CHAPTER 95: HURT PEOPLE HURT PEOPLE

Giovanni Ferrari rose to his feet, and moved over to the bar.

"You don’t seem outraged anymore," Luciano observed out loud.

The man was not in his frame of vision, so he couldn’t see him shrug.

He returned with a bottle of whiskey and two glasses.

"There aren’t many things that can shock me for too long anymore. Granted, I couldn’t believe my eyes when she walked into the hall. I almost thought someone had resurrected Bianca Barone. Yet even as beautiful as her mother was, she still managed to eclipse her somehow. Whew!" He stretched a glass to Luciano, who graciously accepted it.

"Then you must also know she was the girl I captured at your birthday party to be interrogated."

His brow lifted slightly. "I thought she was with another girl?"

Luciano’s breath hitched, as he pretty much confirmed what he feared.

Daniela had not told Giovanni about his daughter yet.

And now, he had to decide if it was his place to tell him.

"She was."

Giovanni shook his head. "Don’t mind me. That’s not important. How is she alive? And is she truly tied to Bianca?"

Luciano sipped some of the whiskey, a little relieved Giovanni had not pushed for information on the other girl.

"She is. I don’t know how she survived yet. Lorenzo did say everyone in the house died, didn’t he?"

"He sure did." Giovanni nodded.

"She said something tonight. Valentina I mean."

"What did she say?" His brow knitted questioningly.

"Big Ben."

Giovanni’s heart skipped a beat. "That was Allen’s right hand man if I remember the details carefully."

"So it’s true then. How come I never heard of this big Ben?"

"Well, it was always speculated to be fair. Allen was mostly known as a lone wolf, after his separation from your father. Big Ben’s name might have came up once or twice. But no one knew what he looked like, nor was anyone sure of him."

Hmph.

Luciano downed the rest of the whiskey in his glass. His face contorted when the heat slammed his chest.

"Slow down, Luce. You’re too young to get a heart attack."

Luciano actually smiled a little, as he stretched his glass for a refill.

"So what’s the verdict with the lords and ladies? And why is a mafia lord from the States freely walking into Italy?" Giovanni questioned as he refilled Luciano’s glass.

"Lorenzo Barone. Who else? Ross also threatened to invade my city and my home if I don’t release his fiancé to him."

"So why are you not releasing her?" He asked lightly, keeping the answer he had in mind, in his mind.

Luciano thought about it for a second, because his first answer wasn’t one he should be telling the step father of the woman he was set to marry.

"Because she’s useful to me. Vitto thinks she can help clear my father’s name. I know she wouldn’t. I just want her to help with project Blackstone. Oh and also, Adin says it’s not safe for her out there. Everyone wants a piece of her. Again, for–"

"Project Blackstone," Giovanni completed on his behalf.

Luciano nodded.

"I still can’t believe everyone is still so interested in it, when it caused so much chaos in the past. I mean don’t get me wrong, I understand you especially want to finish what your father started, but is it worth it?"

He shrugged. "When I eventually do, I’ll judge if it was worth it. As for now, I’m not sure yet."

Giovanni finished off the rest of his drink, and rose to his feet.

"I think you want to be alone, Luce. I should leave you to it."

Luciano lifted his gaze, his eyes shone with gratitude. "There’ll be a guard outside to take you to the room you usually stay in when you come visiting."

Giovanni cracked a smile. "My father would have shot his head first before he ever struck a friendship with any mafia lord, as a cop. Strange times we’re in."

"Indeed," the corner of Luciano’s mouth twitched.

He waited until Giovanni had gotten to the door, before he called out to him. "I know there’s something on your mind. And you’re not asking me because you might fear the answer to it. Ask Daniela though. She should give you the answer you seek."

Giovanni inhaled sharply, but otherwise, didn’t say a word as he walked out of the room.

Luciano waited a few minutes, before he pulled out his earplugs from his other pocket, and plugged it into his ear.

The first person between Vittorio, Salvatore and Lyon who were connected to him that caught his signal was Salvatore.

"Luce?" Salvatore who was walking across the hallway said.

"I might have bolted the door of the empty room. I’m not sure yet."

Those were the only words he said before he stopped talking, and the signal disconnected.

Salvatore’s forehead creased in confusion. He didn’t know if Luciano was telling him to go to the empty room or not.

However, after a few seconds of thinking about it, he decided to just check it out anyway.

He took the next turn that led towards the empty room, and the moment he made his way into the other pathway, he saw Chris from afar.

Salvatore paused on his heels, and observed the man who was glued to his phone, texting away.

His job in Neravalle required him to sense trouble before it graduated into something uncontrollable.

The only problem was he didn’t have any damaging evidence against Chris.

But something was off.

He took a deep breath, shook his head, and proceeded towards the empty room.

Salvatore saw the door had indeed been bolted when he arrived.

He opened it, and as soon as he stepped into the room, he heard tiny sobs.

His chest hammered, as his eyes searched for the source of the tears.

It didn’t take long for his gaze to stumble on her.

"Valentina," he mentioned her name softly.

She was seated with her back to the wall, and her head resting on her knees.

On hearing her name, Valentina lifted her head. When she saw Salvatore, her tears intensified.

Salvatore paused, unsure of what to do now.

He had been trained on how to disarm men with weapons. On how to resolve conflict between brothers. Settling of disputes too.

However, he was still untested when it came to calming a crying woman.

Especially when that woman was someone like Valentina.

"Uhmmm–" he scratched the back of his head, as he drew closer to her.

She wasn’t just any woman. She was extraordinary in many ways. Like a celestial being. Untouchable.

He had never even taken her for a cryer. Maybe because the times he had seen her, she was either running her mouth or laughing. No in-betweens.

Well this was the in-between, and he didn’t know how to handle it.

"He left me here," she finally spoke through a broken voice. "He left me alone," she sobbed harder.

Touched, Salvatore slipped to the ground, across from her, burying his back on the table.

He didn’t know how to comfort her. The only thing he could do was listen to her, as she cried her heart out.

And when she began to lament again, her next words touched the core of his heart.

"Everyone leaves me. They always do," she said, her voice a barely audible mess.

"Shit Luce! What have you done?" He whispered in his mind, dreading the answer.