Unwanted Marriage with the Mafia Boss (Mob Boss’s Unexpected Twins Duet #1)

9. Adriano

CHAPTER 9

Adriano

“Something weird happened,” Rocco says, his brow furrowed as he stares at his phone screen.

“What?” I don’t need anything weird now, whatever the fuck that means.

“Um, Matteo. Some of his men slipped through somehow. They went to talk to the people we’re currently negotiating with and those we were about to contact.”

“What the fuck? How did that happen? And they got there through our territory or the Ciprianis’?”

“Ours.” Rocco’s face is serious.

“Now that’s just fucking great! Where are they now? What did they want? Are they trying to buy too or just messing with my plan?” I expected it, especially because Matteo had already been sniffing around, but my men shouldn’t have let it happen.

Matteo and Gennaro must’ve been watching my territory more carefully than everyone thought, and they somehow figured out a way to sneak around without getting seen.

“Actually, they pretended to be reporters and were fishing for information.”

I blink at Rocco. Pretending to be reporters, but why? I thought Gennaro and Matteo would try to get in the middle. Offer more money to people, so I’d have to pay more. Or try to find a way to buy some houses on their own, so they could either try to negotiate with me or take over as much of that area as possible to make mine smaller.

But they have to know I’d go to war with them over it, even if it caught some attention. I’d have to be careful and it would all have to be done as quietly as possible, but it would be doable. Would they try something else to sabotage me? Bring even more attention to that area?

“There’s nothing much they can find out by talking to people.” It’s not like I’ve given anyone any information about what I intend to do. “And they must’ve heard all the rumors. So what then? Are they trying to figure out how many people are willing to go against me? How many aren’t willing to sell?”

“Maybe.” Rocco shrugs. “Like I said, it’s a weird move. They haven’t done any damage yet, and now that we know they slipped through once, we need to up our security so that it doesn’t happen twice. If they planned to do something there, they missed their chance.”

“Or they wanted to show off. Demonstrate that they can get through my territory without a problem. And now they probably know who is more likely to sell. They can send a random lawyer to negotiate their own deal and we won’t know about it until it’s too late. While we’re busy looking for holes and upping our security, they could be plotting something else. They don’t even need to go anywhere anymore.”

“But they could’ve done that without breaching our territory and letting you know that they’re up to something.”

“It’s Gennaro. He’s... He’s like that. Sometimes he does things that no one else would. It’s probably some kind of weird challenge in his head. He wants me to know they’re about to do something, and he wants me to make a move.”

“Even if it ruins his plan?” Rocco frowns. “Even if he’s risking war?”

“Yeah. Maybe all he wants is to pit Matteo and me against each other. Force us into a war.”

After all, that’s what Gennaro was always doing when I lived with him and Matteo. Maybe he misses it, or he thinks I’ve become too much of a threat. Whatever happens, I won’t let them steal or stop my project.

“But why now?” Rocco asks.

I shrug. “Maybe he thinks Matteo and I are both ready to face each other, but I don’t have time for that. Watch the borders of our territory more closely and offer more money to those who are on the verge of selling but haven’t made up their mind.” I hate wasting money, and if people hear I’m now offering more, they’ll try to bargain.

But I don’t want Gennaro or Matteo to get to those people first. Maybe that’s not their plan, but I can’t be sure.

“What about Paradossi and the rest like him?”

I meet Rocco’s gaze. “Where’s that contract he signed?”

“Right here.” Rocco looks through some papers on the desk and offers me the contract.

I find the page with the fine print and smile. “He’s not going to be a problem anymore. We’re going to pay him a visit. Tonight. If he doesn’t want to lose his precious daughter, he’ll sell everything to me for an acceptable price. And then he’ll have to be the one to convince his idiot neighbors to sell before they all lose their heads.”

“What if someone talks? What if Matteo’s men really collect some stories and publish them?”

“No one’s going to believe them. It’s all just rumors, and they’ll all sign perfectly legal contracts and I’ll pay them a fair price. Then everyone will think they heard of those who got more money and have regrets because they didn’t ask for more or try to bargain. And we’ll come up with some lies about the neighborhood. The water being unclean or something, and if Paradossi is the one to tell those stories, they’ll believe him. Even if they find out that’s not true later, who cares? It’s their own fault for believing their friend.”

“What if Paradossi refuses?”

“He won’t, and if he does or anyone else causes a problem that I can’t easily resolve, I’ll just burn everything to the ground.” If I can’t have it, no one else can. I don’t give a fuck.

“I’ll get everything ready then,” Rocco says.

I place the contract on the desk and look through the window. I haven’t seen Gennaro and Matteo in person since I ended up in juvie. No one came to visit me, and they’ve never tried to contact me.

At first I thought they didn’t want to deal with the cops or risk getting close. Then I thought Gennaro was furious with me for getting arrested for a completely stupid thing Matteo and I had done, and the lack of contact was to punish me and teach me a lesson.

But when I got out, any number I called was disconnected. I was all on my own on the streets until I realized Gennaro had forgotten to cancel my bank account. There was even more money in it than I thought there’d be.

It helped me get on my feet and start my own business. With all I learned from Gennaro, I quickly set everything up. Sometimes, I believed it was all a test. I wanted Gennaro to show up and congratulate me for making it on my own and for not wasting his money.

But that never happened. Has Gennaro really forgotten about that bank account? Was that his parting gift to me? I don’t know. He must’ve been disappointed in me, and who knows what Matteo told him about what happened on the night I was arrested.

I took a risk for Matteo and helped him get away, but he clearly didn’t appreciate any of it. Maybe I should’ve dragged him to juvie with me, but that’s not who I am. Gennaro did a lot for me, and I’ll forever be grateful to him for that.

But if he thinks anything that happened in the past will affect our current relationship, he’s wrong. I’m on my own, just like I’ve always been. Matteo thinks he’s better than me because he’s a real Gaviani, but he’s wrong.

And whatever game Gennaro is playing, I don’t care. I’m going to beat him at it. Whether they like it or not, they’ve turned me into a true Gaviani, and I won’t mind if I remain the only one.

I pull out my phone and glance at the screen. There haven’t been any alerts about Sunset recently, but it’s for the best. Maybe she’ll be at the club tomorrow night. That would be perfect because I’ll be celebrating my win. And what better way to celebrate than with her sweet body under mine?