The Don's Trust

Chapter 12

Valentina raised her head at the sound of the doorbell going off. Vito's older brothers arrived at the house.

"Valentina,'' This was her cue to go to her bedroom.

She threw the last bit of water away in the sink and left the cup there. With a half-eaten sandwich in one hand and an orange in the other, she came with strides into her room. Valentina placed the orange on her study desk and kept the door ajar.

Based on Vito's conversation, from the day before, there was a high chance Philip Coleman was going to be brought up in today's conversation between the brothers. Did he find out about my connection to Vito? It was one of the many questions circling around in Valentina's head ever since she saw detective Coleman. If possible, she wanted to be more informed about him.

Essentially, Valentina was going to eavesdrop on them. One of her bad tendencies.

Next to the bedroom door sat the young girl on the ground waiting in anticipation. She quietly ate the rest of her breakfast as she listened to the heavy footsteps walking inside the house.

Nothing had been said yet but the tension in the living room was very much present. One of the brothers had a confession to make. The only other person who knew about this was the oldest brother. Damian raised his eyebrows at Enzo when he hadn't begun talking about his mistake, yet.

"I need to say something,'' Everyone's eyes were on Enzo, "Yesterday, Camila and I were followed by a cop. When we were cornered, I saw him reaching for his gun so I shot him. Before he did anything to her,'' Enzo mumbled the last sentence while brushing over his engagement ring with his thumb.

Vito lit a cigarette up to calm himself down. He was angry with Enzo's impulsive action to pull the trigger on the officer.

"Did he die?'' Vito asked.

Enzo replied with a yes.

Valentina held her hand over mouth out of shock. This was the first time she heard someone confess to a murder.

"Was there anyone else at the scene?'' Vito asked.

Enzo shook his head.

"The police are still going to be looking for you and Camila. I am sure they are out to find out who took the life of one of their comrades.'' Vito tapped on the cigarette, letting the ash at the end fall, "You should go in hiding.''

"I know,'' Enzo said.

Vito let out a humourless laugh and repeated his brother's words, ''Before he did anything to her.''

Enzo's hands formed into fists and his jaw was clenched, "I care about her.''

"And look where it has gotten you! If it was a random man you killed, it would be a different story, but you killed a cop.'' Vito's voice boomed throughout the house.

It was silent for a full minute before Christopher voiced his thoughts, ''What happened, happened. There is nothing that can be done now.''

Christopher was not a fan of conflict between his brothers and when fights occurred between them, he acted as a mediator. To him, family was everything.

"Anyway, I found something out about Coleman,'' Christopher changed the topic.

Valentina held her breath and intertwined her hands.

"Eighteen years ago, he worked on the Lucchese homicide case,''

"I remember that happening. It was all over the local news,'' Damian commented.

Christopher continued speaking, "I don't know who provided evidence to the police for the case to be re-opened, but I'm sure Coleman won't sit still.''

He will try to get in contact with her, Vito thought to himself.

Valentina dropped her hands on her lap. She didn't learn anything from their conversation. Even after eavesdropping, she was still in the dark about Coleman his reasons for being at her school.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

A couple of days later, Valentina was scrolling through her news feed. Aside from a few articles that piqued her interest nothing much stood out. She was about to turn off her phone until she read 'Cop died in the line of duty'. The title of the article made her think about Enzo's confession.

She tapped on the blue underlined link and started reading.

'Two nights ago, a US law enforcement officer died in the line of duty. The officer, Jack Brown, was killed during the time he was tasked with investigating a man named Enzo Grimaldi. He is the main suspect of the murder of Jack Brown.'

I know the truth, guilt began to form inside Valentina.

'It is believed Enzo Grimaldi is one of the higher-ups in the Grimaldi mafia. The former law student is currently thirty years old.'

At the bottom of the page was an old picture of Enzo displayed. His features were similar to Christopher. The only difference was the different shades of brown in their eyes.

Valentina put her smartphone down and left to take a shower. Before she walked past the sitting room, she saw him lying on the sofa. To get a better look at him, she quietly walked over.

He had visible eye bags due to the lack of sleep. His current state made Valentina worry. She assumed he was concerned about his brother.

Her towel and clothes were placed on the armchair when she went to get a small blanket. Valentina refused to wake him up and carrying him to his bed was an impossible task. She carefully placed the blanket on him, grabbed her stuff and headed towards the bathroom.

While showering, Valentina organised her thoughts.

I should stay out of Enzo's case. Reporting to the police isn't an option. There are too many risks and I don't what they will do. I am not even supposed to know the truth about the murder.

'They' referred to both Vito and the police.

She trusted Vito, but she was sure he wouldn't be pleased if she reported his brother.