After breakfast, I wander around the city for a little while, looking at shops and doing my best not to think. The Christmas decorations are out on display and it's easy to lose myself to the green and red of the season. I don't buy anything. I'm a ghost just floating through the city, trying to figure out what to do next.

I head home once I'm cold and tired. My bed welcomes me with open arms and the promise of release from my thoughts. When I lay my head down on the pillow, I smell Dante. He had just been here two days ago, and his scent still lingers all over the place. I smile as I snuggle into the pillow, imagining his hard body is what I'm holding onto.

My dreams are terrible, as they often are. Dreams of my mother, dreams of the car accident, dreams of the worst futures I can imagine for myself.

I wake up at what seems like dawn to my phone ringing. I answer it with sleep still in my voice. "Hello?"

"Cara." It was Mrs. Russo's horrible voice.

"Can I help you?" I ask, ready to just turn off my phone so she couldn't call me back.

"Oh, I just thought we could admire some art again today."

I pause. Is this some kind of game to her? "No, thanks, I'm kind of busy today."

"Oh, please, Cara. I'll have you home in plenty of time for your little meeting tonight." There is laughter in her voice, as if she's mocking me. "I just really wanted to talk to you about this piece I found. It's something Senator Norwood is letting me borrow. I think your mother would have been interested in it...” She trails off.

"Leave me alone, okay?" I yell into the phone without thinking.

I hear her tsk tsk. "That's no way to talk to your potential mother-in-law. I just thought you might want to talk about this little girl before I showed it to Dante."

Fury courses through my mind. "Fine!" I say through gritted teeth.

"Fantastic!" she says, way too happy. "There's a taxi waiting outside."

My stomach does flip flops for the entire taxi ride. I wonder what she could possibly have. Senator Norwood. Just hearing his name is like being dipped in dark water. He killed my mother and now Victoria Russo is using it to make me to what she wants. This can't be happening.

When the taxi arrives at the mansion, the butler opens my door, just as he did last time. A loyal servant is something that every rich person needs, I think to myself.

This time, when the butler steers me into the library, I don't put up a fight. I know that she's got the power now, and I know that she's going to remind me of it every chance she gets.

I sit and fidget in the chair. My hands are shaking and I think I might throw up. I try to think of what I'll say, but I don't know what link she found to my old life. Still, if she is watching me, she already knows how nervous I am. I do my best to hide it even more.

A full thirty minutes later, the butler comes in with a cup of tea. Whether ordered to or just out of the goodness of his heart, he smiles as he hands it to me. I'm sure he has seen his fair share of people that Victoria Russo has screwed with before. I don't object to the wait this time, I simply thank him for the tea.

Five minutes after that, Mrs. Russo finally walks in. "Ah, thank you for waiting, my dear." She looks like the cat that found the cream as she takes the seat across from mine.

I wait for her to talk, but she just relaxes into the chair more. I feel like she's waiting for me to talk, but I don't want to prompt her too much about my past life, so I say nothing. The silence is stifling and I can't stand it. I break.

"This is nice," I say facetiously.

"Hmm," a thin smile crosses her face.

I decide to twist the knife a little. "I might inherit this mansion someday."

"Oh, I doubt that very much, dear," she says sweetly, but I get the feeling that she'd rather burn the place to the ground than let me live in it. There's another pause, then she leans forward. "Come now, dear. I sense a little bit of a kindred spirit, and it would be a shame if we couldn't talk like civilized ladies."

A nervous little laugh escapes me, but I compose myself. "Okay, let's talk."

She waits for me to say more, but I don't have anything more forthcoming. "I'll start then. I can't have you bringing your drama into my family. Lord knows that we have enough already."

I believe her when she says there's a lot of drama, and I figure that she probably causes the bulk of it. "Dante loves me, so I'm afraid you'll just have to deal with it. It's done.”

She sits back again, that infuriating smile never leaving her face. “I have a deal to make with you.”

I narrow my eyes. I have no intention of doing anything this woman wants, but I'm willing to listen. It might prove useful. “I'm listening,” I tell her.

“You see, people work best when given a carrot and a stick. Something positive to motivate them, as well as a threat. I'm sure you've heard this before,” she says, crossing her legs.

“So which are you offering me? The carrot or the stick?” I cross my arms.

“Both, dear. Both.” She smiles again, but it's cold. She stands up and crosses the room, walking slowly and enjoying the attention. “You tell my son it's off. That you've changed your mind. The families will get over it. I'll make sure there is no repercussion on our end.”

Yeah right, I say to myself. There will be plenty of repercussion.

“So what's the carrot and the stick?”

“I had the most interesting conversation the other day with the woman that was John Norwood's secretary around the time he was seeing your mother.” She says it nonchalantly, but the words make my chest tighten.

What if the secretary knew something about my mother's death? I still believe it wasn't an accident. Curiosity starts to crowd into my thoughts.

“She said some very interesting things,” Victoria continues. She makes eye contact with me. “Very interesting. Especially about the accident.”

“So the carrot is information on my mother's accident.”

“On your mother's supposed accident.”

My heart leaps into my throat.

“And the stick?” I ask.

“I tell Senator Norwood where the proof is so he can destroy it.” Her smile is cruel. “You see? A carrot and a stick.”

She's right. I want the information, but not at this price. I don't even know if this is valid information. It's not exactly a secret that my family thinks my mother was murdered. The senator is a powerful man. He was more powerful than my uncle at the time. Given that the senator wants to run for president, he's only gotten more powerful since I last saw him.

"I'll think about it," I manage to say.

"Don't think too long. I haven't told the senator I know anything yet, but, well..." she pauses, then smiles at me again. "I'll need an answer pretty soon."

I act like her threat frightens me, when all it does is convince me that she wants me to make a hasty decision before thinking it out. Victoria would make a formidable poker player, but I'd take the prize home every night from her. I nod, then stand to leave.

"Oh, and, Cara?" I turn back to look at her. She's practically cawing with pride over winning. "I know my son doesn't care for me much, and I'm alright with that. However, don't think that the two of you can beat me together. You can't. If you try, I'll destroy you both."

I nod, still managing to look frightened. On the inside, I'm smiling. She's afraid that Dante can beat her, and that's why she doesn't want me to bring this to Dante. Plans are already starting to form in my head, and I can't get out of there fast enough.

I see the butler on the way out. He makes eye contact with me, looking grave. I can't help but crack a small smile, hoping that he'll see that I haven't been broken yet.