I Saved the Mafia Boss—Now I'm His Obsession. novel Chapter 18

Madeleine

𓎢𓎠𑄻𑄾𓎠𓎡

“Come on, meet my family…” Adriano said, nodding toward the staircase like it was no big deal.

I gave a small, nervous smile and followed him down, my hand brushing the banister. The second we hit the bottom step, every head in the room turned.

No pressure, right?

It's not like he's my boyfriend and I had come to meet his family.

The woman I’d assumed was his mom stood up. She crossed the floor, but there was warmth in her eyes that made me stop fidgeting with the hem of my skirt.

“So you’re Madeleine,” she said, stopping in front of me with a smile, “I’ve been waiting to meet you. Adriano told me what you did for him, how you looked after him. I’ve wanted to thank you ever since. If you hadn’t saved him that night, I honestly don’t know what I would’ve done. Losing him...” she shook her head gently, “it would’ve broken me.”

I blinked, unsure what to say. I wasn’t used to being thanked for anything, let alone by a family like this.

And somewhere behind me, I could feel Adriano watching.

“I’m Alessia,” the woman said warmly, “Adriano’s aunt.”

She gestured gracefully toward the man sitting at the head of the room, “That’s Salvatore, Adriano’s father.”

I nodded politely, still trying to wrap my head around how casual this all felt.

“And that’s Vincenzo,” she continued, “Claire is his wife,” she added, gesturing to the beautiful blonde woman beside him, who gave me a warm smile and a small wave like we were already girlfriends or something.

“And over there is Silvio, the baby of the family, well, former baby because Aurelia has taken his place now,” Alessia said. Silvio grinned, raising his drink at me, “And that one is Raphael,” she finished, nodding toward the man beside the fireplace, “He is my little trouble maker.”

“Come on,” Alessia said with a gentle touch on my arm, “make yourself at home.”

I smiled, a little unsure but there was no going back now.

Alessia gently guided me toward the center of the room, and Claire stood and crossed the room, hair all shiny and perfect like she’d just walked out of a commercial. She pulled me into a hug before I could react.

“You are so much prettier than I imagined,” she said, pulling back and holding my arms before dragging me down on the couch with her.

Alessia took a seat on the chair near us, crossing her legs elegantly.

I pulled at my skirt nervously, brushing it down again, “Honestly, I thought I was dead for a second or kidnapped. Or, like, kidnapped and dead. I woke up in this blacked-out Dracula room with zero clue where I was. I thought—‘This is it. This is where I get murdered.”

Claire clapped her hands once, “That’s exactly what this place looks like, right? I’ve been telling Vincenzo that for years.”

I laughed, instantly warmer.

Claire had a baby girl in her lap, maybe a year old, with light brown hair and bright blue eyes. Aurelia, they’d called her. She had one fist wrapped around her mom’s necklace and the other smacking the edge of a sippy cup.

“Oh my God, she’s so cute,” I blurted, “Hi, little bean,” I said and in return the little one screamed in excitement.

Alessia laughed from beside us, “We’re a loud bunch, but you’ll get used to it.”

“I like loud,” I said, then immediately flushed. “I mean, not like fire alarm loud, just like... family loud like this. It’s nice. It feels... It reminds me of home.”

“You grew up with a big family?” Claire asked gently, her eyes kind even as Aurelia yanked a chunk of her hair.

“Yes, with my uncle and aunts, and cousins..." I said, feeling my heart drown in my chest, thinking about them.

Aurelia squealed then, flailing like she wanted to fly straight out of her mother’s arms.

“She just wants to cause chaos all the time, nothing else, yesterday she swallowed a button,” Claire muttered.

“She takes after her uncle,” Alessia said, raising a brow in Adriano’s direction.

I turned to glance over my shoulder and he was standing in a circle now with his brothers, talking intensely, like they were planning to murder someone, I couldn’t help but laugh to myself.

I then turned back to Claire and said, “Okay. Who do I have to bribe to hold the baby?”

She didn't even hesitate, just handed Aurelia over like she’d been counting down the seconds. “Bless you. She’s all yours.”

And just like that, the tension in my chest started to loosen. They were kind. Adriano was kind. And his family was shockingly sweet.

I shouldn't have doubted him, I was wrong to brace for the worst just because my life is twisted and dangerous doesn't mean everyone else’s is.

Because here I was holding a baby who smelled like strawberries and formula, surrounded by two sweet women.

It was the safest I’d felt in days.

𓎢𓎠𓎟𖦁‎𓎟𓎠𓎡

Claire told me to stay the night and figure out a safe place to go tomorrow. I took that offer because I didn't want to go back to my apartment, Adriano told me that my neighbor took Flan in, and I know it must be Jason. So, he was safe.

Claire lent me some clothes, comfy sweatpants and a t-shirt that smelled like lavender detergent. It was way better than the stiff skirt I’d worn to the interview.

After I changed and was curled up alone in the guest room, it hit me, I didn’t have my phone. My heart did a little skip, then a trip. Adriano might know where it was.

I mean... I was already on his side of the house. His room, the one I woke up in, was just down the hall.

I peeked out the door, hesitated for maybe half a second, then tiptoed out. I paused in front of his door, took a breath, then knocked twice.

A moment passed and then the door opened.

Adriano stood there, the hallway light catching on the lines of his bare chest. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, just low-slung dark trousers with the button undone.

His hair was tousled, damp like he had just showered and his eyes landed on me. I blinked and forgot why I was there for a second.

He really needed to pull that trouser up a little.

“My phone,” I said quickly, too brightly. “I think I lost it, and I was wondering if maybe you... knew where it went?”

For a second, he didn’t say anything then he stepped back and opened the door wider.

“It’s in your bag. On the coffee table.”

I stepped inside reluctantly. The room still looked the same, dim lighting, dark furniture, everything so masculine but now it smelled like him.

Sure enough, my bag was right there on the coffee table.

“Oh,” I said, crossing the room with a little nervous laugh. “There it is. Hiding in plain sight.”

I reached for the bag, fingers fumbling with the zipper like I suddenly forgot how bags worked. My phone peeked out from under a folded receipt, perfectly unharmed.

I turned around slowly, my fingers tightening around my phone like it could protect me from the heat crawling up my neck.

I had to call Carlos. He was probably wondering where I was... or worse, imagining something awful.

“Thanks,” I said, “I didn’t mean to bug you.”

His gaze dropped briefly to where the hem of Claire’s t-shirt hit high on my thighs. The shirt was oversized, but not that oversized. I crossed my arms without thinking, only to realize that somehow made it worse.

“You’re not bugging me,” he said, “You can come in here anytime you want.”

Something about the way he said it made my stomach do this weird little backflip. I should’ve laughed, made a joke, said something normal. But all I could do was stand there, clutching my phone like it was a lifeline.

You have a boyfriend, Madeleine. Pull it together. Admiring someone else even for a second feels wrong. Don’t be that girl. Carlos trusts you. Be someone who deserves it.

“You okay?” he asked, stepping closer, the muscles in his chest moved with each step, every inch of him carved in golden lamplight.

I nodded, “Yeah. Just... tired, I guess.”

“You’re not scared of me anymore.”

“I never said I was,” I whispered.

He stepped back and smiled, “You should get some sleep,” he said quietly, “Big day tomorrow.”

Right.” I hugged my phone to my chest like it could slow my racing heart, “Goodnight, Adriano. And... thank you. For letting me crash here. And for coming to get me from the hospital.”

He watched me all the way to the door.

“Night, Madeleine.”

I rushed back to the bedroom I was staying in, heart pounding like I was running from something invisible. I shut the door behind me and just stood there, breathing hard, trying to pull myself together.

When I finally looked down at my phone, hope flickered... and died.

No missed calls, not one, not from Carlos. Not from anyone.

Verify captcha to read the contentVerify