Sophia hesitated, surveying the room as if she might have been expecting eavesdroppers.
"Francesca is not who she says she is," she stated. "She is more than the powerful businesswoman she appears to be; in truth, she is the daughter of a rival mafia family."
It shocked Alex. Mafia was not part of Francesca's imaginative relationship with Mimi.
"Oh come on," he turned around.
Sophia's voice grew dark. "It means that Francesca is not just after Marco. She intends to take over the entire city. And nothing will stop her from achieving that."
A cold shiver ran down Alex's back. He never really thought deeply about what Francesca could be up to.
"Why tell me this?" he asked her.
Sophia regarded him coolly. "For one thing, I want to help you, Alex; I want to help you bring down Francesca and Marco for the sake of peace in this city."
Alex looked hard into Sophia's face, trying to see where her intentions were headed. Was she at all sincere, or was it just a game that she had in store for him?
But as his eyes pierced through to Sophia's soul, the flicker of a lone hope lit maybe, just maybe, he had found an ally to help him in this deadly game.
"Okay, I am in," he said finally. "Let's bring down Francesca and Marco and create peace in this city."
A smile lit up Sophia's face, and the fire of war was now blazing in her eyes.
"Let us do it."
And thus, Alex and Sophia stood together in a strange alliance against the mafia powerhouses for the peace of the city.
Already on the mission, he could not banish the fear that he'd put them both too far in. The game that they had believed to be playing was turning out to be lethally dangerous.