Sold to the Capo

ADRIANA'S POV

It had been a week.

A whole goddamn week of nearing throwing myself off a cliff… if I could find one.

Vincenzo was hardly home these days and the air around the mansion seemed tense, Val came to check up on me twice a day and I was left alone to do whatever the fuck I wanted until nighttime when I had to go inside the house.

I can't believe I had a curfew. I wasn't a kid.

Today I was walking down the training grounds with Marcel, was it? The man was a guard that Val had assigned to me a few days back after informing me that I wouldn't be seeing much of Vincenzo in some days.

Good riddance.

"What's this spot for?" I finally worked up the courage to ask Marcel who stopped at a space in the gardens.

"Nothing" His reply was vague and very disinterested, he was simply going through the motions of his whole job and probably wishing it would soon be nighttime so he could leave my sorry ass.

"There are dandelions planted all over. Why leave this place empty" I frowned at him.

The man flexed his fingers reflexively and gave me the best smile he could muster. "I really don't know"

Helpful as usual.

"Marcel" A voice called out from behind us and I turned around to see Henry approaching us.

A small smile spread across my lips as I saw him smile at me before he looked at Marcel who looked grateful at the intrusion.

"Ah, let me relieve you of your duties. Join the others on the west side" Henry ordered.

The man looked more than happy at that, he actually grinned, bowed, and jogged off.

I focused my attention back on Henry. "I haven't seen you around in days. You and… him" I said, peering at him.

They had simply vanished into thin air. "Well there are a lot of things that we had to do and which we're still doing so…" He cleverly dodged the question.

"Ah… I didn't thank you for that day at the mansion. Helping me… thanks" I quickly said with a genuine look of appreciation.

It had been so long since I had fallen into one of those lapses and that day was particularly scary for me, he had pulled me into his arms and comforted me before Vincenzo came.

"Oh well, I understand how it feels, my younger sister used to have ADHD" He shrugged like it was nothing special. "She…" He paused and smiled.

"She was what?" I urged.

"Special" he completed and his eyes turned soft for a brief moment.

I watched him silently, he really loved his sister, and that much was evident. "Where is she now?" I asked softly, hoping I wasn't pushing my luck by asking too many questions.

He cleared his throat, a sad smile creeping up his lips. "She was killed. Mob fight and we were caught in the crossfire. They went after her"

I quickly looked away, cursing myself for asking.

"What?" He chuckled. "No 'I'm sorry for your loss'?" He asked, laughing softly.

I whirred to look at him. "I don't think you'd appreciate it"

A sense of calm washed over him. "You're right… it's generic and a bit annoying to hear"

"Trust me, I can relate… I do sympathize with you though… it's hard" I swallowed back a sob thinking back to my father.

I needed to get my goals straight.

"So I was asking Marcel, what goes here…" I gestured to the garden.

"Ah flowers," He said, a smile back on his face.

"Can I plant daisies?" I quickly asked, my eyes brightening up.

A conflicted look crossed his face and he shook his head. "I don't think so," He said vaguely.

Huffing, I kept walking while he trailed behind me.

"I want to join the training again" I suddenly said as the sound of gunshots from the training ground reached me.

"What for? You are well protected here, aren't you?", He questioned.

There were a lot of things I could say, but the truth would be "Oh, well I need to learn how to fight so that I can find an opening to kill your boss so that I could escape and hightail it to Alaska". That would probably get me under house arrest so I went with the other option.

"I'm his wife" I cringed inwardly and gagged at the way the word rolled off my tongue. "It is expected of the Don's wife to know how to protect herself"

Henry looked extremely uncomfortable under my gaze and he shrugged. "Well, I'm not the one in charge here" We kept walking and I didn't even realize it until we were almost back at the mansion.

"Right, Vincenzo is. You never call him Vincenzo" I suddenly said.

Was I being stupid by discussing this with Henry? Yeah, but he seemed like a really nice person and this was the type of conversation that could not get me into trouble.

"I would not be standing here if I did" he joked but there was a sense of seriousness in his voice.

"Is he really the scariest Don out there in Palermo?" I asked, climbing up the short flight of stairs that led to the mansion's door.

The sun was beginning to dip and I had to get ready for another night alone in the mansion.

"In Italy as a whole but I wouldn't underestimate the others too. There are some that are more dangerous than him but he's by far the most cunning one out there and that puts him at an advantage"

"Who else is more dangerous?" I shuddered at the mere thought of it.

He stopped to mull over something before he spoke again. "There are a lot. You met one of them at the clan meeting the other day, I doubt you would remember him though but if there is anyone you should be scared of…"

He was stalling, waiting for my reaction and I was getting anxious. "Spill it," I said under my breath, my curiosity piqued.

"Master LaRosa," He said finally.

"Who's…" then I paused. Oh.

"His father" He confirmed.

Seeing as I remained silent, he continued. "Stay away from him"

Yeah, like I planned on going anywhere near anyone from his family. I didn't need anyone to tell me that.

"Will Vincenzo be pissed to know that you told me this?", I asked, not wanting him to get into trouble for my sake.

He shook his head. "No, I'll report to him anyway when he comes back in a few hours" He replied nonchalantly.

I didn't register his words at first, I just needed to get out of these clothes and get into the shower for a long befitting bath.

"Good night" He smiled.

I returned it faintly and walked into the mansion, shutting the door behind me and leaning my head back against it.

Stay away from Master LaRosa…

My ears perked up and my eyes widened as I realized what Henry had said a moment ago.

"When he comes back in a few hours" I muttered under my breath.

Few hours. Vincenzo.

Shit. He would come home today.