Chapter 129 - Santiago's Family

Cameron grunted as he noticed a wound on his elbow. He was limping while walking. His face was swollen. His jaw had transformed into a purplish colour. 

The alley was dark, apart from one flickering streetlight, nobody was visible. He was about to stumble in his footsteps and fall on his mouth when a strong arm held him from his back and made him stand up. 

"Perhaps, you should have known that you wouldn't be easily able to overpower a trained fighter, " Santiago said, narrowing his eyes at him. 

"I still did a pretty good job for a novice, " Cameron muttered. 

"You call it a pretty good job? I call it getting beaten," Santiago scoffed. 

"Not everyone is mafioso like you," Cameron retorted. "Some people shouldn't be involved in fights and brawls." 

"Exactly. Some people are expected to stay away from them, Cameron Vitello," Santiago snapped. "And so were you. Do you think a kid like you should get involved with Marinos and Scuderis? So you think they are like you?"

Although the cuts on Cameron's face were painful, he still acted like a big man. "Who are you to tell me what to do? Did Percy send you? Or you came sniffing me? Come on, tell her that I don't need a babysitter. I can manage on my own." 

"Let's cut the chase, Kid. You have two options; either come with me or I will take you to the hospital where they would certainly call your guardians. The choice is yours," Santiago kindly informed him. 

"Who the fuck are you calling kid?" Cameron growled at him. 

Santiago lightly hit his shoulder, "Cut down your curses or see what I do!"

Cameron pursed his swollen lips. He didn't want to get into a fight with him. He had seen what he had done to James. He wouldn't be able to fight the big man especially when he knew the outcome all too well. 

"Follow me," Santiago ordered Cameron. 

Cameron wanted to protest but seeing the look in Santiago's eyes, he swallowed back all his words. It wasn't good to get in a brawl with him. 

Santiago opened his range rover's door and motioned him to get it. Cameron made a face before going in but in actuality, he was eyeing this black beauty. Even Santiago could see appreciation for his black beauty in his eyes. He stifled a smile and sat in the driver's seat. 

"Do you think sulking like a teenager will get you out of trouble?" Santiago asked, his eyes still on the road. Even at night, traffic was tight. 

"I'm a teenager," Cameron said in an angry growl. 

"Oh, you were aware of it?" Santiago asked, feigning innocence. 

"What the fuck do you want to say? Why beat around the bush? Just say what you want to! But do remember one thing that a stranger like you has no right to unnecessary advice me." Did this big and scary man think he could scare him? Well, Cameron wasn't one to get scared of him. 

Yes, he was a bit intimidated… 

Santiago parked the car in the driveway. He gripped Cameron's chin with his index and middle finger. "Do you know who James Simon was? He was Alessandro Marino's doctor on his payroll. He stitches up the guys who can't go to the hospital to protect their asses from the police. Do you know what kind of connections he might have? This is New York. And that restaurant was in Marino Territory. Even if they had killed you tonight, no one would have bothered to file a police complaint. Do you know why? Because Alessandro fucking Marino, your lovely Percy's dad rules the territory. He is a don. And kiddo, he ain't the don you see in movies. He is much more badder than you can imagine." 

Cameron pursed his lips and refrained from making comments. He understood the intensity of his impulsive action now. And how on earth was he supposed to know that Simon had such dangerous connections? 

All he knew was that Simon and Jack were childhood friends. And he 

Santiago removed his finger from his chin and was about to get out of the car when he heard Cameron's soft whisper. 

"He tried to force himself on my sister," Cameron whispered. "He was playing with her emotionally. In the guise of friendship, he didn't unspeakable things behind her back. If I could I would have killed him right there…" 

Santiago's hand clenched in his fist and his jaw tightened but Cameron failed to notice the slight change in demeanour. In the end, he just nodded. "Come, I will tend to your injury." 

What could Cameron say at this moment? He hadn't imagined that this dangerous man with rough edges was capable of producing this soft voice. So, in the end, he too nodded his head. 

Inside, Santiago applied to medicine and bandages on his wounds. He wasn't particularly gentle like a doctor but he tried his best. 

"Where do you live?" Santiago asked him. 

"College dormitory," Cameron answered him. "It's closed now. I will just head to my friend's. He is a local." 

"I have an empty guest room," Santiago offered him. "You can stay the night…"

Cameron looked around at the fancy one storey house and then at the time… It was better to stay the night here...tomorrow he would just head to live with his friend for a few days. 

Thus, in the end, Cameron ended up staying at Santiago's fancy house in New York. 

Moreover, he kind of felt safe in his home. 

...

Santiago was inside his study when he took out an old yellowish half-burnt photograph from his wallet. His fingers softly caressed the happy faces in the picture. A family of four was looking right back at him. 

It was so wonderful, so nostalgic. 

The beautiful and young woman in the picture was his mother. Aspen Vitello. The tall and handsome man was his father, Paolo Vitello. A Sicilian man through and through. He was born in the capital of Maisean. Paolo's father had seen those turbulent times when the country was in grave dip-shit. Santiago's grandfather was a national hero who fought for his country with the late King but was termed a stain on the name of national fighters when he was wrongly accused of something he never did. He left the country heartbroken with his wife and son and settled in the new country. He died soon after but the love that he had for his country didn't die down. In fact, he passed it on to his son, who later passed it down to his own son(Santiago). 

Aspen and Paolo were gifted with a son just after a year of their marriage. They named him Santiago because Aspen, being the romantic she was, met the love of his life in Spain and later named her first son Santiago, to cherish their first meeting. Two years later, they were gifted with a baby girl. And Aspen named her Valencia. 

Everything was going fine in their life but one day, Paolo had to pay for his uprightness and loyalty to his country. He was assigned to arrest a wanted criminal; Lorenzo. 

As if fate couldn't get any worse, Lorenzo already had his eyes set on Paolo as he held the key to Lorenzo's destiny. 

Lorenzo kidnapped Paolo's children but fortunately, Valencia was saved. However, his son wasn't so lucky like his younger sister. 

Santiago was thirteen when he sacrificed himself to protect his sister. He had been dead to the people in the bomb attack where according to the sources, only Valencia survived among fifteen other people. Along with fifteen other people, Santiago was deemed dead. But Paolo knew better than to believe the false information about his son's death. 

Until this day, nobody except for Santiago knew why Lorenzo had kept him alive in that dungeon when he didn't even ask for ransom from his father. He was imprisoned and for the outside world...dead. 

His phone rang and jerked him out of his dreamland. "Vitello."

"We have the information, boss." The voice on the other side said. 

"Report," he said. 

"Cameron Vitello entered the restaurant with the help of the manager. The manager there is his friend's father. He played the old man and got in. Someone deliberately leaked the information to him that Simon would be found there." He paused for a moment before saying," As for Valencia Reynolds… she recently got a restricting order against Simon. And… there has been a guy sending her flowers and cards every day…" 

"How many times have I told you not to intervene in her private life? Keep your boys' nose out of her personal affairs," Santiago said in an angry voice. " Just stay in background….act only when she is in some serious danger… I don't need to know who she meets and what she does… Don't act until you get the orders from me. In short, just protect her from sidelines...." 

"Yes, boss!"