Sold to the Capo-Chapter 121: BOXED IN

ADRIANA’S POV

My jaw dropped and i stared at him wide eyed.

What the fuck was he doing here?

Don Stephen quickly pulled him inside and shut the door, pulling him by the collar before he pushed him to the wall roughly.

I gasped, wondering what had warranted that. "Don Stephen!" I exclaimed, my tone laced with panic.

He didn’t answer me. If anything, his grip around Michael’s neck tightened. "Bastard. I said I’d help you but I told you to never come over to the casino, didn’t I?!" He barked at Micheal who raised his hands in surrender.

"Wait....I had to" He said. He didn’t look like he was trying to struggle, it was almost like he was just there, accepting his fate but a part of me knew that if he wanted to, he could twist out of Don Stephen’s grip.

Maybe I could too if I tried hard enough.

Don Stephen roughly shoved him, anger clear on his face as he stalked off to the chair where he had stood up from and I quickly rushed to Michael’s side, looking him over. "Are you okay?" I asked concerned, pushing aside the feeling of dread rushing up in my stomach.

I didn’t know if I could trust him, after all he had disappeared off the radar so suddenly and I wasn’t sure if he was working for the Bratva. I trusted him in Costa Rica but after the discovery that Henry was the snitch, I didn’t want to blindly trust Micheal also.

The man adjusted his collar and looked at me, his eyes immediately softened. "I’m fine, you don’t have to worry" He said.

Don Stephen sat by the monitor, his jaw clenched, he was clearly still angry but he didn’t show it so he was more focused on the unmoving dot on the GPS.

Micheal allowed me to lead him to a couch where he sat down on, his gaze fixed on me.

"What are you doing here? Why did you leave the Haven? You know you were needed there" I asked in quick succession.

He sighed, palming himself across the face before he replied to me. "I had to leave. I know I told you to handle it yourself but ....I had something to do here and I can’t go to Don Enzo mansion, where is he?" He sounded like it was urgent.

Why did he want to know about Vincenzo’s location? I wasn’t too accustomed to the world of the mafia in regards to this but somehow I knew that I was not supposed to rat out Vincenzo’s location especially to someone who was not to be trusted.

"Why do you want to know?" I kept my voice level even though my gaze darted to Stephen to make sure he was at least keeping an eye on him but Stephen was more focused on the monitor.

"Look, just tell me. Will you?" His voice upped a notch and I tensed, subtly moving away from him.

Stephen turned around at that and folded his hands across his chest. "Explain what you’re doing here, Micheal" Don Stephen’s tone left no room for argument.

Micheal rubbed a hand over his face, frustration clear as he stood up. "Just fucking tell me, will you?!" He barked at Micheal.

I flinched instantly at that and I stood up, taking a few steps back, my eye quickly darting to the gun on the table while my hand started reaching to my belt where a knife was.

If he tried anything, I would damn the fact that I knew him and I would actually hurt him.

Stephen stood up also, a frown on his face. "I would advice you to leave now" Stephen said, his voice hard.

Micheal must have realized how he sounded because he immediately raised a hand. "Wait....sorry, look I didn’t mean it that waㅡ" He paused as though just looking at the screen that Stephen stood in front of.

"What is that?" He asked, moving closer to it, his brows pinched together.

I stepped back, allowing him to pass without touching me.

"Brunox street?" Micheal asked, his eyes widening. "Who’s there?" He asked in alarm.

I took a hesitant step forward and looked at the unmoving dot. "Hale. Your guard" I replied.

"Shit. Can you reach him?" He asked, looking at me, panic in his gaze.

Frowning, I shook my head. "What’s up?" I asked.

"Is Vincenzo there?" Micheal asked.

I immediately raised my hand. "Wait wait. Where are you coming from?" I asked.

"Not now, Adriana. I’m sorry". He apologized. "Stephen, I need your car, I need to get there now. There’s an exchange today there. I’ve been in Sicily for a while now, that’s how I know before you ask me any questions" He said, his tone urgent.

Stephen hesitated before he sighed. "You come into my casino, breaking my rules then you have the guts to ask if I can give you my car and that without any warning of any kind, what makes you think I’ll give you? You always had guts and that’s why I banned you from coming here so you don’t put me into any trouble and because you said you wanted your daughter safe during her stay here, I allowed that but I made myself clear, didn’t I?" Stephen paused and looked over at me before looking back at Micheal. "What makes you think I’ll give it to you?"

"You answer to Don Enzo, I’m not telling you to help me but if you want to see Don Enzo in one piece, we need to get there and we need to get there now before the exchange" Micheal quickly said.

My eyes widened at that and I pushed the other thoughts from my mind to focus on what the hell he just said. "What’s happening there?" My tone was laced with panic.

Micheal looked at me and shook his head. "Just sit here. I’ll explain when I’m back, huh?"

There was something that Don Stephen had said that stood out to me but right now, my brain could not register it, I was more focused on ’if you want Vincenzo to come back in one piece’

Micheal nodded to Stephen who groaned and looked at me. "Stay right here and don’t move"

Then they were out of the room, going to gods knows where and I just realized how anxious i felt just sitting here, left out of the plan without knowing what was happening to my husband and others.

I sat back at the chair, staring at the dot. When would it move?

Suddenly as though on cue, the dot that meant Vincenzo started blinking and moving again, now back to Lucien’s trail and my heart skipped a beat instantly at the sight.

"Okay, we’re moving again" I muttered reaching out for my phone from beside myself.

I quickly pulled up my contacts and first dialled Hale’s number, it rang twice and I prayed to everything that he would pick up. After two rings, I heard a muffled voice. "Mrs LaRosa" Hale said, his voice muffled like he was keeping his voice low for a reason.

His tone was low, almost whispered. A bad sign.

"Bad time?" I asked, keeping my voice just as hushed.

"No, actually, a really good time," he responded, though there was something tense about the way he said it. "It seems it was a trap, so I had to get out of the car and take refuge in the foliage."

A trap? My stomach twisted at the revelation.

"Can you go further?" I asked, gripping the phone tighter.

A rustling sound came through before he spoke again. "Not without being seen. There are cameras at every corner of the block, and I’m betting they have someone monitoring them. If I move without knowing their blind spots, I’m as good as dead."

I inhaled sharply. "So you’re telling me you’re stuck there?"

"For now, yes," he admitted. "I can see movement near the street—several men. Armed. They’re not just patrolling. They’re waiting for something... or someone."

A transaction.

Michael’s words echoed in my head, his urgency making even more sense now. If there was an exchange happening, this was no small deal.

"How many of them?" I pressed.

"At least six visible from my position, but that’s just what I can see. Two near the alley, one at the entrance, and three closer to the black van parked at the end of the street. There’s another vehicle pulling up, but I can’t make out who’s inside."

Shit.

"Can you access any vantage points?"

"Not without exposing myself. The closest rooftop is two buildings away, and there’s no way I can get up there without stepping into the open."

I clenched my jaw, thinking fast. "What about communication? Any radio chatter?"

"They’re using encrypted earpieces. No outside interference. But I can tell they’re talking because the guy near the van keeps adjusting his mic. Looks like they’re waiting on a cue."

I exhaled, forcing myself to remain calm. "Do you have a clear exit if things go south?"

"South?" He let out a dry chuckle. "Mrs. LaRosa, things already went south the second I got out of that car. I’m boxed in. Only way out is through them or if I wait for them to move first. Problem is, they’re not moving."

I tapped my fingers against my thigh. "And you’re saying you have no visual on Vincenzo?"

Silence. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

A beat passed before he sighed. "No. He’s not here. If he was, we’d already be hearing gunshots or someone begging for their life."

My stomach churned.

He wasn’t there.

Then why the hell was Vincenzo’s car moving?

I pulled my gaze back to the monitor, my breath catching as I saw the dot shifting again, tracing along Lucien’s known trail.

"Someone is using his car," I murmured, more to myself than to Hale.

"What?"

"Vincenzo’s car," I repeated, my pulse picking up. "It’s moving, but if he’s not there, then someone else is driving it."

Hale cursed under his breath. "That’s bad."

"Yeah, no shit," I snapped. "If someone is impersonating him or trying to lead us in the wrong direction—"

"—it means they knew we were tracking him."

I gritted my teeth. "And that means they either want us to follow the car or they want to buy time."

"For what?"

I hesitated before I admitted the possibility aloud. "To kill him."

Hale was quiet for a moment before he spoke, his voice even lower. "If that’s the case, then we need a different plan."

I rubbed a hand over my face. "Right now, I need you to stay put. Don’t make a move unless you’re absolutely sure you can get out alive."

"You think I’m that reckless?"

"You literally just admitted you have no clear exit, Hale," I shot back.

He let out a short laugh, the kind that held no humor. "Fair point."

"Keep me updated," I instructed firmly. "If anything changes, I want to be the first to know."

"Copy that."

I ended the call and set the phone down, my fingers curling into fists. My mind raced through everything I had just learned, piecing together what little information we had.

The exchange was happening. Vincenzo wasn’t there. Someone was driving his car.

And Michael—

My breath hitched.

Michael.

The conversation I had with Stephen replayed in my head, my brain suddenly latching onto something I had overlooked in the moment.

"...because you said you wanted your daughter safe during her stay here..."

I froze.

Daughter?

What the hell was he talking about?