THE BOULEVARD OF BROKEN DREAMS

TWENTY-SIX (RUBY POV)

"I don't understand it," I shake my head while putting the coffee mug on the kitchen island, frowning confused. "You're telling me that you won't know what to do with Bluma's paintings, apartment, clothes, furniture and jewels till you talk to her lawyer in LA and he reads her last will."

"That's right," Iselen answers smiling while putting her empty mug in the sink. "I don't know what Bluma wanted to do with her possessions, we never talked in depth about it, although knowing her... I bet she left instructions for me to sell her paintings and give the money to a good cause instead of sending them to a museum or something like that."

"What are we doing in New York, then? Why didn't we go back to LA with the girls?" Iselen takes a deep breath and seems to think about her words carefully while I keep staring at her bewildered and a little worried. I don't know why she's behaving so cautiously and my anxiety is skyrocketing.

"I have to go to a place..." Madame admits finally. "And I don't know if you'd want to come with me, but if you do, you should know that there're strict rules that you must obey... And if you break these rules somehow, I'll be the responsible for it since you're my guest and that would put me in a delicate position..."

"I don't understand a single word," I shrug. "Why wouldn't I want to go with you? What is this all about?" Iselen takes a deep breath again and leans her hip on the marble island counter, looking at me closely.

"I got an invitation from a bunch of Bluma's old friends that want to pay homage to her, they're holding a party in her honor and they invited me."

"Okay, what's wrong with that?"

"The invitation card is signed by the Venetian Masquerade Club." I look at her quietly, waiting more and more confused, while she stares back at me raising an eyebrow. "Didn't you hear about them?" I shake my head, puzzled and getting a little angry, to be honest, I'm getting tired of this game of questions and answers and my Dom seems to notice it, she heaves a sigh and nods. "That's good and bad at the same time: good because it means the members of the club are following the rules and keeping the secret, bad because it means you're not a powerful person in the Hollywood industry, otherwise, you would've heard about them or got an invitation to their parties."

"I don't really aspire to be a powerful person in the industry, I want to be happy doing what I like the most: acting in films," I answer slightly offended. I know I'm not an A-listed actress but I managed to make my way in Hollywood and I'm doing fine.

"I know, babe," Iselen smiles and raises her hand to rub my cheek with her knuckles. "The Venetian Masquerade is a very exclusive BDSM club."

"I should've imagined it since we're talking about Bluma Ahren..." I cut her off rolling my eyes hard.

"Listen, Ruby," Madame takes my hand and looks at me with a straight face. "I'm serious... a very, very exclusive club. The members are very important people, men and women that rule the world in the political, economic, social and cultural sphere. You know some of them, others are more discreet, but all of them are powerful and could ruin your life by snapping their fingers."

"You're scaring me..."

"You should be scared," Madame admits, nodding. "Everything would be easier if people simply have fun with whips and fuck each other but things are always different in this elite clubs: members take advantage of the parties to do business, have secret meetings, spy on each other... Important political agreements were negotiated in the rooms of the Venetian Masquerade, wealthy investors caused a stock exchange fall in Europe, international trade agreements were signed and wars were declared while people responsible for them got spanked or handled the paddles. They're untouchable, they can do everything they want without fearing the consequences, they love and hate each other, conspire, form alliances to hurt other people, they bribe and blackmail... and stir up the anthill to get benefits... or just for fun."