Laura analyzes me momentarily, and with perfectly painted parting lip she questions: "Why?"
"I want to be stronger. I want to find Anthony."
"No." She rests her cheek against the knuckles of her fist, "Why the sudden change?"
"What do you mean?"
"For weeks, you've been laying around the mansion; mopping over your pathetic darkening future without Anthony and now you suddenly asked me for help. Why?" her words were cruel. I should've seen it coming though, after all, she is a Maranzano. I was too used to the kindness of Anthony and Francesco to see this side of the family.
Licking my dry lip, I bit it to hold back the sudden fear. I don't understand why, but I'm afraid of the woman in front of me. She hasn't done anything, but the more I look at her. The more scared I get as if she will snap her fingers and someone will drag me out of the room. Inhaling a deep breath, I closed my eyes picturing a lifeless Anthony resting on the table.
I remember how happy I felt when I saw him beside me. How scared I was when he wasn't. While my nails dig into my palms; I understand. I don't want to lose this man. I don't want to lose my husband.
My eyes opened and I took a step forward. "Because I am done. I am finished with being pathetic. I am and will find my husband with or without your help."
Without understanding, Laura burst out into unfit laughter, "So, you do have a backbone." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "But, what can I do to help? As you can see, if I have the ability to find Anthony, then he would be here already."
"I want you to help me be more like you."
"Why?"
"When Anthony left, he told me he was going to a gathering called The Regal?" Laura flinched at the last two words. My lips pressed together, wondering why she reacted that way. "I heard The Regal was set in Japan?"
Her mouth was tightly shut as her hands gripped tightly on her lap,, "And?"
"I-I heard that the Yakuza was setting a gathering. I want to attend and look fo-"
"No," she said, standing up. Her hands pressed on her skirt, straightening out the unexisting wrinkles.
"No?" I repeated, stepping in front of her as she made her way towards the door, "Why not?"
"Tell me, how much do you really know about Anthony's life?"
I swallowed, "I-I know that Anthony's father is a Winston and that's his public-"
"Not what the public knows; rather his other life," she intervened, crossing her arms.
"I don't know much." My eyes move around the room. "We came to an understanding that I shouldn't know much," I mumbled.
A brief chuckle left her throat, as she rushed her fingers through her hair "To think you two married one another." She pressed her fingers against the bridge of her nose as my stomach decided to do a backflip, "The Regal is a place where the most dangerous men and women gathered. You want to know what they do at The Regal?"
Slowly, I nodded my head; but my hands were ready to cover my ears. However, I knew that I had to hear this; I had to learn how to stomach it.
"They discuss business. Drug and weapon trade. Sex trafficking. Women walking around in demeaning outfits," she smirked, "or none at all." She steps towards me, her fingers rushing through the lock of my hair. "A girl like you wouldn't stomach what you see there. The moment you step in. You would cry and run away."
