CHAPTER 44: THE TWIN TRUTH

Valentina’s face grew solemn as she stared at Elio. "I’m sorry. I didn’t know that."

He didn’t say anything, but only walked over, and sat on the chair next to her.

"Do you want me to turn the screen on for you?" He asked.

"Please do," she said, and then opened her mouth to add something else, but shut it back when the screen came to life.

Instead, she took a deep breath as she grabbed the mouse, and began navigating through the computer system.

"You’re familiar with all of this, right?" Elio leaned to the side, as he observed her closely.

"Yep. Is this connected to WiFi?"

"It is. Look." He pointed at the green dot blinking at the top.

She nodded, and went to the saved folders.

"Your brother was super talented!" She gasped as she clicked on the first photo.

It was taken at the arena. A close-up phone of a horse.

"Yeah, Emilio was definitely talented. Every event at Aurivilla, he took pictures and videos of them. There’s even a little academy at Aurivilla where he taught kids photography. They loved him," he said.

Valentina noticed the bitterness in his voice, and her heart squeezed. But she didn’t ask.

She didn’t think it was right to ask just yet.

The clicks went by faster, as she observed different shots.

He was a nature photographer too, because most of the pictures were of landscapes and horizons.

But then she clicked next, and paused as a stunning girl looking directly at the camera with eyes that held so much warmth and laughter, showed up on the screen.

"Who is she?" She turned her head to Elio, and froze when she saw the look of dread in his eyes. "Elio?"

"Serena and she’s dead," he said without blinking.

A chill ran through her, and goosebumps formed all over her skin.

"Dead? How? What happened to her? Who is she?" She found herself asking all of the questions that popped up in her mind at once.

"She was Emilio’s girlfriend. They were together for four years. This year marked their fifth year as a couple. They were in love."

"Ho-how did she die?"

"Emilio killed her," he blurted with so much pain entrenched in his words.

Pain that had Valentina’s butt clenching hard on the seat, as her chest squeezed tightly.

"He killed her?" Her words fell out breathlessly.

Elio finally gathered enough courage to look into her eyes. "Sold her to traffickers for a few bucks to settle his gambling debts. Couldn’t ask Luce or anyone else because he had been pretending for so long his addiction had been cured. So when he got in trouble with a very popular mafia lord, and that mafia lord offered him a solution that included trafficking to pay off his debts, he took it. He offered them Serena. They killed her because she swore she’d rather die than to let any man take advantage of her body. He—" his voice broke, and Valentina quickly rose to her feet.

She hugged him dearly, whispering comforting words to him.

"You don’t have to go on. I had no idea– I had no idea it would be such a heavy thing to divulge. I’m sorry," she whispered to him.

Gently, Elio pulled his body out of her comforting hold. "It’s okay," he smiled through the pain. "Justice did prevail."

Valentina’s thoughts flashed back to her first night in Neravalle.

How Luciano had brutally killed the boy that looked exactly like Elio.

"Emilio," she whispered. "Luciano killed him. That’s why he killed him?" She gasped.

"Yeah, Luce has very strict rules when it comes to human, and sex trafficking. Especially because it affects women and children the most. The rule is clear for all to see. You cannot participate in any of that under his roof and even in his entire city. Emilio knew the consequences, but he just didn’t care."

Valentina’s mind completely exploded. She thought the cold murder was a brutal show of power from Luciano. But no, it was actually an act of justice.

"No wonder you were not saddened by his death."

He chortled. "Right? At least I gave him the brotherly respect of not being there whilst the deed was done. Even though he didn’t deserve any respect for what he did to Serena. Her family’s life changed forever. How could he do that?"

"Hey," she touched his shoulders gently. "Just because he’s your twin brother doesn’t mean the both of you are the same thing. He laid his bed, and is now rotting in it, okay? Don’t think about him. Don’t even give him any space in your mind. You’re so much better than him, okay?" She squeezed affectionately.

"Thanks Val. You’re a gem."

"Anytime."

She turned back to the screen, and stared at Serena’s face again. "Rest in peace baby," she muttered under her breath.

Elio rose to his feet, just as she clicked on the next picture.

"Here, have this," he said.

She turned from the screen and saw him holding a USB.

"You can copy your pictures here for the big screen," he said.

Valentina smiled in gratitude. "Thanks Elio."

She accepted and swiftly set to work using the USB.

A couple of minutes later, she began flipping through her own pictures.

"That’s the sea!" She pointed at the screen, showing Elio who was now seated again.

"Yeah, it’s beautiful but in the hidden woods for a reason. Not many people visit."

"Yeah, tell me about it. Wicked thing almost took my entire life." She clicked past it, to other pictures of mostly nature.

"Hey, you have everything you need. That’s the printing machine for hardcopies. You have the WiFi on and editing tools if you want to edit pictures."

"I also saw the binding machine I can use to make a photo book!" She interrupted him in excitement.

"Okay nerd," he laughed. "But I have to find Luce. I’ll be back as quickly as I can, okay?"

"Okay." She bobbed her head, her attention already claimed by the screen as she continued to click through the pictures.

Elio laughed again, and rose to his feet. "See you later Val!"

"See ya!" She replied.

He stepped out, just as she clicked on to the next photo that turned out to be a shot of Luciano she took.

Her breath quickened as her fingers froze on the monitor.

Knowing he had a rule about trafficking completely changed the way she viewed him.

Although her opinion did start to change from the moment he saved her life. And then the kiss too.

Her other fingers subconsciously went to her lips, and her eyes darkened as a replay of the kiss formed in her head.

Kissing wasn’t supposed to feel good. It was just that one thing people did to pretend sex itself wasn’t a perverse action for the pleasure of a man.

Yet she vividly remembered pulling him in. Wanting him to kiss her more with his weight pressed against her body.

She zoomed into the image, and the smile on his face as he stared at whatever he was staring at, enchanted her.

"Luciano De Luca," she whispered his name with a voice that sounded foreign to even her own ears.

Because it was filled with desire.