The Don's Trust

Chapter 3

That same night, Valentina laid on her bed and thought back on what happened earlier. His warning was etched into her mind. His touch and the tone of his voice made her shiver.

After wondering what could be in the drawer, Valentina stretched her arm and turned the night lamp off. She pulled the duvet up to her shoulders and let the darkness consume her.

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The next morning, Valentina freshened up and got dressed. She planned on buying some self-care products for herself at the store. She couldn't exactly keep on using Vito's shower gel every day.

Valentina grabbed the door handle and pulled on it. The entrance door didn't budge. It was locked and Valentina didn't have a house key.

She walked back and forth in the foyer, thinking of possible places where a spare key could be. When she didn't find it in the living room, she searched the kitchen. Valentina went back to the foyer and lifted the coir doormat. Once again, she came up empty-handed.

Valentina huffed and she crossed her arms over each other. In the beginning, Valentina did not mind staying at home, but now she was in desperate need to go outside. She was starting to get sick of being in the same environment for the amount of time she had.

After taking her shoes and coat off, she plopped herself down on the cream-coloured leather couch. Valentina turned the television on and left it on the news channel. The line on the news ticker caught her attention immediately. She straightened up and moved to the edge of the couch to read the text word for word.

'New police task force plans on taking down the notorious Grimaldi crime family.'

Valentina wasn't part of the mafia, but her heart skipped a beat. After all, she did live with the Don of the Grimaldi crime family.

Valentina tensed up at the sound of the front door being unlocked. The unfamiliar voices made her anxiety reach even higher levels. Not once in a million years, she imagined herself getting caught by the police.

Oh my God! How did they get past all the guards? What do I say? Should I confess? But I didn't even do anything wrong! A train of thoughts went through Valentina's head.

Two men in suits walked into the living room and laid their eyes on the young girl. Valentina felt small under their glare. In particular, the glare of the brown-haired man. His amber eyes had a hint of hostility in them.

The man on the left had black hair and green eyes. He looked similar to Vito. The man had a distinct scar on the side of his face that ran from his left temple to his cheek. Valentina sensed an air of authority around him.

Standing behind the two men, now, was Vito. In a way, it made Valentina feel relieved. His presence made her feel like she wasn't entirely surrounded by strangers, ignoring the fact she barely knew Vito.

''You must be Valentina. I am Damian Grimaldi.'' the black-haired man stretched his arm out to shake hands with Valentina.

Valentina stood up from the couch and shook hands with him, ''Yes.''

Damian was the oldest Grimaldi brother and former Don of the crime family. He was thirty-three years old making him six years older than Vito.

''I didn't know you had plans.'' Vito looked at her outfit.

Valentina turned to Vito. ''I did, but I don't have the house key.''

Vito hummed in response and walked toward the couch to sit with his brothers, who had already made themselves comfortable. He sat down at the end and rested his arm on the armrest.

''Can I have one?'' she added.

''No,'' he said while reading the news crawl, ''What do you think, Christopher?'' Vito asked the brown-haired man.

''Probably just a small task force.''

Christopher was Vito's older brother and his right-hand man. He and Vito bonded on another level compared to their other brothers. Ever since Vito became a stranger to his own family, Christoper was the only one who still had a vague idea of the things going through his head.

Those two brothers were also the only ones whose mindset were somewhat the same. The main difference between them was their interaction with others. While Vito could still be reasonable, Christopher was straight-up hostile toward anyone who wasn't family.

Valentina was in pure disagreement with Vito's decision. The lack of explanation made it even worse in her mind.

Valentina retreated into her room knowing that she was at a disadvantage. It was hard enough to ask him something when it was only the two of them, let alone doing it with his brothers present.

Valentina changed into something more comfortable and unlocked her phone. She looked up if there was any other information available to the public about the new police task force.

After an hour of endless searching, Valentina gave up. For the second time this day, she came up empty-handed. It was one of those rare fruitless days for her.

''She certainly doesn't look like Greg,'' Damian commented.

''It would be odd if they did,'' Vito said.

''You make it sound like they aren't supposed to look like each other.'' Christopher raised an eyebrow at his younger brother.

''I am making it sound like that because she was adopted by the Armani family.''

''Why did you never say anything about that?'' Damian looked at Vito.

''I'm telling you now.''

Damian let out a heavy sigh, ''Does she know?''

''No,'' Vito said and lit up the cigarette between his lips, ''And she doesn't have to.''

Christopher nodded in agreement, ''What good would it do, anyway?''