CHAPTER 49: INTERROGATION

Valentina laid with her back to the bed, humming to fill up the silence in the air.

Natalia sat on the ground, listening to Valentina’s hum.

"Do you ever hum a different sound?" She suddenly asked.

"Nope. This one soothes my soul for some weird reason," she said.

"Is it a song?"

"Yep, but I don’t remember the lyrics. Just the tune."

"How did you even hear this song? For as long as I’ve known you, you always hum the same tune."

"That’s a super good question, Natalia. Unfortunately, I really don’t know. But if it’s a disturbance to you, please let me know. Sonia forgot to bring the radios charger, and now the battery is dead."

"Yep. At least she brought us lots of water. God I’m so thirsty!"

She rose to her feet to grab a bottle of water from the spot she had ensured to line them up, when someone knocked on the door.

"Sonia? Come in," she raised her voice.

The door opened, and someone did come in, but it wasn’t Sonia.

"Good afternoon."

Both herself and Valentina turned towards the door at the same time on hearing Elio’s voice.

"Elio!" Valentina jumped out of bed, and in two strides, she was before him. "First, I must apologise for slapping you. That was impulsively reckless of me. Secondly, I want to beg that if I must be stuck in this room, at least let it be with my camera."

Elio couldn’t tear his eyes off her lips as she rambled.

Even in the midst of trouble, she still managed to look breathtakingly beautiful.

Every time he saw her, he was excited to see what she was wearing for the day.

Today was no different, despite the tension that gripped the thresholds of Neravalle.

His eyes left her lips, and scanned her from her head to her toe.

Green tank top, that matched her eye colour, and black shorts. And then hair pinned up in a half ponytail do.

She was simply stunning.

"Can you hear me, Elio?" She waved a hand across his face when he didn’t respond immediately.

"Sorry," he blinked. "It’s fine, Valentina. We’re fine. You’ve been summoned though."

Her nose turned. "Summoned? By who?"

"You’ll see. You’ve both been summoned," he turned to Natalia. "You’ll need to come with me."

Natalia looked at Valentina as fear flashed through her eyes.

"It’s okay," Valentina said, reassuring her.

The halls of Neravalle were whiter than Valentina remembered.

"Or maybe an entire evening and morning locked in has made you forget what it looks like?" She said in her mind.

They were on their way to wherever, but she was more concerned about breaking the puzzle that were these walls.

Doors that appeared out of nowhere. Corners that she never saw for herself whenever she walked alone.

Whatever secrets the halls, and walls had, she wanted so badly to know.

Elio, who hadn’t said a word, too burdened by what was in store for Valentina and Natalia, stopped in front of a door.

"We’re here," he announced.

Both girls stopped walking. "Where is here? Or are you still keeping it a secret?" Valentina asked.

Elio didn’t respond with words. Instead, he pushed the door open, allowing them to see for themselves.

He walked in first, and Natalia followed after him.

Valentina took her time studying the frames of the door, before she gave up on failing to register a plausible theory.

She walked into the room, and closed the door behind her.

Luciano who was seated on a throne, in the room of judgement, sat up on catching a glimpse of Valentina.

His breath caught in his chest, as he watched her look around the room.

He wondered what was on her mind. Then he wondered why he gave a damn about what was on her mind.

"Why is she here?" Daniela who had been happy to honour his invite because she thought it would just be both of them alone, questioned.

Aurora, who also had to cut short her shopping at the request of her beloved brother, chorused in agreement. "Why are they here?"

Salvatore and Vittorio were also present in the room.

But everyone’s eyes were strictly on Valentina. Well except for Vittorio, who couldn’t stop stealing glances at Natalia.

The room felt familiar to Valentina. It didn’t take long for her to remember it was the same room where Elio’s twin had been killed.

That realization caused her to finally look forward, and as she did, her face became visible for all to see.

Luciano’s breath sharpened on seeing her face clearly.

"Enchantress!" He cursed her in his mind..

The fact she was that stunning, made him even more upset.

She had no right to be that attractive. She had absolutely no right.

"Hello everyone." She waved across the visions of everyone who was just staring at her.

And then her gaze rested on Luciano. Something jumped inside of her.

She couldn’t tell if it was her heart jumping or her stomach flipping, but there was a slight somersault.

He looked different. A lot darker in his all dark attire, with his hair pinned to the back, and the first three buttons of his shirt undone.

There was not a trace of warmth in his features. He looked like a man ready to kill.

A chill ran down her spine, as she shifted her gaze to the woman beside him.

His real woman.

Daniela smirked as their gazes locked, and slowly, she sleekly parted the v-line of her top to reveal a very fresh hickey, and then she threw Valentina a wink.

Valentina understood immediately what she was trying to do. What she couldn’t understand was why a small part of her chest ached at that sight.

"Is there a reason why we’re here?" She asked when no one said a word.

Luciano moved his gaze to Natalia who had her head lowered in fear.

"Natalia, you heard your friend. Why did you come to Italy?" He said.

Slowly, she lifted her head, and moved her gaze to Valentina.

"That’s not what I asked."

"But it is what I want to know," he silenced her without even sparing her a glance.

"V–Val," Natalia stuttered.

"Don’t listen to him. We already told him the truth. He confirmed we were telling the truth. What more do you want from us?" She boldly questioned Luciano.

"For the last time, I wasn’t talking to you," he said, whilst still staring at Natalia.

Valentina scoffed in disbelief. There was not a single trace of the man who had held her sweetly in his bed, comforted her, and even took her to a new dimension she never thought she would experience with his kiss.

The man she was looking at was a brutal bully, obviously hell-bent on flaming the fans of trouble.

"We– we told the truth, Mr Luciano." Natalia’s voice vibrated.

"Is that why you can’t look me in the eye? Is that why you have to get confirmation from your friend before you speak to me? You have a mind of your own. Use it, or so help me God, I will give you a reason to."

A shudder ran through Natalia, as her eyes watered.

"Don’t talk to her that way! Can’t you see she is scared? What the hell has gotten into you?!" Valentina raised her voice in annoyance as she drew closer to Natalia to comfort her.

"Whew, she’s spicy!" Salvatore whispered to Vittorio.

"A little too much for her own good."

"You must not understand in the presence of who you are. But I fault myself for that mistake," Luciano said, as he slowly rose to his feet. "Bring in the driver. It is time to correct the errors of my leniency," he ordered.

Valentina froze on arrival beside Natalia.

Slowly her head turned, and the moment she saw Jackson being led into the room, her heart dropped.