Garcìa

chapter 15

It's been a month since Valentina took over the company. People were hesitant at first, not understanding where she suddenly came from. But she proved herself and secured her position in the company and in the business world. She was going to meet up with Rafael today to gather all the proof against Elijah and press charges. It was finally time to set the biggest part of the plan in motion.

When Rafael's mother heard about the plan, she stepped up and gathered her own proof of when Elijah had abused her. Sierra and Valentina had a heart to heart conversation and grew much closer to each other. Kelly joined them in the last part and pitched in her own experience. The three of them now much closer than before.

"Alright, hand over the report tomorrow morning and we'll go over it again." Valentina told the employee in front of her, who nodded before leaving her office.

She gathered her stuff and put them in her bag. She shut off her computer before looking over everything to see if she had all she needed. She walked out of her office before closing the door behind her. She said goodbye to her assistant and made her way over to the elevators. She went all the way down to the parking garage. She stepped out of the elevator and made her way to her car. She got in before starting the car and driving to Rafael's penthouse.

It wasn't a long drive and Valentina now made her way up in the elevator. She had seen the building before but didn't realise he lived in it. The elevator stopped and Valentina stepped out into the penthouse. It was huge and modern. With a gorgeous view.

"Rafael?" she called out while walking further into the penthouse.

"Hello Valentina." he replied while walking over to her.

"Hello Raffy." she replied with a smirk, teasing him to which he rolled his eyes. "I hope I'm on time. The meeting went on longer than I had anticipated." she said before they took a seat at the dining table.

"You're right on time. I gathered the files and pictures. We can go through them together and gather the best evidence before I call the police to press charges." Rafael said once they sat down to which Valentina nodded.

They quickly started gathering valuable information against Elijah. Anything that was valid enough to bring him down. Anything you couldn't wave off easily. Any sort of pictures or any police reports. Reporting his violent behaviour or sexual assault, since it had come to the daylight he had a tendency for that as well.

They decided to divide the workload between them. Rafael offered to go through the pictures while Valentina went through police reports. They made a pile of each and would then go through them together when they were done with their own pile. Valentina did feel memories resurfacing because of the reports but shoved them down. She knew she needed to do this. Not just for herself but for Rafael, Sierra, Kelly, and anybody else who fell victim to Elijah Knight.

"I went through everything." Rafael said once he put down the last folder.

"Yeah, me too." she said, a bit absentmindedly.

"Are you okay?" he asked her with concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine." she said with a small smile to which he nodded.

"Let's go through the police reports first." he said and stood up before taking a seat next to Valentina.

She nodded before she started to grab some of the folders to go through. They went through every detail of the reports together. Highlighting vital points that would help them in court. Once in a while their arms would brush against one another causing them both to still before ignoring it and moving on. Valentina's thoughts were all over the place. Between the memories resurfacing and the tense air between the two, she was struggling to stay focused.

"I think we have some solid accusations against him with these reports alone." Rafael said as they finished the last report.

"Mhm." she replied.

"Maybe I should go through the pictures myself?" Rafael suggested to which Valentina nodded. "Do you want to make food or order?" he asked her.

"I'll go make some." she said before standing and going to the kitchen.

She decided it would help get her mind off things and get back into focus. She loved cooking. It was something she used to do with her mother. And even though it was hard at first, it now brings her a sense of calmness. She decided to make some pasta. Something simple yet delicious. She was moving around the kitchen with ease. Enjoying the natural movements. Not having to think for a little while.

She soon finished the food and grabbed two plates. She then filled them up and grabbed two glasses. She filled them with water before putting the plates, glasses, and silverware on a tray. She took it in her hands and made her way over to the dining table. Rafael had just finished the pictures and made a new pile.

"Dinner's ready." she said while placing down the tray.

Rafael helped her set out the table. He grabbed napkins for them to use before they took a seat in front of each other.

"So, do we have enough?" Valentina asked as she took the first bite.

"Yeah. We have more than enough really. He'll be in jail for a long time." he replied and she let out a breath of relief.

They made small talk while eating their dinner. There was a tense air around them. Either from the files they had just worked on or whatever feelings were going through them about each other. Valentina gathered everything back on the tray to bring back to the kitchen.

"I'll call the police station." Rafael stated.

"Alright. I'll bring this back to the kitchen." she said before walking to the kitchen.

After she cleaned up, she made her way back to the dining table. She didn't see Rafael there so he must have walked to another room. She walked over to the pictures and opened the first folder. It was a picture of herself. Her first night there. Tears gathered in her eyes as she thought back to all the horrible nights at Elijah's house.

"Are you sure you're okay, Valentina?" Rafael asked from behind her.

She slowly turned to him. He gently cupped her face with his hand and used his thumbs to wipe away her tears. They looked into each other eyes, the tension between them grew much heavier. Their breathing picked up as they leaned closer towards each other. Stopping when their lips brushed against each other.

"Rafael..." Valentina breathed out.

He was about to move when their moment was interrupted by a phone call. They slowly broke apart and Rafael looked at his phone.

"It's the police station." he said and she nodded in response, stuck in a daze.