiful predators.
Cordelia: "Delphine, darling, that gown is stunning. Is it vintage?"
Delphine: "It's couture, sweetness. But I love how you make 'vintage' sound like a compliment."
Cordelia: "Well, some of us appreciate things with history and staying power."
Delphine: "And some of us can afford things that are actually new."
They both smile. They both know exactly what the other just said. They both store it for later.
Despite their rivalry, they recognize each other as the only worthy opponents in the room. Cordelia respects Delphine's financial acumen and strategic mind. Delphine respects Cordelia's raw magical power and self-made success.
They are both exhausted by the performance of power. They are both terrified of losing what they've built. They are both carrying secrets that could destroy them.
And when the Midnight Gala threatens to tear the coven apart? Delphine makes her choice: Better to be the right hand of a powerful queen than the head of a dead coven.
Things Delphine Would Say
"Money can't buy happiness, sugar—but it can buy silence, and that's close enough."
"I don't cast spells, baby. I sign checks."
"If I hexed every man who underestimated me, this city would be a ghost town."
"I don't chase drama. I host it."
"Some women pray. I negotiate."
The Scent of Ambition
For the Belles, fragrance is not an accessory—it is the literal manifestation of their soul.
Delphine Crane's signature scent is The Cadillac Witch—a daring blend that captures everything she is: the sparkle, the smoke, the expensive armor, the whispered spells.
The Opening: Sparkling Pink Pepper
The first impression—bright, sharp, effervescent, impossible to ignore. This is Delphine's entrance, the moment she walks into a room and every head turns. Pink pepper has bite beneath its sparkle, a hint of danger wrapped in glamour. It's the spark of a lighter against imported tobacco, the electric charge she brings to every space, the warning: "I'm beautiful, but I bite."
The Heart: Smoky Vanilla Suede
Smoky Vanilla Absolute: Not the sweet, innocent vanilla of bakeries, but the deep, resinous, slightly burnt vanilla of ritual and indulgence. The smoke from her cigarettes, curling like questions. The warmth beneath her ice-queen exterior. The way she can make poison taste like honey.
Rich Suede: The buttery, slightly animal scent of luxury leather—the interior of the Cadillac, the gloves she wears while driving, the feel of expensive things that conform to your body over time. The textures of wealth she's built her life around. The soft armor she wears daily.
The Base: Incense & Cedar
Not the heavy church incense of Catholic ritual, but the lighter, more mysterious incense of private spells cast in silk and velvet. The magical work she does alone at 3 AM. The prayers she'd never admit to saying. Grounded by cedar—the woody, ancient scent that represents old money, generational wealth, and power that's been held for centuries.
This fragrance is for:
The woman who treats luxury like warfare. Those who know that style is survival. Anyone who's ever built an empire out of smoke and mirrors. The ones who drive when others expect them to fly.
The Cadillac Witch
Elegance with a Curse
Part of a Darker Legacy
Delphine is one of six supernatural women gathering for the annual Midnight Gala—a secret coven event where alliances shift, secrets spill, and one Belle will claim the crown as La Reine Queen Belle.
This year's Gala is high-stakes: the formal expulsion of one member, the initiation of a newcomer, and the ultimate prize—La Reine - the Queen Belle crown. Delphine wants it. Cordelia wants it. Hell everyone wants it. Only one can have it.
The Belles Come Out at Night is a limited Southern Gothic Halloween collection featuring premium oud-based fragrances inspired by the luxury perfumery techniques of Middle Eastern and Indian perfume houses. These are investment pieces for your fragrance wardrobe—once they're gone, these formulations will not return.
Each fragrance captures the soul of a Belle. Each bottle holds a story. And at 12:00 a.m. October 31, 2025, we'll discover who claims the throne.
"Power looks effortless, darling.
That's how you know it's real."
— Delphine Crane
Tomorrow: Night 6 of 13
"She's been dead for 200 years."
"And she's never looked better."
"Immortality has its perks, darling."
The Vampire makes her entrance.
The Belles Come Out at Night
A Southern Gothic Fragrance Tale Collection by Sugar Mama's Fragrances
The new "La Reine Queen Belle" will take control (French): October 31, 2025
Products Launch: November 1, 2025