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

15. Adriano

CHAPTER 15

Adriano

I keep my gaze on Chiara as Rocco escorts her back to my room. What the fuck was that? She’s so surprisingly naive when it comes to life. I bet her neighbors don’t feel like she does. They’re on Paradossi’s side for now only because they want to get more money out of me.

I know what small communities can be like. They pretend to be nice to you and then gossip behind your back. They want you to think they care about you, but they’d toss you to the sharks if they could benefit from it.

After all, everyone is your friend and family as long as they get something from you. Once that’s gone, you’re on your own. I doubt Chiara’s neighborhood is as awesome as she wants to make it sound to me.

She just wants to keep her house and her family restaurant because she’s afraid of change. She’s afraid of wanting something more. Many people prefer to keep the status quo rather than go after their dreams or try out something else, just because it’s risky.

She could have a bigger and better restaurant somewhere else, and I bet she wouldn’t miss any of her neighbors. But she doesn’t see that. She’s gotten too attached. Too comfortable.

There’s at least one good thing in all this. Obviously, Chiara’s family is the most important thing to her. They are her weakness, and we’ll soon see if she’s her dad’s weakness too. I’ll exploit that weakness to get what I need from them.

After that, I don’t give a fuck what they do and how they rearrange their lives, as long as they’re not a threat to me. Love really ruins everything. Chiara thinks I have a void inside me. That’s ridiculous. Not loving anyone is my advantage, and for people like her, love is an addiction. They just have the weird need to be loved that I don’t understand, or they want a different name for the benefits they receive from the people they claim to love.

I get my phone and order my men to get some cameras. If I want to be sure Chiara is where she’s supposed to be and no one’s touching her, I need to be able to watch her whenever I want.

I can’t be stuck in my apartment all the time. Maybe some time away from her will help me stop thinking about her. She doesn’t really know anything about me, and anything she says doesn’t matter.

“The lines should be working now,” Rocco says. “Paradossi and his wife are on their way home, probably because Chiara isn’t answering her phone. We blocked their calls to the restaurant staff too so they’d come straight home in panic. They should be here in a few hours. Should I form a team to get them?”

“Actually, do you know which road they’re taking?”

Everyone’s wondering where the Paradossis are. The restaurant staff too. I had my men leave a message that the restaurant is closed, but those people are used to getting explanations in person for everything.

Some of them might be lurking around or are worried. If someone sees my men close to the house or catches us there, we’re going to have a problem. People will be paying more attention to anything weird happening or any new people showing up.

If we were in the middle of the tourist season, things would be easier, but we’re not. Going there now is too much of a risk, especially since we’d have to get there right at the time the Paradossis show up.

“Yeah, there’s only one road from the mountains. Why?” Rocco asks.

“Do you have a map?”

He taps the screen of his phone and shows it to me. “They’re somewhere around here. Our drone will be able to spot their car once they’re about here.” He moves his finger over the screen.

“This area.” I point at it. “It’s all trees? No houses or anything?”

Rocco nods. “Nothing.”

“How fast can we get there? In time to intercept them?”

“Um, maybe if we use your chopper and rent a car somewhere in this area over here.” He scrolls down the map. “Do you think we should arrange an accident for them? If they’re dead, everything goes to Chiara and—”

“No. If her parents die, Chiara will lose her mind, and it all takes too long. It’s not what I planned. We snatch them there and take them to my safe house. No worrying about any witnesses.”

“I thought you wanted to bring them here so it would be easier to watch them.”

“It’s better not to keep them all in the same place.” I don’t want anyone to get brave or plot something.

If Paradossi can’t see his daughter in person, he’ll be more desperate to save her and more likely to do whatever I ask of him.

“But that’s a lot of work in a short time span, and I still haven’t checked everyone to make sure there isn’t anyone else like Domenico. We can’t locate his supposed girlfriend either.”

“I’ll take that risk. Send someone trustworthy to get the parents. Have one of our women pretend her car broke down in the middle of nowhere. When they stop to help her, others will come out of hiding and grab them. Use the drone to make sure there are no witnesses.”

I don’t have a lot of women working for me, but I know that those who do can get the job done.

“Why do you think they’ll stop? They’ll be in a hurry to get home.”

“A young girl like their daughter alone in the middle of nowhere with a broken-down car? Yeah, they’ll stop. Trust me.”

“Okay. I’ll set everything up. We don’t have much time.”

I clap him on the shoulder. My plan will work. I just know it.

My phone screen shows the direct feed from the camera in my room, but I’m driving, so I have to keep my eyes off Chiara. Nothing’s happening anyway. Rocco is keeping watch, and she can’t go anywhere while she’s cuffed to the bed.

Her parents are in the basement of my safe house, and I’m on my way there. Some things are better done in person, and I want Paradossi to finally meet me.

As I pass next to a pizzeria, I see a man with two young boys at one of the tables. It reminds me of my life with Gennaro. He used to take Matteo and me for pizza when he was pleased with us or for our birthdays.

Once, he even gave me a gun for my birthday, which was the first and only gift I’d ever gotten. When we were all together at a pizzeria, we had a good time. Gennaro would even be smiling, laughing, and joking.

For an hour or so, we seemed like a normal family. Maybe the kind of seemingly perfect family that Chiara would like to see. It was nice. I used to think Gennaro and Matteo were my family then, but I was wrong.

Matteo was my best friend at one point. One time, he and I got into a fight with some boys after a soccer game. We thought Gennaro would lose his mind, but he looked so proud of us. He took us to a pizzeria as a reward.

But things quickly changed once I was arrested. My so-called family dissolved into ether, just like my friendship and brotherhood with Matteo.

Will Paradossi change his mind about his daughter? I don’t think so, but we’ll see. He doesn’t have any true wealth or power, so he has to satisfy himself with the only thing he can get—love from his family.

As soon as my men open the door to the cell where Paradossi and his wife are, I inwardly groan. Chiara’s parents are a sniveling, crying mess on the floor. It’s beyond pathetic.

“Please let us go!” Paradossi’s gaze lifts to me.

He’s all chained up, so he can only push himself up to his knees.

“Quiet!” My voice booms through the cell. “Do you know who I am?”

“I...” Paradossi mutters.

“Adriano Gaviani. Nice to meet you.” I flash them a smile.

“You...” Chiara’s mother utters, but Paradossi shushes her.

Smart move. She’s irrelevant to me anyway.

“If this is about selling my—” Paradossi starts.

“Yeah, it’s about that, but it’s also about something else. Do you remember a loan you took?” I pull a copy of our contract out of the pocket of my jacket and hand it to him. “Remember this?”

“You... I took a loan from you ?” Surprise fills Paradossi’s eyes.

“Yeah, you did.”

“But I’m paying you back, as we agreed!”

“You are, but there’s also something in the contract that you didn’t quite read, or maybe you did.” I spread my arms. “It’s about your daughter. Go on. Read those tiny letters before the last paragraph.”

“What about Chiara?” her mother asks.

Paradossi stares at the contract. The chains clink as he flips to the last page.

“I agree that my daughter will marry—” His mouth falls open, his eyes going wide. “No, that can’t be!”

“Oh, but it can. You just didn’t read the whole thing, did you? You wanted money. And I’m all for putting money first, but you have to be careful with your contracts and deals you make.”

“But that’s illegal—” Chiara’s mother says.

“Your daughter said the same thing, but you see, the loan wasn’t exactly legal either. And I have your daughter.” I get my phone and turn the screen with the camera feed to them. “She’s mine now. See?”

The mother bursts into tears. Paradossi gapes at me like a fish.

“I’ll give you everything!” he says. “Take the house! Take the restaurant! Take everything, but not my daughter! Please! I’m begging you!”

“I like the way you’re thinking.” I grin and wave over one of my men, who offers a new contract and a pen to Paradossi. “Sign this, and it’s all over.”

“No,” he says. “I only sign once Chiara and my wife are free, or you’ll just kill us all.”

Paradossi isn’t as stupid as he looks. But the more time passes, the more people will be suspicious. Nico also knows the Paradossis were on their way home, and he’ll surely check to make sure everything’s fine.

“All right. You’ll get what you want, but first, you’ll make a lot of calls, and if you utter one wrong word, your precious daughter will suffer. Do you understand?” I need to keep suspicious people at bay.

Paradossi better have excellent acting skills because I don’t want his voice to tremble or give away that something’s wrong.

He bobs his head. “I’ll do it.”

“Give me your wedding ring.” I have a little plan with Chiara.

Releasing her immediately might get me the signatures I want and the Paradossis’ silence, but I’m not willing to let her go just yet.

“Why?”

“Just give it to me.” I need it, and the reason why is none of his business.

Domenico will hate my plan, but that only makes me happier. He should’ve confided in me instead of going behind my back.

Paradossi takes off his ring and gives it to me. Perfect. With a little bit of deception, Chiara will do anything I want her to and she won’t try to run away. That’s exactly what I need for my plan.