The Don's Trust

Chapter 16

Valentina looked expectantly at Vito who was smoking. She was getting impatient and wanted to get it over with.

Vito wasn't keen on telling her what he knew. At the same time, he wasn't against it either. He already told himself, if she asked about her past he would tell her, but if she didn't he wouldn't spill a word of it. In his eyes, some things were better left unsaid. It was something he experienced firsthand when he was younger.

Valentina moved to the edge of the couch when he looked like he was going to speak. When he didn't, she watched him tap his finger on his leg. This wasn't the first time she caught him doing that. She had seen him tap his finger on multiple occasions.

"Are you going to tell me?''

"I am,''

The last thing Valentina wanted was being in the dark of something that concerned her. It was something she had in common with Vito.

"The re-opened case Philip spoke of was about your parents.'' Vito saw that Valentina was ready to voice her thoughts, so he raised the volume of his voice to keep her from talking, "Not Greg's parents. Your parents,''

She leaned back against the couch, physically distancing herself from Vito. Deep down she knew he was suggesting she and Greg had different parents, but she was in denial.

"You were adopted by the Armanis when-'' Vito stopped talking after making eye contact with her.

Valentina was shaking her head. She didn't want to hear the truth anymore and took a few minutes to process Vito's words. Suddenly being told your parents weren't your parents was shocking, to say the least.

Valentina was well aware her looks didn't resemble the ones of the people in the Armani household, so she had always assumed she got her looks from one of her late grandparents. It boggled her mind to think she wasn't related by blood to the people who raised her.

Another part of her tried to reason. The Armanis still loved her even if she wasn't their own. She got nothing but love from them. Thinking back on the precious memories her adoptive parents made her eyes tear up.

I look like an emotional wreck, she thought about herself and smiled slightly.

She looks like an emotional wreck, Vito thought as he took another drag from the cigarette.

She blinked her eyes to stop the tears from spilling and took a deep breath. After Valentina got herself together again she nodded at Vito, indicating he could tell her the rest.

"The names of your biological parents are Nicolas and Eleni Lucchese. They were good friends with the Armanis. You were adopted by them after your parents were murdered,''

Valentina wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to comfort herself. His phrasing was raw and it made her feel unsetteled. Vito wasn't one to sugarcoat things. Her biological parents didn't lose their lives. They didn't just die. They were murdered.

"By who? Who killed them?'' She had a pained expression on her face.

"I don't know,'' He said truthfully.

"How do you know all this?''

"Your brother told me,''

It was a lot for Valentina to take in. She had this whole other part to her she didn't even know existed. For the next hour, she sat and repeated her conversation with Vito in her head over and over again.

As for Vito, he stayed in the living room with her but didn't try to comfort her in any way. He didn't know how to.

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Valentina had been in her room since the morning and it was already nighttime. Listening to music made her lift her spirit up. She wanted to get a break from her own thoughts. Wondering why her brother and parents never told her she was adopted got her nowhere. The only answer she could come up with was that they wanted to spare her feelings.

The loud music prevented Valentina from hearing the knocking on the door. It didn't take long before Vito slammed on the door instead of calmly knocking and opened the door. Valentina jumped at the sound and unplugged her earphones.

"Yes?'' Her voice cracked and smiled sheepishly.

"Dinner is ready,''

"I'm fi-''

He cut her off by saying, "You haven't eaten anything today. You're coming whether you want it or not,''

Vito went back to the kitchen and Valentina got out of bed. She spotted a white card on the floor and crouched to pick it up. It was the card Philip gave to her.

I thought I lost it. Must have fallen out when I was changing, she thought to herself.

Valentina wasn't sure what do with it. Keep it or throw it away. After contemplating she chose to keep it and stored it in the drawer of the nightstand.

Valentina joined Vito and ate her food quietly. Secretly, she was glad Vito made dinner because her stomach was starting to hurt from the hunger.

"Do you always do this?''

His question caught Valentina off guard, "I-Do what?''

"When you started living here, you weren't eating a lot either. Do you always stop eating when things get hard?'' He almost sounded irritated.

It was the first time Vito asked her a personal question. It was something she never imagined him doing. After all, he was the one that wanted boundaries.

Before answering, she asked herself the same question. His observation shed light on something she never paid attention to.

"I guess. I mean, I didn't really notice it until you said it,''

Vito sighed and lightly shook his head, "You should take better care of yourself.''

Whether he admitted it to himself or not, he cared for her.