My eyes flow down to her turning her delicate bracelet around her wrist as she continues. “I have three sons who were born to be powerful, but it takes a woman to lead them. I led their father, and you will lead one of them.”

I’m in shock. This can’t be real. “I don’t understand, I am a nobody to people like you. I’m sure there is someone more suited for your sons.”

“I don’t want a child who was raised to be a trophy wife. I want someone strong. I want someone who knows how to fight and who’s not afraid of getting dirty. Trust me, there will come a point when you will need to fight, and get dirty doing it. I have one son in particular that I’m interested in you for. He is my eldest, my pride and joy. My son will need a strong woman by his side for what I have in store for him. He will be a leader of many and will be powerful beyond measure. So, you see, a meek woman simply will not do.”

“What does he think about all this? I mean does he really need his mother to find him a woman?”

“No, no he doesn’t and he will never know about this.”

“You mean he has no knowledge that you are looking to find him a wife?”

“No! My son is a very good-looking man, but he is a man and I need to make sure he makes the right decision in picking a bride.”

“Okay, so, what if…your son doesn’t like me?”

“Don’t worry, by the time I’m finished with you, he will desire you more than any other woman in the world. I promise.”

I straighten my stance. “Okay, say he does like me and we do marry...won’t I just be his property? How does that get me the power I want?”

“Yes, you will belong to him, but he will belong to you, too, and that, my dear, is power.”

“How?”

“As you can see, dear, you have a lot to learn. Have you ever heard the phrase ‘Behind every good man, there is a great woman’?” I nod as she continues. “Maybe you’ve heard about how the man is the head of the family? The man may be the head of the family, but the woman is the neck. As his neck, you can turn his head in any direction you want; hence, making you very powerful indeed.”

I question, “Why would you want to do this to your son? Why do you want to control him?”

“I’ve had control over all of them their whole lives. I have taught them everything. I was not a woman who handed her children off. I raised my sons, taught them everything, made every opportunity for them. I held this family together when their father was not the man they needed him to be. He was weak, but I, I was the strong one. He didn’t want this life, so I used him and took what was needed.”

“Why?”

“For my future, for my children’s future, and for your future. But now the time has come where they need a woman, not a mother. I will be behind the scenes. See, they will always have me in their lives, one way or another. You and I will become allies, and in return we will grow this family, ensuring our descendants will have everyone on their knees, bending to our will, not the other way around.” She then pauses and looks straight at me. “I have done my fair share of bending on my knees, and in one way I am sure you have, too. Haven’t you?” With a smile, she continues. “We know what it’s like to be poor, to struggle. A long time ago, I decided to change my life for no one else but me. I didn’t think about having children. In some ways, having a child made me soft; not in the conventional way, but it did make me more vulnerable, easier to hurt. So, I had to think of a way to harden myself again. I had to make them strong like me. In a way, if I would have had daughters, it would have been easier. Girls can be smarter, more cunning than a lot of men. I would have made them the right connections, with the right men. Instead, I have sons and I need to find the right women for all of them. Some debutante girl who has never had to struggle in her life will not do. My boys need fierce women. Are you ready to be a fierce woman?”

I think before I respond, almost as if she has already taught me to think before speaking. I feel like being under this woman’s thumb, she means to break me. I can see it in her eyes, but I can also see she plans on building me back up. How is she even so sure this will work? Am I enough for what she has planned? Could he really fall in love with me? What’s love anyway? I’ve never seen it or experienced it, and frankly, I don’t want to. I can handle whatever comes my way as long as my heart never gets involved. Can I really do this? Do I have any other choice? I’m not in the best place to be picky, but I am free. It could be possible for me to have a better life. But at what cost?

I answer simply with a whisper. “Yes, but what about love?”

“I don’t care about love child. This is about something greater.”

After thinking it over again, I look back at her and tell her my answer. “I’ll go with you.”

The woman is unmoving, reflecting on my answer. She then smiles and says, “Good.”

I can’t believe I am going to do this. I realize I don’t even know who she is, or her family.

“What’s your name?”

She looks shocked, as if she can’t believe I don’t know who she is. She answers, “Catherine…Catherine Stern.”

I start to freak out. The Stern family is feared. They are known for being from old money, and for having different connections in politics. Everyone in the city knows they are more like a mafia family.

“Did you say Stern? As in the Stern family?”

She stands and starts to walk away. “Is there any other Stern family?” She speaks with a louder voice. “Now, let’s go. You won’t be back, if you’re smart. Your new life begins tonight.”