JOSI

"Alvize Tesoro."

Josi receives the file Dami gives her and begins studying it. Who better to dig up info than the assassin herself. A favor that took her mere days to grant. Now Josi holds the key to the new plan she's been hard at work crafting.

If she's going to sink her claws into Alvize, then it's best to study up on him. Know your enemy before they know you. That way the attack will be much more lethal. Alvize won't see it coming.

Now Josi sits in her car once again, under the moonlight, with Dami in the passenger seat. They have begun orchestrating their meetings this way, hidden in sight by the help of the sun's absence. The moon shines bright today, casting its dainty glow over Josi, as though it were aiding her in this new scheme she's trying to weave.

"He took over the Tesoro fortune at quite a young age," Dami continues. "And he turned it into so much more."

But Josi finds that Alvize has no heir of his own. He never even made an attempt, which is something all men of his calibur strive to do. Give it more time and Idris would've come up with his own plan for a child. But as it currently stands, there won't be much to inherit.

"No relatives, no children," Josi says, flipping through pages. "I guess his fortune ends with him."

More page flipping brings her right where she needs to be. This page details Alvize's earlier years. Apparently, he wasn't always the smart, businessman he currently is — which makes sense, considering he was still a child. Still growing. Still inexperienced. On this page lists his rowdy years as head of the Tesoro household. Must have been the power and wealth that got to his head.

Alvize was notorious for engaging in fights. Starting them, instigating, watching. He was always at the center of some trouble. It states that he caused the injuries and near deaths of a couple victims. No actual deaths, however.

And then the alcohol. Lots and lots of alcohol. It states that he had somewhat of an unhealthy relationship with it. Not just unhealthy, but detrimental. To the point where he landed himself at a hospital on multiple occasions. The file doesn't use the term "alcoholic", but that's what Josi knows it's insinuating. Though, at the rate Alvize was going, it may be something past just an alcoholic.

He managed to sober up years later. After treatment upon treatment. Alvize got his life back. He adopted a new mindset and pulled his family name back together-with his own two hands. Josi congratulates him for doing so. It is not an easy feat. And now he sits atop that throne he once spat on, as the strong and capable leader of the Tesoro household.

"I thought turning Alvize against Idris was the plan," Dami says, a lollipop now in her hands. "Why the sudden change of heart?"

Josi closes the file. "He bit off more than he could chew."

Somehow, Dami gets the gist of this. "Is Idris alright?"

Depends on what aspect Dami is insinuating. Currently, Josi knows Idris is unharmed. No injuries. But it's a different case with his psyche. How tragic that the man who was once powerful has sunk so deep. So low beneath Josi's feet. But it is only tragic in Idris's case, because Josi has never been this thrilled.

"He escaped Alvize's attack." Josi says. "Thankfully."

Dami studies her under the moonlight-just studies. Josi has come to find that she does that more often lately. As though she were trying to pick her mind apart. Turn it inside out. Read into her.

Then, "What happens after all this is over?"

Now Josi slams the breaks. When this is all over . . . completely over . . . What happens then? What does she do once she's been freed? Sure, she'll return to her family. She'll return to her friends. And if Bradley hasn't replaced her-God forbid he has-then she'll return to him too.

But the space she'll be trying to fill won't be the same. The image of Josita Cade won't be the same. She'll be returning as someone else.

How does one assimilate with society after stacking corpses?

Josi's gut begins turning. Can she truly play the same role she had before she was kidnapped? As though the life she's lived for the past two years never existed? This question needs an answer, and when Josi can't think of one for the life of her, the irritation begins flooding in. Why can't she answer such a simple question? Must everything be so difficult?

Josi swallows it all down and exchanges the irritation for calmness. This isn't what she needs. Her mind should not be full of how the future might be. It should be on Alvize and his house of misfortune. She flips the file open again and busies herself with it, trying to move on from Dami's troubling question.

"We'll see when Idris is gone." And although that time is still to come, Josi finds herself dreading it.

__

Josi secures a meeting with Alvize. It takes her a week to do so, all under Idris's nose. He's too busy losing his mind to truly care what she does nowadays. He still demands her presence when he needs her, which is far more often than not. But in the little free time she has, Josi sets the new plan she's created in motion.

They meet in a restaurant. In public. Rather bold, but as it currently stands, Idris's defenses are weakened. Not many eyes left. Not enough to watch her. So she set the meeting there herself. And while Alvize came prepared with security, Josi came empty handed.

Alvize is quiet. He's thinking. Josi can guess what has him cooped up. What does Idris Verdonni's girlfriend want with him? Idris Verdonni, his own enemy. Idris Verdonni, the man he's sworn to destroy.

"Not much of a drinker?" Josi asks. Alvize has a glass served for him, but not with alcohol. With water.

He disregards her question. "This is a rather odd meeting."

"Yet you came."

"Only out of curiosity."

Josi holds his stare. Clearly, he's wary. And he has every right to be. She drinks from her glass of wine and sets it down not on her side of the table, but somewhere in the middle.

Alvize eyes the glass. "Do you intend to give meaning to this gathering?"

Josi takes a breath in and releases it. Calmly. Slowly. "We have a common enemy."

Alvize is plunged into silence. This clearly is not the direction he was expecting this meeting to go. But he doesn't doubt Josi's words. He just asks, "What did he do to you?"

"He's holding me captive." Josi tells him. "I want him gone."

Now Alvize can't contain his astonishment. He begins laughing. "I should have figured."

Josi even joins in on his laughter. In a perfect sense, they would truly be comrades. The enemy of your enemy is your friend. Alvize, however, is no friend, but a pawn in Josi's chess game. And what happens when a pawn has lost its purpose? You remove it from the chess board.

"So you'll help me?" Josi asks.

Alvize takes on the same wariness he had earlier. "Let me put it this way: I don't trust you. And there is no partnership without trust."

Nothing out of Josi's expectations. She nods, considering his point. "Then let me put it this way: a quick end to Idris Verdonni, or a long list of trials and failures?"

This gives Alvize something to ponder over. Meanwhile, Josi keeps up the bargain. "As long as his guard is around, you'll never truly bring Idris down. You need someone from the inside. You need me. And I can't say I trust you either. After all, I am risking my life just by being here."

Josi can see the exact moment when things click in Alvize's head. He takes more time to himself, thinking. Josi grows a little impatient. If only she could pry his head open and expose his thoughts for herself.

Finally, Alvize brings his focus back. "Why don't I just kidnap and hold you hostage? That's certainly another way to go about it."

"Because Idris will have me replaced come daybreak. I'm not the only woman he enjoys, which means I'm not worth much as a captive. But I can prove a worthy ally." She stares him straight in his eyes. "You need a worthy ally."

The rest of the restaurant has ceased to exist, and only this meeting matters. It will make or break Josi's plan. Should Alvize choose to dismiss her, she loses. Should he choose to go ahead with the kidnapping, it would be a much worse outcome. But Josi is nothing if not confident. Confidence is at the center of it all. And Alvize must have noticed this in Josi, because he exhales and leans back in his seat. Josi knows what this means.

"You have yourself a deal."

Josi smiles. She succeeded. But this is only stage one. Stage two comes with more diligence.

"Make no mistake, girl," Says Alvize, taking notice of Josi's smile. "I've already had my name wounded by that boyfriend of yours. Do not repeat the same mistake."

A threat that arrives at Josi's doorstep in the form of a joke. Josi is not Idris. Idris failed to get rid of Alvize. He failed in his attempt at exacting what he still thinks is revenge. Josi actually gets the job done. She will wipe Alvize out in his entirety.

Josi sends a hand across the table. "Looking forward to it, Alvize."

And Alvize completes the handshake. There lies another partnership he's just formed. Another partnership that will end in something much worse than just losing a foot soldier.

Then Josi's phone rings. It's a message. A message from Idris. She reads it to herself and sighs once she gets to the end. It's time to head back.

Josi turns back to Alvize who has only drunk a quarter of his glass of water. "I have to take my leave," she smiles. "Idris needs me."

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