The Don's Trust

Chapter 14

It wasn't out of the ordinary for Philip to be out in public places like these. Gathering information was an important part of his job.

The sight of detective Coleman made Valentina break out in a cold sweat. The longer she stayed quiet, the more she could hear her rapid heartbeat and could feel her mouth getting dry. She looked at Vito in expectancy, hoping she could rely on him. To her relief, he received her silent cry for help.

"And who are you?'' Vito came off as hostile in the eyes of Philip.

Philip narrowed his eyes at Vito, "Stefano? What a coincidence! We met at the casino. Do you remember me?''

Vito had to do his part and play along. He had to act as if he was as clueless about Philip's true identity like the other people in the room.

Vito smiled, "Now you mention it, I do. How are you, Phil?''

"Ah, I'm doing great,''

Just like Philip, Vito made sure to use the alias Philip gave him on the day they met. Valentina was amazed to see the two men casually talking to one another.

They already met?! This was the first thought that popped in her head. But they're not using their real names. Should I use a fake one as well? No. He already said my full name. I'm sure that someone of his calibre wouldn't make a careless mistake like switching names up.

Before Valentina even realized it, the detective joined them and sat across her. Now, Vito and Valentina had to deal with an unwanted guest.

Valentina used this time to take in his facial features. She noticed Philip's sunken cheeks and fine lines that appeared when he made certain expressions. He was clean-shaven and his clothing style was more casual compared to Vito. Overall, he looked well put together.

"I apologise for being persistent, but you are Valentina Armani, right?''

"Yes, she is,'' Vito answered for her and placed his arm in on the top rail of Valentina's chair.

His action made Valentina feel slightly more at ease. It made her feel protected. She was fully aware of the absurdness of the situation and her feelings surrounding it. She felt safer with the Don, a figure from the underworld than with the detective, a member of the police force.

"Okay, good. I think it's only normal if I properly introduce myself,'' Philip stretched his arm out to Valentina, "I'm Philip Coleman. I'm with the police,''

Valentina shook hands with him, "Oh, and what can I do for you?''

Vito was impressed by how quickly Valentina got herself together. She came off as calm but he knew it was a different story on the inside.

The waiter caused Philip to wait before answering. The young man put the coffee in front of Vito, the cake in front of Valentina and left.

"Ah, well I wanted to inform you about your parents' case being re-opened. I planned on mailing you in a few days, but then I happened to see you here and well the rest is history,'' Philip said.

Her eyebrows scrunched in confusion, "What do you mean?''

My parents died in a car crash. There is no case that needs to be re-opened, she thought to herself.

"I cannot give any closed-off information right now, but I can tell you that someone stepped forward and handed potential evidence over to us.''

"Evidence?''

"Yes, evidence against the culprits,''

Valentina's head was close to exploding. She was completely at a loss. The only ones who knew what the conversation was actually about were Vito and Philip.

"I should go now, but you can contact me whenever you want,'' Philip slid his card over to Valentina and stood up.

Valentina nodded slowly, "Thank you.''

"It was good seeing you again,'' Vito gave him a small smile.

Philip returned a broad smile, "Pleasure is all mine.''

When Philip turned his back and left the bistro, Vito dropped his smile. He drank the last bit of his black coffee and looked over at Valentina. She left her piece of cake untouched and had stared blankly at Philip's card.

"You should eat. Did you not say you were hungry?''

''Yes,'' A small sigh left her mouth as she lifted the silver fork.

A few minutes later, Philip was driving to back to the apartment complex he lived in. He thought back on Valentina and the man with her while he waited for the red traffic light to turn green. He tried to figure out how the two of them were connected and what they were of each other.

Acquaintances? Friends? Lovers? He kept all possibilities open.

Philip stepped on the gas pedal. The only thing that was keeping him from finding out the truth was Vito's simple lie. As far as he knew, Vito's name was Stefano.

In spite of that, the detective had this strong instinctive feeling he had everything he needed to find out how Valentina and Stefano were connected. It was on the tip of his tongue.

There was a simple reason as to why detective Coleman was so hung up about Valentina's ties to others. He knew for a fact she was connected to Vito Grimaldi. Going by his logic, the more he found out about Valentina, the more information he could get on Vito.

He pulled over to the side of the road, opened the glove compartment and rummaged through it to get a notepad and pen. He wrote down everything he knew to get a better overview. Soon, he connected the names and words with lines.

Valentina's, Greg's and Vito's name were all linked to each other by the blue line. The only name that didn't seem to fit anywhere was Stefano.

Stefano, Stefano, Stefano. What should I do with you? He brainstormed as he gnawed at the end of his pen. He was at the casino and this time he was with Valentina. He was at the casino.

Realization washed over Philip when he thought about the time in the Suit Casino. Philip heard rumours about the Grimaldis being there and went there to check it out for himself. That night, he thought he didn't even get to see a glimpse of the Grimaldis. He was ashamed to not have seen through Vito's fake name earlier.

"I'm a fool!'' He slammed his hands against the steering wheel, "I out of everyone should have known!''

The two men in suits standing outside the bistro in the cold weather made finally sense.

They were with Vito and Valentina. Guards or something like that, he concluded.

Philip started the engine of the dark-green car again and drove down the road at full speed. Back to the bistro, it was.