Page 44 of Wanted Twins with the Mafia Boss

CHAPTER 23

Chiara

I caress my stomach, which has gotten really big over the last few weeks. It’s hard to get comfortable, but when I’m in Adriano’s embrace, everything’s better.

We’ve been discussing how we’re going to decorate our house and arrange the furniture. And we’ve bought so many things for our babies that we might need not only an extra room but an extra house.

But as Adriano stares at the ceiling, his smile fades, and I know something’s bothering him. Actually, I think I know exactly what’s up with him.

“You’re thinking about Matteo, aren’t you?” I ask.

“Yeah.” He sighs, turning his gaze to me. “How did you know?”

“Because your eyes always grow darker and a little sad.”

“I thought I could let it go, because as long as he’s not here, everything’s fine. But I also want to know what’s going on with him. If he’s alive or dead. Not knowing is... frustrating.”

“And there haven’t been any sightings of him? No clues about anything?” I’ve been too busy to even ask about Matteo, and maybe something has happened that Adriano doesn’t want to bother me with, but I’d like to know anyway.

“No. Nothing. That’s what worries me. No trace of his men. My men haven’t seen him, and he hasn’t shown up on any cameras. It’s like he disappeared into thin air. Makes me wonder if he’s dead, and if he is and Gennaro wasn’t behind it, then who killed him and why? What if there’s a threat we don’t even know about?”

“But we didn’t find any other suspicious contracts or deals Gennaro made, and all the enemies seem to be the same. If there was someone big enough to threaten us, we would know about them, right?”

“Yeah, but the whole thing is confusing. I just wish I knew. I’m glad he’s not here and attacking us, but I also want to know if something happened to him.”

I catch his hand. “Maybe he decided to leave everything behind and start a life somewhere else.”

“That so wouldn’t be like him, unless there was someone else involved.”

“Does that mean we have to delay our move?”

“No, of course not.” He squeezes my fingers. “Everything’s going according to plan. I’m just on edge because that date is coming closer, and I thought that by now I would know more. That’s all.”

“Okay then.” I can’t wait to move into our new house and return to my neighborhood.

A knock sounds on the door, and Adriano gets to his feet. We’ve been watching TV. When Adriano opens the door, I see Rocco with a letter in his hand. Rocco offers the letter to Adriano, whose eyebrows shoot up.

“What’s this?” Adriano asks.

“Just got it. It’s for you, and the delivery guy said it was very important. I only made sure that it’s safe, so that’s why it’s open. You’ll want to read it right away.” Rocco’s face is serious, so I push myself up so I’m sitting with my back resting against the pillows.

Adriano closes the door and stares at the envelope. It’s actually black. He pulls out a sheet of paper, also black. Incredulity fills his eyes as he reads what’s written onit.

“What is it?” I’m too impatient, and the look on Adriano’s face makes me think it’s something big.

He hands the paper to me. The text is all in white.

“This is the official confirmation that our deal is now fulfilled and your debt repaid.” It’s the first sentence. “You get to keep your territory and everything else, and we keep Matteo. If you ever come looking for him or make a move against us, your precious wife and children will all die and we’ll take everything from you.”

There are two signatures at the bottom. Someone named Petrelli and Matteo.

“Wait, are those the people Gennaro struck that deal with? For that loan?”

Adriano runs his hand over his face. “I guess so, yeah. The money must’ve gone to them, and they took Matteo.”

“The payment in blood that they were talking about.”

“Yeah.”

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