40. Enzo

Spoiler Warning: This analysis covers events from Chapter 40 of Hexed. It contains major plot revelations. Proceed only if you have read through this point.

Summary

Enzo nurses a hangover in his office, but his mood is buoyant because Venesa is finally his. His assistant Jessica brings Tylenol and coffee, while Gio slips in to deliver a replacement phone—the old one had been tapped by Aria. The conversation quickly shifts to potential payback against Trent Kingston, and Gio’s casual mention of hiring a contract killer triggers a memory: Enzo once asked his father if someone had been contracted to kill his brother Peppino, and Pops brushed the idea aside with unsettling ease. When his father sweeps into the office with an unnecessary cane and commands Gio to leave, Enzo tests him. He reveals that Aria’s uncle is low‑level crook Frankie Bianchi and notes that Aria had also tapped his phone while he was in South Carolina. Pops denies any knowledge of the connection and dismisses Frankie as inconsequential, but Enzo senses the practiced steadiness of a liar. That moment cracks Enzo’s trust, leaving him certain that his father is hiding something—and possibly was involved in the attempt on his own life.

Key Events

Enzo wakes hungover but elated because Venesa spent the night with him.
Gio brings a clean phone, confirming Aria’s surveillance of the old device.
Discussing Trent Kingston leads to talk of contracted hits; Enzo remembers his father’s strange indifference about Peppino’s murder.
Gio teases Enzo about the woman from the fight; Enzo chokes him for a crude remark, revealing deep protectiveness over Venesa.
Enzo’s father enters, dismisses Gio, and takes Enzo’s desk chair.
Enzo informs his father that Aria tapped his phone and that her uncle is Frankie Bianchi.
Pops claims no knowledge of Frankie’s relation to Aria and calls him worthless.
Enzo recognizes his father’s lie, and his worldview shifts dramatically.

Character Development

Enzo: His trust in his father crumbles in real time. The chapter shows him transitioning from filial loyalty to guarded suspicion. He also demonstrates a fierce, almost violent possessiveness over Venesa—choking Gio for a lewd comment—which underscores how deeply she has affected him. His mind works like a detective’s, piecing together old conversations and new evidence.
Pops: Once the figure Enzo emulated, he now reveals an unnerving composure under scrutiny. His cane, which he doesn’t need, becomes a symbol of the extra weapon he keeps at hand—both literally and metaphorically. The lie about Frankie exposes him as a potential orchestrator of past betrayals.
Gio: Remains the loyal right-hand man and comic relief, but his teasing about the woman at the fight sharpens Enzo’s reaction, showing how much Enzo’s priorities have changed.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

The Unreliable Father Figure: Pops was once Enzo’s model of power. Now his deceit calls into question everything he taught Enzo.
Testing Loyalty: Enzo deliberately drops information about Frankie to gauge his father’s reaction, turning a simple conversation into a loyalty test.
The Cost of Trust: The tapped phone and the lie about Frankie are twin betrayals—by Aria and by his own father—that prove trust is a liability in Enzo’s world.
Appearances vs. Reality: Pops’s calm demeanor, his superfluous cane, and his smooth dismissal of Frankie all mask a deeper manipulation. Enzo’s gut tells him the reality is far darker.

Why This Chapter Matters

This is the hinge on which Enzo’s internal conflict swings. Until now, he has been suspicious but still tethered to family loyalty. Seeing his father lie to his face transforms vague unease into active distrust. It sets up the possibility that Pops sanctioned the attack that killed Peppino and nearly killed Enzo, and it forces Enzo to consider that his greatest enemy might share his blood. The chapter also deepens the stakes for Venesa—Enzo’s newfound happiness with her makes the threats around him feel more urgent, because now he has something to protect that is entirely his.

Study Questions and Answers

Why does Enzo suspect his father of lying about Frankie Bianchi?
Enzo notices that Pops’s reaction is too steady and practiced. When Enzo watches “his nostrils flare, but he’s otherwise calm,” the unnatural composure alerts him. Combined with the earlier brush-off about Peppino’s death, Enzo’s intuition tells him his father is not being honest.
What does Gio’s teasing about the woman at the fight reveal about Enzo’s feelings for Venesa?
Enzo’s instantaneous, physical response—choking Gio for a crude remark—shows that Venesa is not a casual fling. He refuses to let anyone speak about her disrespectfully, and his own comment “Yeah, it’s like that” confirms she has become off-limits and deeply important.
How does the discussion about contract killing connect to earlier events in the novel?
Gio’s offhand suggestion that Enzo could “contract it out” to kill Trent Kingston triggers Enzo’s memory of asking his father whether a contract killer had been hired to murder Peppino. Pops’s dismissiveness then, paired with his current lie, plants the seed that Pops may have orchestrated his own sons’ deaths.