Melrose Place1992

Billy Campbell:
[about Jack Parezi] Don't do this. There are plenty of other accounts that Brooke can get.

Amanda Woodward:
If it wasn't Brooke, Jack would still find another way in. He would have found me eventually.

Billy Campbell:
We're not in Miami anymore, so just tell the guy to take a hike.

Amanda Woodward:
I'm handling this, all right? Just stay out it and stay away from Jack.

Billy Campbell:
Well, you're not handling it very well. If you're not gonna tell him to get lost, I will.

Amanda Woodward:
No, Billy! Wait! Listen... um... I didn't know what I was getting into when I married Jack. I was young, wild, naive and immature. I didn't know how violent and posessive that he really was. One night about a few months after we got married, he was supposed to be out of town on business, and I went out to dinner with some of my girlfriends, and he was waiting for me when I came back. His business trip was canceled so he came back home. Instead of giving me a kiss, he gave me a black eye... my first black eye.

Billy Campbell:
Why? Why would he hit you?

Amanda Woodward:
Because I went out without his permission. It's a Sicilian tradition that the husband is to control of the wife. In Jack's world, as in most European traditions, a woman's place is in the home. He wouldn't allow me to work or go out without his permission. Anyway, the next morning, Jack told me he was sorry that he hit me and promised that he wouldn't do it again. But a few months later... he did. It would happen every other week, then once a week. He'd hit me for even the slightest isolence. The only change was that he just stopped apologizing. I once told Jack's father about what he was doing to me, but he told me that by Italian tradition no one, not even a high-ranking don, can intervene in a married couple's personal disputes. I kept trying to get away, but Jack wouldn't let me. One time, I made it all the way to Tallahassee when two of his goons found me and dragged me back to Miami, threw me in the house... and when I looked up, there was my father... his face all bruised and bloody, down on his knees... and Jack was holding a gun to his head. Jack, his father, and their thugs where all there. They told me that if I ever tried to leave Jack again, they would kill him. A few months later, my father helped me escape for good with the boating accident and all. Now... when Jack patted you on your shoulder a minute ago... that was a message. I've seen Jack do it before. It's a coded message the Mob uses which means "don't mess with me". I've seen Jack do that to business rivals, fellow associates, even my father. I just don't want to see you down on your knees with Jack holding a gun to your head. So, do us both a favor, okay? Stay out of this, and stay away from Jack at all costs.