JOSI

Dami's reply doesn't arrive until the following day.

It happens after her little conversation with Rosari. Though "conversation" may not be the word for it, as it was more of Rosari's words being spoken than it was hers. The weather that day is sunny, but not hot, perfect for a time outside. So the women deem it wise to settle on the balcony.

Josi contemplates telling Rosari about her knowledge of her scheme. It's no secret she's interested in Idris. She makes it a bit too obvious even despite their relationship. But Josi has resorted to playing clueless. She does not have it in herself to defend her relationship.

By all means, let Rosari confess her love for Idris right then and there. Let her even go as far as making advances. That's all beyond Josi. What she can't figure out, however, is what Rosari sees in him. Sure, Idris has the looks department beat, but his personality makes everything else positive about him seem bleak.

Captivity aside, Josi would have handed Idris over to Rosari if she had the chance. She would even have offered up lessons on how to make him fall for her. That is, if he's capable of doing so more than once. Who knows how his mechanics operate.

But then, there would be no satisfaction in witnessing his demise. He has to at least pay for the suffering he put her through, and for the one he continues to subject her to. So for reasons she can't disclose to Rosari, Josi will keep her grip secured around Idris.

Currently, Rosari tells Josi about the upcoming celebration in a couple of days, the one commemorating the Verdonni-Maranzo alliance. They're holding the event at the Maranzo estate, and all talk about this celebration seems to be centered around how grand it will be. But Josi doesn't buy into it. It's just another time for criminals in sheep's clothing to discuss and expand business. As always.

"Will you be attending?" Rosari asks, then realizes the question isn't very bright and tries to backtrack. "Well, I guess since you're with Idris you will be." She laughs, the same soft toned laugh. Josi can't figure out why a girl as gentle as Rosari would want to entangle herself with the likes of Idris. Surely, she's aware of the kind of man he is.

Josi stares out into the distance. There's nothing but acres of land in front of them, with trees which leaves tousle under the wind. "I'll attend if I feel like it."

"You don't like dealing with crowds?"

"Not so much as crowds, but just . . . mafia scumbags." Then after seconds of silence, she adds, "No offense to your father, of course."

"Oh, there was no offense taken." Rosari smiles. "But I think it'll be fun. You should come."

Josi contemplates the idea. Her presence at such events were insignificant. Idris Verdonni was alway the star-all praise held for him and him only. After all, what has she accomplished but gain some favor as his girlfriend? It'll be the same as always; Idris and his colleagues in some discussion she could use to put herself to bed with. But perhaps things won't be as tedious this time around. Rosari will be there. And so might Dami, seeing as she's made it back to the city.

With Dami now the focal point of Josi's thoughts, a reply comes from her just in time. The text answers her question, the complication Dami tried explaining but was interrupted by Eavesdropper.

Everything goes still.

There's ringing in Josi's ears, alarming bells even. Her eyes try their best to recapture the text again and again, while her brain works to translate it as best as it can. But with each given try, the message always comes out the same. The Toulour Family is after her.

Panic sets in again, this time much more intense than the one with Eavesdropper. A single henchmen? Sure, she could handle. But an entire mafia family is where things become impractical. Her brain runs rampant with questions that desperately need answers. Why are they after her? When will they take her out? How safe is she?

But Josi finds she only knows the answer to one of those questions. They're after her because of Idris.

It has to be because of him. Her luck has been running thinner than a thread ever since their first encounter. Because of Idris, she's had to endure so many headaches. So many hardships and obstacles that have landed her on a sinking ship with no lifeboat. As if that wasn't enough torture, an entire family is now out to get her. And it's all because of Idris Night Verdonni.

Josi grips the phone so hard, it seems like it's tearing through her knuckles. She feels faint, sick, weak. Too many emotions to process. A headache so powerful overclouds her mind, she has to remind herself to breathe just to help it subside. But she can't even manage something so simple.

Why did unwanted complications always seem to stack themselves on top her plate with no invitations? The plan was a clear one. Date Idris, get him to trust her, ruin his life. Three steps that were supposed to run smoothly with no interruptions or bumps in the road. But the universe will not allow her that one task.

"Are you okay?" Rosari asks in that gentle voice of hers. She seems to have noticed the stark change within Josi.

Josi leaves her seat still in a daze. "I need to handle something." Then she goes in search of Idris.

Josi wants answers from him. But what exactly does she ask him? "Are you aware your sworn enemies are after me?" "Do you have any idea what danger you just put me in?" "Why have you decided to ruin my life?" "What have I ever done to you?" Josi scraps them all off the list and makes waste of it. Idris just seems like the most logical person to seek in this time of emergency. He could provide for her an answer. He could help stop this madness. He should take responsibility.

First, Josi has to calm herself down. The deep breaths in help do the job, but she still will not rest until she's found a way to move past this hurdle.

When Josi can't find Idris, she decides to turn to his men for clues. They hang around the billiard room busying themselves with a game of pool and some alcohol. There's a sort of silence that befalls them when Josi enters, like she's some lump of weed the wind just blew in.

Josi knows that to this group of men, she's nothing more than their boss's woman. Trivial. There's no respect reserved because she comes as an add-on to Idris. So they ignore her there and head on right back to their games of pool.

But if there's a day more fitting for Josi to stop caring, it's today. "Does anyone know where Idris is?"

No answer, just the sounds of the billiard balls as the cue stick knocks them against each other.

Then finally, someone decides he will entertain her. The man is just on Josi's level height wise, but talks enough to back up a group of twenty men. As if it's supposed to intimidate Josi. "Of course, you wouldn't know. Like you've ever been useful." He says this while hunched over a pool table, loud enough for the men present to hear. And they all laugh at his little joke. They jeer.

But Josi does not have the time today. Somehow, the breathing exercises she'd picked up on her way there only seems to have bettered despite the man's snarky remark. She gives him a quick scan and finds a pistol lodged in his back pocket. Therein lies the winning ticket to this game.

It all happens in a heartbeat. Josi grabs the gun out of his pocket before anyone can even see it coming, then she gives him a kick to the knee that sends him tumbling down to the floor. Before he gets the chance to recover from that attack, however, he's met by a gun to his forehead.

"If I were to put a bullet through your thick skull, do you think your boss would bat an eye?" Josi asks, finger firm around the trigger.

The man looks the gun over and tries to keep a brave front, but the panic on his face betrays him. She might actually pull the trigger with the way she looks at him. As if he's nothing. Because to her, he is. Insignificant.

"Get the hell out of here." Josi tells him, and immediately the man slowly wakes from the floor, perhaps still in a trance from her threat. Once he's on his feet, he heads for the exit as instructed, eyes on the floor only.

But Josi dislikes his slow pace. "Run."

The man turns to her, the panic now replaced with exasperation, and clenches his jaw. But he can't retaliate. He must know this, because he begins sprinting towards the door with the rest of the men all gawking at him.

If silence could suffocate, it would leave the guards in the room gasping for air. No one seems to have moved even an inch in that while. Josi tosses the gun onto the pool table and poses the same question that brought her there in the first place.

"Does anyone know where Idris is?"

A couple seconds of silence. Then comes the reply. "He just finished his meeting with Enzo Maranzo. I saw him heading towards the sunroom . . . ma'am." Says a man in a suit a little too tight for him.

The mention of Enzo pulls the memory of their past meeting back up for analyzing. Apparently, the man has a secret about the Toulours that no one else knows, one he's determined to use against them. Problem is, Josi doesn't know how or when that plan is going to go into effect. It may be months or years, after which the Toulours have already done away with her. But it is still intriguing. What secret could Enzo possibly hold that would guarantee the end of the Toulour family?

Josi makes it to the sunroom as quickly as she can. Another reason why she dislikes the estate: its size. But it turns out the visit to the sunroom won't be necessary after all, because Josi stumbles upon something much more suspecting. There's chatter from the parlor up ahead, and one of the voices is familiar.

"How are things going with him?"

"They're okay for now. His girlfriend doesn't seem too crazy about him, so it shouldn't be too much work." Josi knows that gentle tone. It's Rosari.

"His girlfriend aside, how is he with you?" Says a man who Josi concludes must be Enzo.

It takes a second before the reply comes. "He's falling for me faster than I expected."

Things are now much more clear. They have all begun falling into place. Of course Rosari wasn't just chasing after Idris because of some feelings she may or may not even have. She's in cahoots with her father. A whole grand scheme of a plan. Make Idris fall for her and replace Josi. So simple and so crafty.

Incoming problem number two. What does Josi do next?

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