[BL] The Mafia Boss Chapter 66: The Lie That Broke Him

Chapter 66: Chapter 66: The Lie That Broke Him

No one moved. The bodyguards stood still, their faces marked with concern for the man they served. Mark remained where he was, his chest tight as he watched his brother, the uncertainty around Adrian weighing heavily on him.

Down the hall, Tony stayed in his room. Whatever was happening... it wasn’t his concern.

Finally, at 3:00 AM, the weight of exhaustion beca visible. Matteo looked at Mark. "Let

walk you to your room. You need to sleep."

"No," Mark said. "I’m sleeping in your room tonight."

He wasn’t leaving Matteo alone.

Matteo didn’t argue. He dismissed the maids and guards with a tired wave before heading upstairs in silence with Mark. Once inside the suite, Matteo sank onto the sofa, his gaze fixed on nothing.

"Go to bed, Mark," Matteo murmured.

Mark didn’t move. He sat across from him, watching the slight tremor in Matteo’s hands.

Then a tear slipped down Matteo’s cheek. Another followed.

Mark leaned forward, "Teo... calm down," he said softly. "He’s going to be fine. He’s strong."

"You don’t get it," Matteo choked out, his voice breaking.

"I do, I promise—"

"You don’t!" Matteo snapped, his eyes filling with raw grief. "If it were one of us, we’d know the ga. We understand the danger. We wouldn’t be paralyzed by the dark. But Adrian... Mark, he can’t even see in the dark. He’s terrified of it. What if they don’t turn on the lights? He’ll be sitting there, scared out of his mind, regretting the day he ever t a man like ."

Mark tried to speak, but Matteo cut him off, the guilt pouring out of him.

"I tried to keep him safe," Matteo said. "He told ... he warned

not to be late. He said he didn’t want to wait outside for long. If I had just been five minutes earlier, he’d be here."

His voice broke.

"I’m the reason he’s gone. It’s my fault."

Matteo buried his face in his hands, his shoulders shaking.

"Why isn’t anyone calling? I’ll give them everything. The empire... everything I have. They just need to let him go."

Mark stood up and moved beside him, pulling his brother into a steady grip. "It’s okay, Teo. We’re going to find him."

Matteo shook his head slightly. "When?"

Mark hesitated for a second before answering, "By tomorrow... they’ll call."

Matteo didn’t respond.

He couldn’t even rember the last ti he cried, but right now, he couldn’t stop.

Finally, Matteo wiped his eyes and forced himself to breathe. He knew that as long as he stayed like this, Mark wouldn’t rest.

"I’m fine," he said, even though it was a lie. "I’m going to shower and lie down."

He went through the motions before finally climbing into bed. Mark settled on the other side of the bed, watching Matteo until he fell asleep.

Matteo remained still, pretending to be asleep.

Only when he was certain Mark had drifted off did he open his eyes.

He sat up and reached for his phone.

No ssages.

No calls.

He didn’t sleep. Not even for a second.

He kept checking it again and again, but there was still nothing. He didn’t blink for the rest of the night.

As the first gray light of morning began to creep through the curtains, a sudden, sharp thought pierced through his exhaustion.

The CCTV.

Matteo sat up imdiately. Within seconds, he was already out of bed, getting dressed.

The movent woke Mark.

"Teo...?" Mark muttered, sitting up.

"I need to check sothing," Matteo said quickly, not stopping. "I’ll be back."

Mark watched him, still half-awake, but didn’t stop him.

Within minutes, Matteo was out of the house with his n.

They raced back to Adrian’s building.

Matteo’s n went in first, heading straight for the security room to review the CCTV footage.

The guard on duty hesitated, starting to protest about protocols and privacy, but the mont Matteo stepped into the light, his face went pale.

He didn’t argue again.

With shaking hands, he fumbled for the keys and quickly opened the surveillance room.

Matteo leaned over the monitors, his eyes tracking the tistamps. His heart pounded as they reached the mont Adrian stepped out.

Then—

The screen went black.

The footage wasn’t just missing, it had been professionally wiped at that exact mont.

Matteo turned on the guard, his shadow looming in the small room. "Why is this part of the footage wiped? Why isn’t it there?"

"I... I wasn’t the one on shift last night, sir," the man stamred. "The guy who was here... he left this morning. Said he had an ergency and had to see his family in the north."

"Give

his na and his address," Matteo commanded, though he already knew. This wasn’t amateur work, the trail was being scrubbed by soone who knew exactly what they were doing.

As they stepped into the elevator, Matteo’s mind raced. This wasn’t a simple snatch-and-grab. To disable high-end security and pay off guards to flee the city ant this was a calculated strike.

When he returned to the estate, he found Mark and Tony in the living room.

Mark quickly rushed toward him. "Did you get anything?"

Matteo didn’t answer imdiately.

Sothing in his thinking had shifted.

Tony sat on the sofa, his injured arm resting on a pillow. He looked bored, but his sharp eyes followed Matteo’s every move. He hated it when amateurs tried to play a professional ga.

When Matteo explained the missing footage to Mark, Tony listened in silence.

He didn’t like Adrian, but as he pieced everything together, he couldn’t stay quiet.

"If the footage is gone and no one has called you for ransom yet... then this isn’t your war, Matteo," Tony said.

Matteo glared at him. "What are you talking about?"

"Think," Tony challenged. "If one of your rivals had him, they’d be taunting you by now. They’d want concessions, territory, or blood. This is silent. That ans the target isn’t you—it’s Adrian. His father is a politician, isn’t he? Or maybe Adrian has debts you don’t know about. The person who took him wants sothing from him, or they’re using him to get to his family. You’re looking in the wrong direction."

Matteo hated that Tony’s logic made sense. He had been so blinded by his own enemies that he hadn’t considered Adrian’s world. Adrian had a life before him—a family, friends, and a father with his own set of shadows.

"I need to know who he’s been talking to," Matteo said, his mind shifting toward the only people who might know Adrian’s secrets. "Mark... Adrian has friends. Charles and Frank. They knew him before I did."

He turned to Harry, his eyes sharp with a new kind of focus. "Go. Find Charles and Frank. I don’t care where they are or what they’re doing, bring them to . Now."

While Matteo was tearing the city apart, Adrian was trapped in a gilded cage.

The room was large, brightly lit, and comfortable. There was a soft bed, a clean bathroom, and the als they brought him were far better than anything he expected.

But the lack of windows and the heavy, locked door made the comfort feel suffocating.

Without his phone or any way to see outside, Adrian lost track of ti. Minutes stretched into hours, each one filled with a quiet, growing fear.

Suddenly, voices rose from the other side of the door loud and deliberate.

Adrian froze.

Then he moved closer, pressing his ear against the wood, his heart pounding in his throat.

"So that’s it?" one of the n growled, his voice raised just enough to carry through the door. "He actually said that?"

"Word for word," another voice replied. "The great Matteo Marcone doesn’t negotiate for... ’disposable assets.’ He told us to do whatever we want with the boy. Said he isn’t worth the ransom we’re asking for."

Adrian’s breath hitched. It felt like the ground had just disappeared beneath him.

"I can’t believe it," the first man laughed. "What a waste. I thought he’d do anything to keep him, but when it cos down to his money and his pride, he’d rather see the kid dead than pay up. He said his life isn’t worth a cent to him."

"Yeah," the other man added, his voice dripping with mock pity. "He said he’s not going to go out of his way for soone he can easily replace. Told us to just end it if we get bored."

Adrian slumped against the door, his knees giving way. He didn’t hear Matteo’s voice. He only heard the harsh, brutal reality of what these n were saying.

He’s not coming, Adrian thought, a sharp pain spreading through his chest. Everything he said... all those promises, every mont we spent together, the talk about moving in, it was all a lie.

He realized then that in the eyes of a man like Matteo, he wasn’t a partner; he was just another person who could be discarded when the price of keeping him beca too high.

Adrian curled into a ball on the floor.

Are they going to kill ? He asked himself.

The bright lights suddenly felt harsh and cruel, burning into his eyes. A single tear slid down his face, followed by a quiet sob.

He wasn’t scared for his life anymore... he was mourning a love that he now believed had never truly existed...