Page 29 of Unwanted Marriage with the Mafia Boss

Is there any humanity left in him? Or has someone irrevocably taken it away from him?

CHAPTER 15

Adriano

I keepmy 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 thatthe 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.”

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