22. ENZO
22
ENZO
By the time Alessio and I reach the vineyard, the firemen have already arrived.
“Goddammit.”
Something I have worked for for the last thirty years of my life is burning in front of my eyes, and there’s nothing I can do but watch.
Alessio puts a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t, Dad. If you go any further, you might end up hurting yourself.”
Another stream of water jets out onto the fire, as the firemen try their hardest to put out the flames.
“Who was behind this?” I bark as other members of the team join us.
“All of our safety measures were in place,” Marcel says. “It’s highly unlikely that this was an accident.”
The corners of my mouth twist into a snarl. “It’s another sabotage attempt.”
Marcel frowns, “Do you think that the Salvatores would stoop as low as to try and destroy our property?”
“You know the answer as well as I do.”
Marcel pulls out his phone. “In that case, I need to make some phone calls. We cannot let him go free.”
Alessio holds out his hand and lowers Marcel's arm holding the phone. “Wait. Do you have any proof that Silvano is behind this?”
I growl, “A fire in a vineyard is a one-in-a-million type of event. The worst of the summer is already over, and temperatures here do not nearly get hot enough for natural fires to occur. It’s obvious.”
“Enzo, maybe Alessio is right.” Marcel sighs, “We need solid evidence.”
“Then pull up footage from the CCTV cameras,” I bark.
The fire is beginning to diminish now. The fire department have done their job impressively fast. One of the chiefs begins to make his way over to us and shakes my hand.
“You’re the owner?”
“That would be correct.”
“We’ve put out ninety percent of the flames. While there has been significant damage to this section of your property, we have at least ensured that the fire does not spread to the neighboring vineyards.”
“Thank you.” I nod. “We do not know what we would have done if you had not arrived with your team at the right time.”
The chief presses his lips together, looking over the site of the burned wood. The air is thick with smoke, and visibility is low.
“It’s unfortunate that this happened to you. In all my years of working in the area, I have not seen a case this bad. The heat damaged the wines that have been left untouched, as well.”
“The output for the next year will be affected,” Marcel adds. “We will have to wait till the smoke clears to find out the real extent of the damage.”
“Surely, the land’s insured?” the chief asks me. “I cannot imagine that it isn’t for an operation as large as this one.”
“It is.”
I don’t tell him that isn’t the monetary value I care about losing. So many of these plants had been planted personally by Valentina and myself. Having them burn to ashes like this feels like a personal loss.
“Don’t worry about it, Enzo,” Marcel puts a reassuring hand on my shoulder. “If there was any sort of foul play involved, then we will get to the bottom of this.”
“It’s going to take us a few more hours to clear the area. Best go home and rest now,” the chief tells me.
“I cannot just leave.”
“He’s right, Enzo. I’ll handle it from here, and give you all the updates,” Marcel says.
I look over at Alessio. He’s been quiet for a while, and I don’t want to cause him more distress by keeping him here.
“Fine. I’ll have my phone with me, call me if you find out anything else.”
I gesture for Alessio to follow me back to the cart. Each footstep feels heavier than the last, and there’s a sinking feeling in my stomach.
“I’m sorry that happened, Dad,” Alessio starts once we get inside the car.
I cannot get myself to drive away just yet.
“I know how much this place means to you.”
His attempts at comforting me are honorable, but they aren’t enough. I can’t help but think of Quinn again.
If she was here, her touch would have soothed me immediately. I close my eyes and inhale a sharp breath.
“You’ve been so on edge lately.”
I can feel Alessio’s eyes on me.
“Even before this whole thing happened.”
“It’s related to business.” The words cannot come out of my mouth fast enough.
I do not know what came over me when I revealed to Luciana what was going on between Quinn and me, but I am not about to repeat the same mistake.
Alessio does not look convinced. “Are you sure it doesn’t have anything to do with the video?”
“Of course not. Why would you assume that?” I bark, harsher than I intended.
Alessio recoils slightly. “No need to get mad at me. I was just worried. Even if it is—”
“That’s enough, Alessio.” I shoot him a glare that lets him know to drop it now and start the engine. “It’s been a long day already.”
I make up my mind to do everything I can to keep Alessio and Valentino unaware of the relationship between Quinn and me. Well, former relationship.
Luciana was kind enough to be okay about it. But there’s no guarantee that the other two will have the same reaction.
Maybe if I keep them buried away for long enough, my feelings for her will eventually disappear and she will be nothing but a warm memory from a summer long gone.
She is everything I want, but letting her go is for the best.
When we arrive back at the house, Valentino awaits us in the driveway. He’s got a large envelope and a grim expression.
“Alessio, go inside,” I say before catching up to Valentino.
“Dad, I’ve just received the reports from the lab.” He thrusts the envelope into my hands.
I tear the paper open, the dull overhead light making me squint to read out the words written.
“So, it was tempered with.” Anger flares inside of me.
“Definitely. It was a deliberate sabotage attempt.”
My knuckles turn white by how hard I’m holding onto the paper. “What happened at the vineyard today, and this… They’re both connected, I can tell.”
Valentino presses his lips together. “I see where you’re coming from. But we only know that both things were foul play, not who was behind it.”
“Is that really difficult to guess?” My voice rises a few octaves.
Silvano’s smug face flashes in front of my eyes. He’s done a great job at erasing his tracks and leaving no evidence behind. I imagine him sitting somewhere, laughing at how his plan, whatever it is, is working.
“For you and me? Not at all.” Valentino sighs. “But it’s going to be difficult to prove in front of a court. Did the firefighters give you anything that could be used as evidence?”
I shake my head. “The chief told me that it’s highly unusual for a natural fire to occur in a climate like this.”
“That’s not enough. We need to find more information. I don’t even understand why Silvano is doing this. For years, our vineyards battled it out only in the markets. He’s playing dirty now, and I don’t know what the motive is. Would it be better to just give him the land?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I am not going to let him get an inch of land from us now, if that’s the last thing I’ll do.”
That Silvano’s love for Valentina was driving this entire operation was highly suspect. Sure, he loved her once, but why did it take him this long to resort to dirty tricks? He could have done the same when she was still alive.
Figuring it out felt like a frustrating mystery, but it acted like a distraction—one that I desperately needed.
“Whatever we do, we cannot let any of the influencers know about our suspicions of foul play regarding the fire,” Valentino says. “It’s their last week here, and I don’t want them worried about their own safety. That would be disastrous for our marketing.”
I look at him. “I trust you to handle this, then. You’re a natural at crisis management.”
Valentino’s expression softened. No matter how old he got, he still valued my validation.
“Tomorrow morning, I’ll arrange a workshop with them to discuss the safety aspects of running a wine business. We can use the fire as a case study.”
“Good thinking.” I pat him lightly on the shoulder.
“Quinn might have already left, I think, but the rest are still there.”
I stiffen at the mention of her.
“She’s gone?” That’s all I can manage to get out.
Even though the news isn’t a surprise to me, it still hit hard to hear it.
Valentino shrugs. “Or she might be leaving early tomorrow, I am not quite sure yet. But I don’t think she’s the kind of person to bad-mouth us over a fire, so a de-brief with her would not be necessary.”
I nod, trying to ignore the way my heart lurches at any mention of her.
That she is still around somewhere, still nearby, feels all too tempting. A part of me wants to drop everything else and go to her, fix things, or have one last moment alone with her.
“Better go rest, Dad.” Valentino’s voice brings me back to reality. “Don’t worry. This is just a road bump. We will get past this and move on.”
Move on.
That’s what I have to do with Quinn. There’s no use entertaining fantasies of us being together.
She’s my past now. The only things that should matter in my life are my children and my business.