Sold to the Capo-Chapter 116: A DEAL

ADRIANA’S POV

"Don Vincenzo" A man in a black crisp suit walked into the room, his eyes darting to me for a brief moment before he focused back on Vincenzo who was standing a few feet away, his hands in his pockets.

"Welcome, Don Luca" Vincenzo pulled out a hand from his pocket so he could gesture to the couch. "Sit" He said, his tone serious.

I had seen several versions of Vincenzo and right now, I was seeing the side of him that I had known at the beginning. However when he was walking back to the couch to sit opposite with the man, he looked at me and his gaze softened, a small smile on his face making his eyes lighten.

"Come sit with me" He said out loud gesturing to the couch where he was heading to.

The only reason why I was here, downstairs was because I wanted to know the outcome of the meeting but I had absolutely no intention to actually sit down to be a part of it, I had just intended to sit a few feet away, just enough to listen to know what type of plan they would come up with but here he was, offering to let me come sit with him.

The last time that I had followed him for a meeting, it had ended up with me screaming while a dead body lay at my feet, the crimson carpet soaked with the man’s blood and while I didn’t feel bad for the man’s death, I also knew that he totally deserved it but at the time, I wasn’t too exposed to stuff like this but now I was more exposed to things.

"I think I’m fine here" I raised my hand with a stiff smile on my face as I noticed the man staring at me like I wasn’t supposed to be here.

Vincenzo gave me a tight look. "Come here" His tone left no room for argument so I stood up and walked to him, rolling my eyes discreetly at him as I sat down beside him.

"You’re early" I said to the man who had crossed his legs, his eyes fixed on me, gauging me as always.

"Ah yes, I was hoping that I could talk to the Don alone" He forced a smile that was far from genuine.

I looked at Vincenzo who looked totally bored already. "You can go ahead, don’t mind me" I gave the man a tight-lipped smile.

The man opened his mouth to talk again but then the door opened again and the moment was ruined.

The guests were beginning to arrive.

Slowly they filed in one after the door, each with their own grim expression as they bowed to Vincenzo and exchanged reluctant greetings before sitting around the couches, some of them sparing me a glance after greeting me while the others simply bowed out of respect before looking back at Vincenzo.

Vincenzo clapped as he stood up to draw attention to himself. "We haven’t been able to hold this due the security measures I had to put in place after we were attacked" He announced to everyone.

A man leaned back in his seat, his brown eyes fixed on Vincenzo. "We’re obviously very curious as to how your mansion was broken into, how did you not see that coming?" He asked.

I looked at Vincenzo, I also wanted to know. I had asked him about Henry a while ago but he seemed more intent on avoiding the topic and a part of me wondered if Henry had anything to do with it.

He couldn’t right? He was so nice and...

"We had a... an informant in our ranks and we have gotten rid of the spy and let this be a warning to check your ranks to avoid such mistakes, hm? It’d be a pretty shame to lose one of you" Vincenzo gave a mocking smile.

My brain seemed to short-circuit. He had caught the main snitch and I tried to think of the men who were missing in his ranks but one stood out most. If he had died in the attacks, I would know about it...does that mean...? I refused to complete that statement, refused to believe that Henry was that type of person.

I knew him and he wasn’t the type to do that, was he?

There were so many things confusing me right now. The door was pushed open again and Valentina walked in, her gaze softening slightly as she saw me then hardened again as she turned to the group.

"Master LaRosa is at the gate" She informed, her tone cold.

Vincenzo nodded. "Let him in"

One of the men present gasped slightly. "Master LaRosa?"

Vincenzo looked at the man lazily and shrugged. "Is there a problem with that? He is the owner of the empire" He reminded him.

"We are here to try to look past our differences and come to a decision that will benefit all of us here in Italy, your father is far from a man who can bargain without the use of guns and he’ll end up causing chaos which in this case is not needed in any way" Another man chimed in, his voice raspy.

That was not a lie. He would probably have a grudge with half the people in this room.

I took the opportunity to look around the men who had tense looks on their face as they made sure to stay a few feet away from each other. The man who was here first, Don Luca, was it? He was staring at Vincenzo, his face was far from tense, just calm like nothing was bothering him. He seemed to have more things to talk to Vincenzo about than this. As though he had felt my gaze on him, he looked at me and his lips curved slightly into a small smirk as he stared me down.

"ㅡmake sense... no" The voice of one of the guests rose and that snapped me out of my gaze, making me look back at what was happening.

The door was opened and Master LaRosa walked in, his eyes quickly scanning everyone before he came to sit, not minding the everyone had shut up.

He looked the same as he had left earlier this morning, he looked relaxed, not as tense as he was when I told him about the ledger.

"Let’s get straight to business" Master LaRosa growled, his voice low and dangerous.

The others sighed, clearly not happy with his arrival but Vincenzo didn’t seem to mind the gazes of anyone there.

A man sitting across from us—a middle-aged boss with silver hair and a deep frown—cleared his throat. "We need to talk about our defenses. After what happened to Don Vincenzo’s mansion, it’s clear we’ve all grown too comfortable. The Bratva won’t stop until they have complete control, and we need to make sure we hit them first."

There were murmurs of agreement, but another man, one with sharp, dark eyes, leaned forward. "Attacking now would be foolish. They’re expecting retaliation. The best way to strengthen our position is to reinforce our own strongholds first—"

"That’s exactly what they want." A younger man interjected, shaking his head. "If we wait, they’ll gain the upper hand. We should strike first and strike hard before they regroup."

The discussion quickly spiraled into arguments, voices rising as the men around the room took sides. Some advocated for immediate retaliation, while others insisted on patience and preparation.

Through it all, I could still feel Don Luca’s eyes on me. He wasn’t participating in the chaos of the discussion. Instead, he was watching Vincenzo carefully, as if assessing something. The way he smirked slightly whenever Vincenzo spoke sent a chill down my spine. He knew something.

I forced myself to ignore him and focus on the discussion. It was clear these men had different approaches, but many of their strategies were flawed. Then, one of them proposed an idea so ridiculous that I couldn’t hold my tongue.

"We should split our forces," he suggested. "Half on defense, half on offense. That way, we cover both fronts without exposing our vulnerabilities."

I scoffed. "That’s a terrible plan."

The man—short, stocky, and clearly unused to being questioned—narrowed his eyes at me. "Excuse me?"

"You’re literally setting yourself up for failure. Splitting your forces means neither side will have enough manpower to be effective. The ones on offense will be outnumbered, and the ones on defense won’t have enough strength to hold back a real assault. That’s a death sentence, not a strategy."

There was a beat of silence, and then a few murmurs of agreement from others. The man looked furious. "And what would you suggest, Signorina?"

I met his gaze without hesitation. "We bolster the defenses first, but not just by reinforcing walls and security. We need inside intelligence on the Bratva’s movements before we make a move. The moment we strike, we need to hit their weak points—supply chains, safe houses, and high-value targets—not just their main bases. Weak points matter a lot"

A slow smile crept onto Vincenzo’s lips as he listened to me. LaRosa gave a small nod, seemingly satisfied.

"That’s actually not a bad plan," one of the other men admitted.

"Of course, it’s not," I said, crossing my arms. "I’m not just here to look pretty."

That earned me a few chuckles, but the man I had countered only looked more irritated. I could tell he wanted to snap back, but he didn’t get the chance.

Vincenzo clapped his hands once, drawing everyone’s attention. "Enough. We try to find out more, if you have people who can get in, please do so and report back. We reinforce our defenses, but our priority is gaining intelligence on the Bratva’s movements. Once we have their weaknesses, we’ll strike fast and make sure they don’t get back up."

There were nods of agreement, though some looked reluctant. But no one dared challenge Vincenzo’s authority.

LaRosa stood abruptly. "Good. Then we’re done here."

One by one, the men began to rise, shaking hands and exchanging brief words before leaving the room. I was relieved that LaRosa hadn’t caused a scene, but just as I was about to let my guard down, he turned to Vincenzo.

"I need to see some of the men outside," he said.

Vincenzo nodded, as if already expecting that. "Go ahead."

With that, LaRosa and a few others exited, leaving just me and Vincenzo.

And Don Luca.

He was still sitting calmly, his fingers tapping against the armrest of the couch. The smirk that had been lingering on his lips finally widened as he turned his full attention to Vincenzo.

"You haven’t asked me what I want yet, Don Vincenzo."

Vincenzo didn’t look amused, clearly not liking that the man was still here. "What do you want?"

Luca leaned forward, his voice dropping just enough that it sent a chill down my spine. "I know about the ledger."

The air in the room went still and my breath hitched.

I could feel the shift in Vincenzo’s demeanor, the way his muscles tensed slightly before he leaned back, his expression cold and unreadable.

Luca’s smile widened and he tilted his head back. "I want to make a deal...for my empire"