Relationship Status: Mafia

New chapter 57

Alice POV

After the long and treacherous battle of finding the perfect shoes, we made our way to lunch. Anne and I weren't alone. Of course, Len and another Jade Dragon sat a table away that was in earshot. They talked amongst themselves, which wasn't too bad. There was a lot I wanted to tell Anne.

"Wow, that's uh-that, wow," Anne leaned forward on her arms with her brows perked up in amazement.

"I know, right? I'm okay, though. Could be worse." My nonchalant attitude only made Anne's eyes widen even more.

"Worse?" She repeated in utter disbelief. "What's worse than being double kidnapped?"

Now that Anne says it aloud, it kinda does sound like I've been through the wringer. It's not entirely bad. Even if Matsuo's been a pain in my ass, he has helped me greatly. I need to stop thinking of him, starting to become a little too fond of that man.

"You got a point," I admit.

"I guess now would be a good time to share how I ended up in an arrangement with Matsuo. Since you shared your trauma with me." Anne cleared her throat.

"You don't have to, Anne." The last time we spoke about this, she had trouble telling me and left the room.

"No, it's okay, I need to tell someone, and you're the only person I have that I can tell this to." Anne looked down at her hands in her lap. "There was a get-together with a few of my coworkers after work on a weekend. Sarah had heard about how great the bar was in a hotel I had never heard of."

Anne looked up with a brief glint of happiness in her eyes. A very distant memory crossed her mind that instant. A very pained expression planted itself on the soft features of her face.

"I had way too many, I was enjoying life, you know. Throw back shot after shot. Keeping up with everyone else. You can't blame a girl for doing that." She held a faraway gaze when she recalled the memory. "I had sent off Sarah in a cab before walking back to my car in the parking garage. I was way too drunk to drive, so I was going to sit in my car and sleep it off. That was the plan until I saw something I shouldn't have. I had parked in a secluded area away from most cars, which I thought was a smart idea. I had seen a body dead on the ground. He was shot, but the gun was silenced, which is why I didn't hear it. I froze on the spot, and I could feel all of the drinks coming back up."

The mood grew intense as Anne continued. Even as a cop I never grew accustomed to seeing a dead body. I became familiar with it, but it was always haunting to see the lifeless eyes of a victim.

"It was Matsuo that killed that person?" I was on the edge of my seat.

"No."

Relief relaxed my tense posture as I released the breath that I was holding.

"It was an older man that sort of resembled him. His eyes were empty and the darkest I have ever seen." Anne further explained, almost trembling.

"It was his father you saw," I said more as a statement than a question.

She nodded her head with eyes cast down again.

"Matsuo was there, Zhen as well with a few others. They grabbed me immediately and dragged me off to some car. I knew I was going to die." Anne started tearing up with her hands into fists. "They took me to some empty building by the docks. His father had ordered Matsuo to kill me before he left. I was on my knees, begging for my life when Matsuo pulled out the gun. I even started praying with my eyes closed, waiting for something to happen, and the gunshot rang out. But it wasn't me he shot. He shot one of his father's men who was there. Til' this day his father thinks I'm dead."