Hong Cha young was deep in thought. She sat on the balcony absentmindedly tapping the rabbit's head against her lips. The plan was coming together, and she knew the part she had to play. She was also aware that there was a dangerous element that Vincenzo would handle. She would have preferred them to be working closely, but for the plan to succeed she had to do her part. She was roused from her reverie by a movement in the peripheral vision. For a split second, her heart skipped, hoping that Vincenzo might have dropped in, but instead, there was Isadora. The young woman smiled nervously.

'Hello?' Cha young said.

Isadora crept forward. Cha young indicated that she should sit and she did so.

'You miss him, don't you?' Isadora began.

'Who?' Cha young snorted caught off guard. 'Mr Cassano? Don't be ridiculous.' She snorted again for good effect.

Isadora smiled sadly and looked down at her hands. 'I know you don't trust me, and I understand why.'

'Who said I didn't trust you.' Cha young blustered.

She met the imploring eyes that were now turned to her. 'It's ok. I am grateful for you saving me, for both of you saving me.' She paused a moment to let the implication sink in. 'People think I'm stupid.' She continued before Cha young could interrupt. 'My mother, my uncle, Paola, they all treated me like I was a thing, a pretty ornament who should just shut up and do as I was told. The rest of the family never trusted me, didn't think I had a brain, or that I was just part of whatever plan my relatives were hatching. Only Vincenzo, she swallowed, only Vincenzo and you saw me as a real person. Because of that Ms Sud and Mr Nam… you're all so kind to me.' Isadora blushed.

'Why shouldn't we be kind to you, it wasn't your fault.' Cha young said. It had not escaped her notice that Antonia was not included in the list.

Straightening up, Isadora continued. 'Ornaments aren't meant to talk or do anything, they are just there. What people don't realise is that I am good at watching people. I can read them really well.'

'You are?' Cha young said, not sure where this was going.

'I know what people really think and feel, it's my secret gift. I see how you are with Vincenzo, you are the only one who isn't afraid of him… and he is less scary around you. The two of you are like two halves of the same thing.'

'OK?' Cha young said. Unbidden she remembered how she had once said they were one soul in two bodies. Was it possible this unassuming young woman could actually see that?

'I know the two of you are not fighting, not really.' Isadora whispered so that only she could hear.

Cha young closed her eyes, her mind racing. 'Had they been so careless?

'Don't worry I won't tell anyone.' The young woman gabbled, aware that she may have overstepped a boundary. 'And no one else knows. Apart from Mr Nam and Ms Sud.'

'Damn!' Cha young thought. 'I don't know why you think…' She began.

The girl sighed so deeply it stopped Cha young in her tracks. 'Please.' Isadora said. 'I am on your side, I swear. I want to help, I want to say thank you for saving me. Please, let me help you.'

Tony Massullo strolled out onto his balcony swirling the Remi Martin in its balloon glass. The night air was fragrant and he could almost taste the silence. He took a Cuban cigar from an ornate box on the table. Snipping off the end with a cutter, that he was assured had once belonged to Fidel Castro himself, he placed it in his mouth. Just as he was about to strike the match he heard the click of a zippo lighter. Tony froze. 'It would be a sin to taint the cigar with gas from a lighter.' He said coolly, striking the match and drawing on the cigar until he was sure it was alight. He tossed the spent match into a jade ashtray. 'Help yourself.' He said, indicating the cigar box with an open hand, but not turning around.

Dressed entirely in black, his baseball cap pulled down over his eyes, Vincenzo emerged from the shadows to stand next to the consigliere. The former glanced at his companion. They could not have been more different. One with dark eyes and a tanned complexion, the other strawberry blonde with pale features. 'Antonio.' He said in greeting.

'I can only assume that you have a very good reason for coming into my home?' Tony said with an undertone.

'I assumed your door was always open.' Vincenzo replied coolly.

'If that were the case you would have waited to be invited in.' Tony countered.

'I didn't specify which door.' Vincenzo said.

'What do you want?' Tony snapped after a short silence.

'Did you order a hit on Hong Cha young?' he asked without any further preamble.

Tony took a long draw on his cigar before blowing smoke rings which drifted off into the night. 'The Korean lawyer you brought with you? The one stirring up everyone's blood?' He raised an eyebrow. 'Including yours, if rumours are to be believed?'

Vincenzo faced the man, his face devoid of emotion. The question hung in the air. 'Why would I want to put a price on her head?' Tony said with a snort. 'Whatever complicated arrangement you have going on there, I'm hardly going to want to get into the middle of it am I?' He considered further. 'There is no love lost between us, but I thought we agreed long ago that our families were at peace. Why would you think I gave the order?'

'Because that's what the assassin told me.' Vincenzo said.

'Did he think he was going to die?' Tony asked. He answered the question himself. 'And he was right. He must have been convinced.'

'That's why I'm here. You have nothing to gain from taking out an enemy of mine. I think someone wanted to distract me from what is really going on and put us in conflict. They dragged you into this mess, not me.' Vincenzo said.

Tony gave a sharp intake of breath before nodding his head in resignation. He turned to Vincenzo. 'So would I be in this now as a friend or an enemy?'

Franco Luciano looked up from his dinner, fork halfway to his mouth. The napkin tucked into his shirt was already stained with the marinara sauce. He glared at Kung In Su. 'What the hell is this?' He said, indicating towards Hong Cha young with his chin.

'She wanted to see you.' Kung In Su said.

'She wanted to see you, she wanted to see you.' Franco mimicked. 'What am I? the leaning tower of Pisa, the Colosseum, the freaking Vatican? Do I look like a tourist attraction? She wanted to see you.' He shook his head and shoved the forkful of pasta into his face. A small dribble of sauce lingered on the corner of his beard and threatened to drip. Cha young could not look away. She shook her head to focus herself.

'I want to talk to you about the trafficking.' She said boldly.

Franco's head shot up and his men visibly tensed. 'What did you say?' Franco asked. He turned his head to Kung In Su. 'What did she just say to me?'

The Korean man shrugged his shoulders. Before he could speak, Cha young stepped forward and snapped her fingers. 'You are talking to me, not him. Let's not play games, I have merchandise that I need to move.'

Luciano reluctantly returned his attention to her. 'Merchandise?' He said with a raised eyebrow. She got the impression he was laughing at her.

'Is that not the correct word in Italian?' She asked.

'If you mean what I think you mean then it's the correct word.' He said, taking the napkin from around his neck he wiped his mouth and threw it onto the plate. Immediately a waitress in a short black skirt and tight white blouse appeared to remove the place setting. Franco smacked the unfortunate girl on the bottom before she left.

'I don't know how they do things in your country, but here we leave the business to the men.' Franco said with a smirk.

'Is that so, that would explain why you men are struggling to get your cargo through Cassano territory then.' Cha young countered.

'Who says so?' Franco said, clearly needled.

'I say so. The Cassano family have completely blocked all boats travelling through their waters. You can't get any product through, and, as I understand it, the alternative route takes three times as long, is a lot riskier and is more expensive. Am I wrong?' Cha young said with a smile. 'I understand a lot of the product is getting lost or seized too.' She tutted and shook her head. 'It's dangerous for a small boat out in the open ocean, and if by chance you do make it, the US Navy are very thorough.'

Franco snorted in anger. 'You're no longer a part of the Cassano family as far as I heard, what can you possibly do anyway?'

Uninvited Cha young sat down opposite the boss of the Luciano family. 'Vincenzo Cassano has lost all credibility. I have members of the family in my protection, the new power, they can use their influence to persuade the Cassano's to co-operate.'

Luciano snorted. 'We're already hunting that human rights bitch, you think you can protect her?'

'Wrong bitch.' Isadora strode into the hall past the dumbfounded guards. She had returned to her previous persona, high heels, an impossibly tight dress cut low enough to cause vertigo. She tossed a perfectly tousled lock of hair out of her face with a magenta talon.

'Any further questions?' Cha young said with an expression that said, try me. 'I have a vested interest. I have merchandise that I am going to move and I'm bringing in my own specialist team from Korea. Are you going to work with me or against me,' She leant back in the chair and folded her arms. 'I don't much care either way.'