Two

CHAPTER 2

Cassandra lost it when she heard Antonio's name mentioned. Antonio Franches. A man twenty years older than Cassandra. But it's not about age. On the day of Marvin and Annalise's accident, Cassandra saw a car in the distance. A symbol was captured in her memory. A silver rose. It sparkled in the night and caught Cassandra's attention. The silver rose on the back of the car belonged to someone who Cassandra later found out belonged to Antonio Franches. The man was at the scene when Cassandra's parents were killed. The car left after watching the flames burn away the bodies of Marvin, Annalise and even their personal driver, Paul.

And in that incident, Cassandra came to the conclusion that the man named Antonio Franches must have known something, or... a lot more.

The car stopped in the parking lot and Cassandra quickly got out of her black car that was almost sold due to Marvin's inherited debt. While taking a small jog towards the elevator, crazy ideas on how she would get her revenge on Antonio started to fill her head. Unfortunately, when the elevator opened, Cassandra was too busy thinking about Antonio that she lost her concentration.

She bumped into a man there.

“Awh!”

Cassandra looked up, realizing that the man who was about to exit the elevator was much taller than her. Those blue eyes met with familiar ones. They were warm, but intimidating eyes.

“Are you okay?”

The heavy voice managed to catch Cassandra's attention. Who was this man? Even his voice could be so sexy and heady.

"I'm fine. I'm sorry for being careless."

The man smirked. He didn’t seem to mind the incident that had just occurred and left with another man trailing behind him. From his obedient demeanor, that man was likely his assistant or subordinate, and... the man Cassandra had bumped into earlier was a boss.

Cassandra then remembered why she had come to the Sun Bright Club. She quickly entered the elevator alone and pressed the number two on the button panel beside the door. It only took a few minutes before the doors reopened, and Cassandra dashed towards the club entrance. This nightclub belonged to her best friend, Jessica Wallan. But it would take longer to explain how Cassandra had ended up friends with Jessica.

"Where is he?!"

Cassandra's voice startled Jessica. She nearly spilled the strawberry mojito she was drinking. "Are you crazy, huh?"

Placing the glass with the red liquid down, Jessica crossed her arms over her chest.

"Where is Antonio, Wallan?"

"Can you calm down a bit?" Jessica tried to lighten the mood. She reached for a cigarette on the table, taking a deep drag. Smoke billowed from Jessica's mouth as she finally continued, "Franches just left through the same door you used to come in. You should meet him there."

"Shit!"

Jessica quickly stopped Cassandra from leaving. "Cass!"

Cassandra turned around. "What? I'm in a hurry!"

A sigh escaped from the blonde woman’s lips. She placed the cigarette on the ashtray, then pulled a business card from the neckline of her short dress and handed it to Cassandra. "I think you should consider this."

Cassandra's eyebrows furrowed. She took Antonio's business card and looked at Jessica in confusion. "I know he's the CEO of Star Company. Why are you giving me his business card?"

"Because Antonio needs a friend."

"Friend?"

"Bedmate." Jessica smiled without a hint of guilt. She leaned forward, looking at Cassandra with enthusiasm. "He needs someone to climb on top of that sexy body of his and—"

"Wallan!"

"Okay, okay. Sorry about that," Jessica said, raising her hands in the air like a thief caught by the police. "But I'm serious, Cass. You don't want to duel with Antonio because he knows you're a vengeful cop, right?"

"Wallan!"

"Okay, okaaaaaay. But you should consider this. OK?" Jessica grabbed her drink from the table, then got up from the VIP booth sofa. She shrugged and continued, "I have to attend to guests. Call me when you make up your mind."

Cassandra returned to her car. The parking area was relatively empty since people were enjoying the music inside the club. Inside, Cassandra stared at Antonio's business card. A name and company she had found after more than fifteen years of searching. But the business card meant nothing when Jessica told her that what Antonio needed was... a whore.

Cassandra’s blue eyes, dim with disappointment at not catching Antonio, glanced at the passenger seat where her gun and handcuffs lay. As a cop, she wanted to use those tools to make Antonio suffer. A life for a life. Her parents' deaths had to be avenged. If she could use the gun, why should Cassandra bother trading her virginity to Antonio?

However, what Jessica said was true.

Antonio always slipped through the police’s grasp; he had connections and power that Cassandra couldn't reach as a city police detective. She needed another way to take him down. He was the real mafia—slick and full of tactics. Cassandra knew Antonio ran a loan shark business, but behind it all, he ensnared his victims slowly. Unfortunately, evidence to imprison Antonio in every case seemed to vanish without a trace.

As she tapped the steering wheel, Cassandra kept thinking about how to approach Antonio. Which was riskier, shooting him from afar as a cop or stabbing him deeper as a whore?

Cassandra let out a long, heavy sigh. She pulled out her gun from inside her jacket and looked for a number of someone she knew very well.

After a moment, a voice came through the other end, reaching Cassandra's ears. "Yes, Cass? Do you have something pleasant to say?"

Cassandra's blue eyes stared at the mirror, seeing her reflection in the small rectangular object inside the car. "I will sleep with Antonio."

"Tsk, I knew you would make that decision. Anyway, can you come tonight? It seems Antonio needs a woman to satisfy him immediately."

"I'll be there."