CHAPTER 77: GLIMPSE INTO THE PAST

Natalia understood her point, but she still felt deeply uneasy.

"Val, I don’t think you’ve thought this through yet."

"You’re defending him," she rose to her feet and began to pace. "You remember I never cared about or even wanted revenge growing up?"

Natalia deeply exhaled. "I do remember."

"All I wanted was peace," Valentina smiled bitterly as her thoughts were claimed by the past. "I thought all I needed to do was listen to Nana, never go to Italy, and let sleeping dogs lie. Then my life will be peaceful. Until that day in the park."

"Didn’t Jared introduce you to Richard?"

"In the weirdest way. That narcissistic bastard," her eyes took a faraway expression.

FLASHBACK

The sun rose in the sky, reflecting a golden hue across the park.

A soft, warm and serene feeling covered the air.

On one side, children laughed, and ran around. Dogs on leashes, barked. And musicians in search of a quick dollar played their instruments by the fountain.

On the other side, a group of guys threw balls around.

"Hey babe, I’m off to join those guys."

Before Valentina could respond, Jared had jugged away already.

It had been that way for a while now. He never waited for her to respond.

She sighed, and continued to press the shutter of her camera, as she took pictures of different activities.

Wind brushed her hair, sweeping it across her vision. She stopped to pin it back up, and then picked up her camera again.

This time, she took pictures of a bird perched at the edge of the fountain.

She was at the verge of taking one of the best pictures ever by her standards, when a shadow stretched across the frame.

"May I?" A voice, smooth and silky asked.

She turned to her side, and saw a tall man dressed in a dark coat that contrasted with the heat of summer.

Her eyes moved to his face, and it startled her a little how handsome he was.

"I’m Richard," he continued when she didn’t respond immediately, and took a seat. "Jared might have mentioned me?"

Her brow snapped in realisation. "You’re Richard?"

He smiled. "Is that a good or bad question?"

"I don’t know. Can you help me though?"

"Only if you help me in return."

Her posture shifted a little. "How could I possibly help you?"

"Well for starters, let’s talk about what you want. You want to know who is responsible for breaking into your father’s museum where he kept all of his collector items, don’t you?"

"I see Jared told you all the details."

His smile widened. "He didn’t need to. Allen Wallace was popular for his precious stones and rare metal collections. He would sell them to the highest bidders and use the profit to fund his Feed a Child Foundation across continent’s."

She stiffened. "Then you must know how hurt I am that I’m barely able to continue his good work now that the museum has been broken into and everything stolen from it."

"Oh yes I do, Valentina. And strictly for your information, the culprit is the son of Matteo Alvarez."

She inhaled sharply. "The murderer."

He nodded. "The murderer. Now I can help you kill his son and get back everything he stole from you. But in return, I’ll need something from you."

Confusion swirled with curiosity, as she stared at him. "What do you need?"

"Information," he replied swiftly.

"Information on what?"

"The map," he said with a faint smile.

"I don’t know anything about a map."

"Are you sure, Valentina? Because it is your one ticket to putting an end to what began with a spill of your parents’ blood.

She hesitated for a brief second, and then she just went for it. "Fine, you win. I’ll help you with information on the map but after you’ve helped me," she lied.

"We have a deal."

She blinked, and he was gone. Her heart jumped a little, but the sound of Jared’s laughter drew her fully back to the present.

Grabbing her Camera from the bench, she continued to take pictures as if she had not just lied in exchange for possible vengeance.

****

"Wow, Jared was really a bastard. I almost forgot how horrible he was," Natalia said.

"I don’t even want to talk about that fool anymore. Natty, when we first came here, I was unsure about Luciano, right?"

"You definitely were."

"But then he saved my life. And I thought that someone who could save someone else’s life by risking their own life has to be a good person, right? So a part of me is still trusting of the man that saved my life. Then there is this other part of me. The one that discovered the truth, and is rightfully angry and bitter. I’ve been battling so hard with trying to juggle these two sides of me. Because I know ultimately, one has to excel." She sighed and stopped pacing to turn to Natalia.

"I understand, baby. But you can’t live this way. You have to make a choice."

She nodded. "I do. That’s why I’ve chosen to call Richard. Although, I’m not certain what role Jared is playing in all of this. He knows Richard, and he knows Luciano. Is he playing both sides? Or are all three working together? I don’t know."

"Yet you’ll call Richard?"

"He’s our only hope of escape, isn’t he?"

Natalia sighed. "I don’t know Val. I don’t know." She shook her head.

Valentina palmed her forehead. "Look at me going on and on about my life, forgetting that you still have your own issues to resolve. How are you coping? Have you heard from Mr Giovanni?" She returned to sitting next to her.

"Not yet," Natalia replied sadly. "Maybe he doesn’t want anything to do with me."

"Don’t say that! It could be that Daniela hasn’t told him about you yet. But even if she hasn’t, if Luciano was a good person, he should have told him right?"

"What if Luciano is the reason she hasn’t told him? I know Daniela. This might sound insensitive because of how mean she is to you, but she was truly nice to me. I know deep down, she’s happy we’re sisters. Luciano is probably keeping her from telling my father. You said it yourself Val, he’s not a good person."

Valentina paused. When it was convenient, Natalia didn’t mind admitting Luciano was a bad person. But just a few minutes ago, she was against him possibly being killed.

She noticed the inconsistency, but brushed it to the side.

"Have you forgotten her reaction when it was revealed you are Mr Giovanni’s daughter? That wasn’t the kind of reaction someone who was happy about it could have possibly had, Natty."

"No, it was probably just shock. I would also have been shocked by that kind of revelation. It’s nothing." She shook her head in denial.

Valentina breathed out, a little defeated. "Let’s hope you’re right."

"I am. You’ll see. I’ll ask Sonia to bring me the letters from my mother we hid in the other room. Once Daniela tells my father about me, I’ll show him the letters to prove everything is real. It’ll be fine."

Valentina opened her mouth to respond when someone knocked at the door.

"Miss Natalia, it’s time to return to your room," the guard’s voice travelled from the door into their ears.

The girls swiftly hugged each other tightly, neither willing to let go of the other.