Sold to the Capo-Chapter 89: SIGNS OF A CLASH

VINCENZO’S POV

I stared at the letter in my hand, wanting so badly to tear it up and watch it blow away the pieces of paper into oblivion but instead I stared at it thoroughly, reading through it for what felt like eternity.

So it was official, the Bratva wanted a fight. Why? Revenge. Technically they wanted just me, I knew that Don Julian wasn’t interested in the rest, he was still pissed about the fact that I hadn’t died in the blast that felt like ages ago and now he wasn’t going to take his time.

Leaving the house would be a hassle, I got a spy who was able to find this out. This letter. I intercepted it before it could get to whoever Julian was reaching out to here.

Lord Rossi.

Still him.

They were working together.

I plaged the paper on the beside table, casting it a sidelong glance before I pulled out a packet of cigarettes from the drawers, holding a stick of cigarette between my finger, using my other hand to fumble for the lighter in the drawer.

As I raised the lighter to the cigarette now between my lips, I paused, my gaze flicking up to rest on the wall as I recalled Adriana’s disgusted face the last time she caught me smoking.

She wasn’t here anyways.

Damn it.

I frowned, annoyed by what I was about to do and I removed the cigarette from my lips, dumping it to the table before I leaned against the table, my hands gripping the sides tightly as a groan escaped my lips.

Shit. I needed to get my shit together.

I had already spoken to Salvatore and Michael and I knew that everything was fine over there. I knew that Val would have questions as to why I had sent Adriana to Costa Rica.

Salvatore was a suspect, she would wonder why I’d send Adriana there to him and leave the haven in charge of him when I didn’t trust him.

Pretty damn good question at that.

Moonlight shone through the window blinds and I raised my gaze to look at the full moon, a small smile on my lips. I wasn’t scared of death, I had my people to protect, the only reason that the other Mafia dons were siding with me was because if Julian ever got a hold of my position, they would all be doomed. The LaRosa Family ran Sicily after all.

My phone beeped and I looked back at it lying on the bed before I went to grab it, my second hand tucked into my pockets as I picked the call after a second of hesitation.

It was my father.

I didn’t speak at first, I waited for him to talk first.

"I’m hearing things" He said over the phone, his voice deep and husky.

That’s it. No form of greetings or any thing, just straight to the point.

I stared out the window, the moonlight casting a silvery glow over my desk. My father’s voice over the phone was cold and detached, as always. He never wasted time on pleasantries. This was the first time we were speaking after I had shot him, was he calling to add to the drama in my life already?

"What things are you hearing, Master LaRosa?" I asked, sitting on the chair by the table and leaning back against the chair, phone pressed to my ear.

"Things about the Bratva moving against the family, things you should have told me without me having to find out from my man. Things you should have handled already." His tone was sharp, accusatory.

I clenched my jaw, gripping the phone tighter. "I intercepted their plans. That’s why I’m still breathing and why Sicily hasn’t been turned into Julian’s playground. I’m working on it."

"Working on it," he repeated, his voice dripping with disdain. "Your hesitation is going to get you killed, Vincenzo. Maybe that’s what you want. Or maybe it’s that girl clouding your judgment."

I froze, my free hand curling into a fist. "Adriana has nothing to do with this."

"Doesn’t she?" he countered. "She’s probably with you right now, she’s the reason you were ready to kill me just a while ago. She is the reason for all this, she’s making you go against your family, her family is the enemy here."

"Wrong, I’ve wanted to kill you for a long time. Adriana didn’t need to do anything, you did it all by yourself. You should be glad I have enough on my plate and I wasn’t ready to cause an internal war" I shot back.

"I should have never made you Don" my father echoed. "After this, I’ll have to rethink that decision, Ravolo will take over. You’ve always been too soft, Vincenzo. That’s your mother in you."

The mention of my mother was like a knife to the gut. I gritted my teeth. "Are you done?"

"Not quite," he said. "You need to make a move against Julian. He won’t stop at just plotting. He’s waiting for you to slip, and when you do, he’ll bury you. Don’t let that happen."

"I’m not planning to," I said sharply. "I’ll handle it. Like I always do."

There was a long pause on the other end of the line before my father spoke again, his voice quieter but no less stern. "I’m stepping in myself because I will not watch my empire crumble because of your insolence, Vincenzo. You’re a LaRosa. Act like it."

The call ended before I could respond and I threw the phone to my bed angrily.

Damn it!

Running a hand through my already messy hair, I sighed, my mind a whirlwind of troubling thoughts that threatened to give me a headache.

A sharp knock at the door broke through my thoughts.

"Come in," I called, straightening.

Marco stepped inside, his usual stoic expression in place. "Sorry for barging into your house, I took permission from Val to come here. Boss, we’ve got a situation."

"Of course we do," I muttered, grabbing my jacket. "What is it now?"

"One of our informants on Julian’s side sent word. They’ve spotted movement near the eastern docks. A shipment’s coming in tonight—guns, most likely. It’s his doing. We think they’re planning on attacking Dmitri’s mansion."

I frowned, my mind already racing. The eastern docks was a popular place for shipping dangerous stuff. If he was moving guns, it meant he was gearing up for something big.

"Get a team together, inform Dmitri that Julian is coming for him too," I said. "I want eyes on that shipment and on anyone handling it. If Rossi’s there, I want to know."

As Marco turned to leave, I called after him. "Make sure security at the house is tight before we leave. Justin goes with us, tell him to bring Kevin and Gio. I don’t want any surprises."

"Understood."

An hour later, I was standing on the rooftop of a nearby warehouse, overlooking the docks. The cold night air bit at my skin, but I barely felt it. My eyes were trained on the activity below, where men were unloading crates from a cargo ship.

Marco stood beside me, a pair of binoculars in hand. "Looks like rifles," he said, his voice low. "High-grade, too. Rossi’s not messing around."

I nodded, my jaw tightening. "We need to shut this down before it gets out of hand."

Before I could give the order, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out, half-expecting another call from my father. But it wasn’t. It was Salvatore.

I answered quickly. "What is it?"

"How’s it going?"

"I’m on it" I said vaguely, not wanting to divulge too much information to him.

"Adriana’s safe. Thought I should let you know. She’s gone to bed and I’m going to give her a burner phone to contact you with"

"Just make sure she stays safe and don’t give her a burner phone, let her lay low," I snapped. "That’s your job, Salvatore. Don’t let me regret sending her to you."

He was silent for a moment before replying. "You still care about her, don’t you?"

"More than I should," I admitted quietly.

Salvatore sighed. "I’ll do what I can. But you need to figure out what you’re going to tell her when she finds out the Michael"

I ended the call without responding, my chest tight.

"Boss," Marco said, pulling me out of my thoughts. "What’s the plan?"

I shoved my phone back into my pocket and turned to him. "We take the shipment. I want every crate confiscated and every man arrested. No loose ends."

Marco nodded, a grim smile on his face. "Understood."

The operation went off without a hitch. By the time we were done, the shipment was secured, and Rossi’s men were in custody. But I didn’t have the time to interrogate them.

Once more, Henry was a bit annoyed that we had left him out of the plan but I needed to keep an eye on Justin more than him. Justin had been making weird phone calls lately and I couldn’t track any of them.

As soon as I got back to the mansion in the early hours of the morning, I poured myself a glass of whiskey and sank into the armchair in my study, staring at the flickering fire in the fireplace. My thoughts kept drifting back to her—to the way she used to look at me like I was an enigma, a puzzle that she couldn’t put together.

Now, I wasn’t sure if she’d ever look at me like that again.

She would taste freedom in the haven and realize that she never wanted to be with me.

The truth was, I wasn’t afraid of Julian or Rossi or even death. What scared me was the idea of losing Adriana for good.

But maybe I already had.