Sold to the Capo-Chapter 114: I SOLD IT

ADRIANA’S POV

Vincenzo raised a brow, a concerned look on his face. "Are you worried?" He asked.

Great to know that it was really obvious. All my previous run ins with Master LaRosa always resulted into one bad thing or another.

The last time, it ended up with me being shot after being kidnapped.

The man was bad news for me and I would rather not have a run in with him again.

"Tesoro" Vincenzo called out, ignoring the fact that his father was probably downstairs.

Something didn’t sit right. Master LaRosa was probably aware that we were upstairs or something but he chose to remain downstairs and...wait?

"Do you think he knows we’re here?" I asked, my voice slightly above a whisper.

Vincenzo shrugged, his expression passive. "Oh he knows" He confirmed.

That alone made me feel more uneasy. "Then why won’t he come upstairs?" I whispered back.

He grabbed my wrist and shrugged. "I guess we’re about to find out" He said, gently tugging me towards the door, watching me for my reaction.

"Let’s go" I finally said, my face set in grim determination. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Vincenzo smiled and he gently led me out of the room, his hand still wrapped around mine as he led me down the stairs.

Trepidation washed over me as I sighted Master LaRosa on the couch, his head tipped back with a cigarette between his lips. He didn’t flinch at our arrival, instead, he removed the cigarette from his lips and let out a puff to blow out the smoke.

"Already let yourself in, I see" Vincenzo said as soon as we came to the mouth of the stairs, the gentle tone he had used with me completely gone now as he stared at his father.

Master LaRosa took another puff of his cigarette before he chuckled darkly, his cold eyes resting on us or more specificallyㅡ meㅡ it was like he had narrowed his gaze on solely me and was more intent on staring me down.

"Same way you let her in?" Master LaRosa asked, taking another puff at his cigarette.

I watched as the smoke curled in the air, twisting in lazy spirals before dispersing. The scent clung to everything—the leather of the couch, the heavy air in the room, even my own skin.

I hated it.

My frown deepened, my fingers unconsciously tightening around Vincenzo’s.

He noticed.

Without missing a beat, he turned to his father. "Put it out."

Master LaRosa barely spared him a glance. "Excuse me?"

Vincenzo’s voice was calm, but unyielding. "She doesn’t like it."

His father scoffed, tapping the ash into the crystal tray beside him. "Since when do I care about what she likes?"

Vincenzo’s grip on my hand tightened. "Since she became my wife and you stepped foot on my property"

"You mean the property I gave you?" Master LaRosa sounded almost amused but he had removed it from his lips.

"Greatest mistake" Vincenzo retorted with a scoff.

A beat of silence.

The air in the room shifted.

Master LaRosa’s expression flickered—so fast that if I wasn’t watching him closely, I might have missed it. It wasn’t surprise, nor anger. It was something far more subtle.

Something almost like discomfort.

Then, with an irritated sigh, he crushed the cigarette into the tray, extinguishing it with slow, deliberate movements.

"I see you’ve become even more sentimental," he muttered, leaning back into the couch. "Calling her ’wife’ like you actually mean it."

Vincenzo’s jaw tightened. "I do."

Master LaRosa furrowed his brows and his beady eyes settled on me again, the simple action making me cringe inwardly. "When did you get back to Sicily?" He asked, tilting his head.

"A few days back, I had something important to share" I said, keeping my voice steady, refusing to show that I was filled with trepidation at what would happen if this failed.

Master LaRosa frowned. "So I heard. Is this going to be shared with me and also, I was bonding quite well with my son over the last few days until you showed up again" He gave me a slow, long, lazy look.

"Shut up" Vincenzo growled.

Master LaRosa shrugged and looked at me with an expression that said ’i told you so’. "See? He’s now more hostile just because he’s back to this distracted version of his. Now I’m back to square one again" The man sighed and leaned back in his chair.

Vincenzo led me to the chair and helped me to sit down, his eyes soft as he looked at me, his voice a whisper. "You okay?" He whispered, nodding to the ashtray that still had a bit of smoke billowing from the ashes. "Need me to take it out?" he asked, voice soft and filled with concern.

I nodded, glancing at the abandoned cigarette tray. "Better, now that that thing is gone."

"Sorry about that, didn’t want to do anything like forcing him out if he refused to put it out"

I laughed, shaking my head. "Tempting, but I’d rather you not start a war over a cigarette."

He hummed, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear. "For you? I’d start a hundred."

I rolled my eyes, but my chest warmed at his words.

Master LaRosa had a scowl on his face as he watched the scene unfold in front of him.

Master LaRosa exhaled sharply, shaking his head. "Disgusting."

I raised a brow. "Excuse me?"

His lips twisted into a sneer as he gestured between me and Vincenzo. "This. Whatever just happened between you two right now irks me. It’s pathetic."

Vincenzo’s expression remained cold. "I suppose you wouldn’t understand certain things, hm?"

Master LaRosa ignored him, instead pinning me with a sharp look. "Why are you back in Italy, Adriana?"

I held his gaze, steady and unflinching. "I was with Grace."

The shift in his demeanor was instant. The amusement vanished. The air turned suffocating almost instantly.

"What did you just say?" His voice dropped into something low and dangerous.

I leaned forward slightly. "I was with Grace."

His fingers twitched against his thigh, like he was resisting the urge to reach for something—probably a weapon by his holster at the belt. "Was she the one who stole my ledger?"

I knew this was a test. A trap, even. But I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of thinking Grace acted alone. That would be implicating her when I was the one who had made her do it.

"Yes and No." My voice was firm. "I asked her to."

For a moment, he didn’t move. Then he let out a slow breath through his nose, tilting his head. "Where is it?"

Vincenzo tensed beside me, knowing that this was the moment of truth.

I folded my hands together on the table. "If I still had it, don’t you think I would’ve brought it back?"

Silence as I expected.

LaRosa narrowed his eyes. "What did you do with my ledger, Adriana?"

I met his gaze head-on. "I sold it."

The room froze.

And then in a single motion, LaRosa was on his feet, a gun already in his hand, aimed directly at me but Vincenzo was faster.

Before his father could even take a step, Vincenzo had his own gun raised, barrel locked on LaRosa’s head.

The tension was suffocating.

I could barely breathe, my heart pounding in my chest as I remained seated.

"Put the gun down," Vincenzo ordered, voice low and lethal.

LaRosa’s eyes flicked between us, calculating. "She’s a threat."

Vincenzo didn’t waver. "She’s my wife."

"She’s a liability."

"Put. it. Down."

For a long, agonizing moment, neither of them moved then, slowly, LaRosa exhaled and lowered his gun, tossing it onto the table with a sharp clatter.

"You’re a fool, Vincenzo," he muttered. "That stupid decision of hers will ruin us ."

Vincenzo scoffed. "Like you’d know anything about loyalty."

LaRosa glared, but didn’t argue. Instead, he straightened his cuffs. "Fine. If you want to defend her, then explain." He jerked his head towards the hallway. "Your study. Now."

Vincenzo nodded, stepping back. "Adriana, wait here."

"I’m the one who’s responsible for what happened, let me take responsibility" I countered, my tone firm.

"No, Tesoro. Not now. I have to get a few things straight with him, just wait here. I promise I’ll brief you on what we spoke about, okay?"

I wanted to argue, but the look of pure murder on Master LaRosa’s face was enough to keep me in check so I simply nodded, watching as they disappeared into the study.

And then I was alone. Minutes felt like hours. I paced. Sat down. Stood back up. My stomach churned as muffled voices came from behind the heavy door.

Then—finally—the door creaked open.

Vincenzo stepped out first, his expression unreadable. LaRosa followed, his movements controlled, but something had shifted in his posture.

Resignation.

He stopped in front of me, his gaze colder than ever. "If this plan of yours fails, Adriana..." He leaned in slightly, his voice a deadly whisper. "I will put a bullet in your head myself."

And then he walked out of the house.