“Only once,” Lida admits. “Don Anton was hosting a cocktail party. Ms. Marina came down in the most gorgeous dress I’d ever seen. It looked like it was made of pearls. She was stunning, and I wasn’t the only one who thought so. She charmed the entire room. She was just so vibrant and lovely.”
“And something changed?” I guess.
She nods. “There was this other girl there. She was young, probably nineteen or twenty. One of the other dons’ daughters. She kept looking at Don Anton.”
Lida nods, and I get the feeling she’s suppressed this conversation for so long that it took only the slightest little push to get her to talk.
“I saw her hug the girl goodbye,” Lida tells me. “I saw her face when she did it. Her smile dropped away and she looked…”
Lida nods. “Sometimes, the expression on her fa
