REFORMATION (Sample)

Chapter Eight

As the cars drove for the mansion,  Dante couldn't help but scrutinize Griselda who was seated by the window and staring out of it. Andrea had had no choice than to share the same seat with him and since she was still stunned from what had happened in the hospital, she had barely spoken a word. Dante's gaze remained on the strange woman staring out through the window. She looked twenty nine and her hair was unkempt and he still couldn't understand why Bruno had brought her along. Of course he knew Stefano franchetti very well, in fact, they had attended the same college, but this woman, he didn't know. Bored with the silence in the car, he decided to interrogate her. "Hey." He called and that snapped Andrea out of her shocked state for she glanced at him. "Hey you!" He called again and Griselda slowly turned her head to look at him with her usual blank expression. "What are you called?" Dante asked but she only stared at him. "How are you related to the Franchettis?" He asked again but no reply. "Why were you in the hospital?" When Griselda returned her gaze out the window again, Dante muttered under his breath in displeasure. "Just great! First, an annoying woman and now, Bruno had to add a dumb one to the list."

"I need to use the restroom." Andrea spoke now.

Dante turned his head to her with a frown of disbelieve. "What! Now?"

She nodded. "Now."

"You'll have to hold it till we get to the villa."

"But I really need to go now!" She pleaded, rubbing her thighs together, her body slouched forward.

"Must everything about you women mean trouble?!" Dante said in frustration then said to the window of the driver's side. "Pull over where next we can find a restroom."

Soon, the car slowly pulled to a stop in a restaurant and Andrea got down after the door was opened for her by one of Dante's guard. Without looking back, she hurried to the door of the restaurant and Dante watched through the window as she spoke to the restaurant's doorman outside. The doorman glanced towards Dante's car then reluctantly permitted her in, describing to her where to find the restroom. A minute after she hurried in, Bruno got down the car, and Dante cocked an eyebrow and said. "Let me guess, you need to pee too."

"I'll be back, boss." Bruno only replied and walked towards the restaurant and losing interest already, Dante rolled up the window with a grunt.

Inside the restaurant, instead of going to the restroom like she had claimed, Andrea went into the kitchen, almost colliding with a waiter carrying a tray of food on one hand close to his head. "Sorry." She muttered an apology and made her way through the busy kitchen. All the cooks were dressed in white with their caps on. There were all sort of sounds, ranging from the boiling sound of the soup, the frying sound of oil, the hissing of steam, the clanking of pots and pans, the chopping sounds of knives on chop boards,  and the sounds of footsteps as the cooks walked here and there carrying out different activities. They threw curious glances at her and she ignored them and continued down one of the aisles towards the backdoor through where the garbage boy took out the garbage daily and as she turned into the alley, she came to an abrupt stop when she saw Bruno.

"Trying to run away?" He looked grim.

Andrea swallowed hard, shocked on seeing him and ashamed that he had caught her at the same time. "How did you know that was what I was going to do?"

"Let's just say I'm rather good in reading women." He answered.

She started towards him, in an attempt to continue down the alley. "I need to get out of the country."

He stepped into her path and she stopped again. "Why? Because you almost got killed back at the hospital?"

"He has made it clear that he will go any length to kill me!"