[BL] The Mafia Boss Wants My Body

Tony let out a dry, mocking laugh. "Mat, are you serious? We kidnap people and act like we’re mourning them at their own funerals all the time. It’s called an alibi. She’s checking to see if anyone has found out he’s missing yet. She’s covering her tracks."

"But what’s her goal?" Matteo asked, his pacing becoming more frantic. "If she took him, what does she gain by keeping him hidden?"

"No one knows her goal except her," Tony replied bluntly.

Matteo stood by the window, staring out into the distance, the weight of the unknown pressing down on him. If it wasn’t Iris playing a double game... then who had taken him?

For the first time, the Don had no answer.

The day bled into the next, and the silence from Adrian’s side became a crushing weight on Matteo’s chest. Desperate for a breakthrough, he turned to the Underground, a shadow network that dealt in high-stakes information.

They were ruthless and expensive. But they were the best at finding people who didn’t want to be found.

Matteo handed over every scrap of information, Adrian’s last known location, his phone logs, his family history, his routine. The lead informant studied it briefly before delivering a cold ultimatum.

"Give us twenty-four hours. You’ll have your answer."

As the clock began to tick, Matteo tried to maintain his composure. He went through the motions of his business, but his mind was a battlefield. He kept picturing Adrian in that dark room, terrified and alone, and he might start believing no one was coming for him.

To double his chances, he ordered Tony to run a parallel investigation. Tony was a snake, but he knew how to move through the grass faster than anyone else.

By the next day, the situation had escalated. Adrian’s sister, Maya, had begun her own frantic search. She went to his apartment, but the maid confirmed he hadn’t been home in two nights, something Adrian would never do without calling.

When she went to the studio, the staff could only offer worried glances and no real answers.

Panic began to ripple through Adrian’s entire circle. Maya called Iris, desperate for a lead.

"I haven’t heard from him in days, Maya," Iris said over the phone, her voice thick with concern. "I’ve been calling his office and his phone constantly. No one knows anything... I’m worried sick."

"Try to stay calm, Maya. Keep trying to reach him. If I get through to him, I’ll let you know."

"Alright, Iris. Don’t worry too much. I’ll try to reach his friends and see if they know anything. If I hear something, I’ll let you know also."

Maya then reached out to Frank and Charles, but they could only give her the same grim answer. With no other options left, she finally called their father.

When he picked up, Maya didn’t waste time.

"Father... Adrian is missing," she said, her voice tight with worry. "I’ve checked everywhere, his apartment, his workplace. I’ve asked his friends. No one has seen him for days."

There was a brief silence on the other end.

"I understand," her father said finally, his tone turning serious. "I’ll look into it."

"Please... be quick," Maya said softly.

"I will."

The call ended.

But before the twenty-four hours were even up, the Underground sent their reply.

A single encrypted file appeared on Matteo’s phone. He opened it to find a high-resolution surveillance photo of Iris.

Almost at the same time, Tony walked in, tossing a folder onto the table.

"My sources just confirmed it," Tony said, his voice devoid of emotion. "It’s her. Iris’s men took him."

Matteo stared at the photo of the woman who had spent the last seventy-two hours pretending to be concerned. The cold precision of her deception made his blood run cold.

"Make it make sense," Matteo hissed, his grip tightening around the phone. "She’s been calling the office, acting like a victim for days... while he’s been locked up by her? What kind of game is she playing?"

Matteo didn’t waste another second. He moved with the cold, focused precision of a man who had already declared war. With Tony and his top security detail at his side, he drove straight to Iris’s corporate office.

They waited in the parking lot until Harry signaled that Iris was heading down. As she approached her car, her bodyguard moved ahead to open the door for her, and Matteo stepped out of his car his shadow cutting across the pavement.

"Iris," he called as he approached her.

Iris stopped, her eyes narrowing. She didn’t look scared; she looked annoyed. As Matteo approached, her own bodyguards moved to block his path, but she gave a sharp flick of her wrist. "Let him through."

Matteo walked until he was inches from her, his presence suffocating. "We need to talk about Adrian."

Iris tilted her head, a mockingly innocent expression on her face. "Oh, I assume you’ve been calling him too? I can’t reach him either?" She let out a soft breath. "Matteo... I’m worried sick. I can’t reach him, and I can’t—"

"Cut the crap," Matteo snapped, his eyes turning cold. "I’m not here to play games. I know you have him. Whatever this is, end it. Let him go."

Iris’s expression didn’t change. "I have no idea what you’re talking about. Why would I kidnap the man I’m about to marry? You’re talking nonsense, Matteo. Maybe the pressure is starting to get to you."

When Matteo stepped closer, his jaw tight with the urge to snap, Iris’s bodyguard stepped firmly between them. Matteo stopped, his hands curling into fists. "Fine. If you won’t do this the easy way, I’ll make you do it. You know exactly who I am and what I’m capable of."

Iris didn’t flinch. She stepped toward her car door, looking back at him with a chilling indifference. "I don’t care who you are. I know nothing about Adrian’s disappearance, and I’ve been looking for him just as hard as his family has. Don’t come here again with your baseless accusations."

She slid into the car and slammed the door. As the vehicle peeled away, Matteo stood in the exhaust, a dark, predatory smile slowly spreading across his lips.

"Wow," Tony muttered, leaning against the sedan. "She’s stubborn. I’ll give her that."

"No," Harry said. "She’s beyond stubborn...she’s delusional."

"She wants to play the long game," Matteo said, his voice devoid of emotion. "Let’s go. We need to rethink the strategy if she’s going to be this bold."

Inside her car, Iris’s heart finally began to race. She wasn’t a fool... Matteo wouldn’t have confronted her unless he had something solid.

He must have seen something clear. Something undeniable.

She needed to move faster.

Her goal was simple: destroy the bridge between Adrian and Matteo. She needed Adrian to believe that Matteo was a monster who viewed him as a "disposable asset." If she could make Adrian hate him, she could step in as the savior, the one who truly cared.

She picked up her phone and called the men guarding the safehouse. "How is he?"

"He hasn’t touched the food in two days," the guard replied. "He’s just sitting there."

"Good," Iris said coldly. "Tell him the truth—at least, the version we discussed."

"Yes, ma’am. We understand."

The line went dead.

At the safehouse, the guards opened the door to Adrian’s room. He looked up, his eyes hollow and red-rimmed from lack of sleep.

For a moment, no one spoke.

Then one of the guards stepped inside, leaning casually against the doorframe.

"You’ve been wondering why you’re here, right?" he said.

Adrian didn’t answer. He just stared at him.

The guard spoke. "It’s because of Matteo. We saw how close you were to him lately. We thought you were his prize... that you actually meant something to him."

He paused, then added coldly.

"But we were wrong."

"We just got off the phone with your friend Matteo," one of the guards lied. "We gave him one last chance to trade for your life. You know what he said? He told us to do whatever we want. Said your life isn’t worth the concessions we asked for."

Adrian was silent, his body feeling numb.

"He said he doesn’t care if you live or die," the guard added, watching for a reaction. "He said you were just a distraction he’s tired of dealing with."

"So tell us," one of the guards said, folding his arms. "Who are you going to call to save you?"

A smirk tugged at his lips.

"You only get one call. So... who is it? Choose wisely."

Adrian took a shaky breath, his voice trembling. "That’s what he said?"

The man nodded. "Too bad," he added. "Looks like you chose the wrong person to trust."

Adrian’s hands tightened at his sides. "If I only have one chance... if I can only call one person... then the only man I want to speak to is the same one you say abandoned me."

The guards leaned in slightly.

"Who?" they asked in unison.

"Matteo," Adrian said.

A scoff came immediately.

"Are you deaf?" one of them snapped. "Matteo already said he doesn’t care about you."

Something in Adrian snapped.

The fear in his eyes burned into something else.

"I want to hear it from him!" Adrian shot back, his voice rising. "Call him. Let me speak to him directly. Let him say it to my face... that I mean nothing to him. He is the only one I want to call, so dial the number!"

He shouted. "So call him."

The guards looked at each other, a flicker of hesitation passing between them...