[BL] The Mafia Boss Wants My Body

Then he called the number Matteo had given them, the one he’d told them to use if anything came up.

Matteo picked up.

"We have it," Charles said, breathless. "Adrian reached out to his sister. They’re dropping him at the location I just sent you. We need someone there now to pick him up."

Matteo didn’t even let him finish the sentence. "I’m already on my way."

The Marcone estate burst into motion.

Within seconds, a three-car convoy tore out of the gates, tires screeching against the pavement as Matteo led the way.

Charles and Frank rushed into their own car and headed for the location.

Maya set off as well, unaware that Matteo’s convoy was already racing toward the same location.

Only after the wheels were in motion did Maya finally call Iris.

"Iris! Adrian called! He’s safe," Maya cried over the phone. "He’s sending a location for us to pick him up. I’m heading there now."

Iris froze, her heart leaping. This was it, the moment she had orchestrated. "Oh, thank God!" she said, her voice thick with rehearsed relief. "I’ll bring my security team. I’ll meet you there. I hope they didn’t hurt him."

She hung up, a triumphant smirk crossing her face. She thought she was about to pull off the ultimate rescue, arriving as the savior while Matteo sat at home. She had no idea that Matteo was already miles ahead, fueled by a silent, murderous rage.

Iris had orchestrated a masterpiece of misdirection. To ensure she arrived first, her men sent a series of shifting coordinates, leading Maya and the others on a wild goose chase from one location to another. Each time they arrived, a new text would flash: Move two miles north. Go to the abandoned warehouse.

Eventually, the final location favored Iris. She and Maya arrived at the drop-off point, a desolate stretch of road, just as a dark van sped away, leaving a slumped, trembling figure on the gravel.

"Adrian!" Maya screamed, sprinting toward her brother.

Adrian was a ghost of himself. Pale, skeletal from days of hunger, and barely able to keep his eyes open, he collapsed into his sister’s arms, sobbing brokenly. Iris was right behind her, playing her part to perfection. She fell to her knees, her face a mask of grief and relief, her voice thick with rehearsed sobs as she signaled her security team to help Adrian up.

Further down the road, Matteo’s three-car convoy came to a stop. He stepped out, his heart pounding, but then he froze.

Ahead, he saw them.

Maya. Iris. The guards gathered around Adrian.

Matteo wanted to roar, to push through the crowd, pull Adrian away, and never let go.

But Adrian’s warning echoed in his mind.

My sister can’t know about us. Not now.

Matteo forced himself to stop.

If he stepped in now, with his men behind him, everything they had kept hidden would be exposed.

He stayed in there, his eyes fixed on Adrian’s weak form.

Charles and Frank arrived moments later, pulling up behind his car. They didn’t have the same restrictions.

They rushed forward, calling out Adrian’s name.

"Adrian... are you okay?" Charles said, reaching him. He leaned in close to Adrian, who was being supported by Iris’s men. "Matteo is here... he’s right over there."

Adrian’s head lifted, his eyes straining against the darkness.

He couldn’t make out a face—only a car... and a still figure beside it.

Distant. Unclear.

But enough.

Something in him shut down.

His gaze turned cold, a wall rising where something softer had been.

The words echoed again.

"He said your life isn’t worth it."

"I want to get out of here," Adrian said. "Now."

He didn’t look toward Matteo again.

To Charles and Frank’s surprise, Adrian didn’t lean on them. Instead, he let Iris’s men lift him into her car.

He was guided into the back seat beside Iris, and the door slammed shut.

Maya stood there for a second, watching him, then turned and walked back to her own car.

A moment later, both cars pulled away, engines roaring as they sped off.

Matteo watched the taillights vanish, a hollow, sick feeling growing in his gut. He didn’t understand. He thought Adrian was hiding the relationship from Maya, but the look Adrian had given the spot where he stood felt like a death sentence.

Charles and Frank left first. Matteo and his men followed shortly after, heading out separately into the night.

Five days passed in a suffocating silence. Adrian went into total seclusion, recovering at his father’s estate under Iris’s watchful "care." His phone was still in Matteo’s possession, but Adrian made no effort to retrieve it or reach out through other means.

When Adrian finally returned to his studio to resume work, he looked like a different person colder and entirely detached.

Matteo reached his breaking point.

That night, he waited outside the studio, bracing himself for the moment Adrian would emerge. He expected many things, relief, desperation, maybe even Adrian running into his arms, but he wasn’t prepared for the sight that met him.

Adrian walked out, but he wasn’t alone. Iris was tucked against his side, their movements synchronized and intimate. They were smiling, and as they reached the sidewalk, Adrian reached down and laced his fingers through hers.

When Adrian spotted Matteo, he looked away.

The sight hit Matteo harder than he expected, but he pushed it down and stepped into their path. "Adrian," he called out.

Adrian didn’t let go of Iris. He didn’t even flinch. He simply turned his head with a slow, agonizing indifference.

"Can we talk?" Matteo asked, his eyes pleading. "Privately."

"About what?" Adrian’s asked, lacking the usual softness Matteo was used to hearing.

"Just... give me a chance to speak to you first," Matteo urged, his desperation starting to show through his composure.

Iris leaned closer, her head resting on Adrian’s shoulder in a nauseating display of affection. "Can we go already?" she whined softly, acting the part of the doting fiancée. "I’m hungry, and we’re going to be late."

Adrian glanced at her, his expression softening, something that made Matteo’s chest tighten. When he looked back at him, his eyes were empty. "I’m sorry, Mr. Marcone. Maybe another time."

Matteo froze. The "Mr. Marcone" felt like a door slamming shut in his face. Every explanation he had prepared, every word of comfort, died in his throat. He stared at Adrian, paralyzed by the sudden, inexplicable ice between them.

As Adrian started to walk away with her, Matteo reached out one last time, his voice rough and breaking. "Rian..."

Adrian spun around instantly. The indifference shattered, replaced by a raw anger. "Don’t," he said, the word trembling with an irritation Matteo didn’t understand. "Don’t ever call me that again."

Matteo fell silent. He said nothing.

Adrian turned away and walked back to Iris.

As they headed toward the car, Iris glanced over her shoulder. She didn’t say a word, but a quiet, satisfied chuckle slipped out. Her eyes said everything her lips didn’t—I told you he was mine.

Adrian climbed into the car beside her, and the engine hummed as they sped away into the night. Matteo stayed where he was, frozen in place...