THE MAFIA’S CAPTIVE ANGEL

I stared at the man, who was like a second father to me, shocked to see him here. My mind swirls at the possible thoughts of what he might be doing here and how he was connected to Sin for him to be invited to the house.

And more importantly, was he aware of the kind of business that Sin runs?

I continue to stare at him, taking in the series of emotions on his face, from shock to disbelief to fear and worry. But just as quickly as it came, his face went blank and void, looking nothing like the man I knew.

“Sorry I’m late; the traffic was hectic.” He says this, bowing his head slightly to Sin, who gives a nod.

“There is no need to apologize; we were just about to start dinner.” Sin says, ushering him to his seat with a hand.

Uncle Carson nods, walking over to an empty chair beside Samantha, while Luca follows, sits beside him, and dinner commences.

I tried as much as possible not to be bothered by this revelation, but the more I tried to focus on the conversation going around the table, the more I couldn’t keep the nerves in check.

What was he doing here?

Since when was he hand in hand with Sin?

Turning to look at the latter, I notice his gaze on me. His eyes were on me, and he tilted his head to the side before grabbing a hold of my hand and giving it a squeeze. It felt like it was his way of saying not to worry.

The dinner carried on as conversation continued to flow around the table. Lauren and Victoria kept to themselves, occasionally giving me a stink eye. Samantha and Vivienne talk amongst themselves, both trying to bring me into the conversation, causing me to speak when I needed to, while my eyes are trained on the man opposite me, who doesn’t seem bothered by my presence as he laughs and talks freely. Or was he just freakishly good at hiding his emotions?

“I have some matters to discuss in my study; why don’t you spend some time getting to know Vivienne? She seems to like you a lot.” Sin whispered softly in my ear before placing a light peck on my lips as he stood up.

I gave a small nod, watching him and the rest of the men make their way to his office, Uncle Carson trailing behind him, not giving me a second glance.

What the hell was going on?

“Hey, are you okay?”

” what…!” I questioned myself, coming out of my trance as I turned to look at Samantha, who stared down at me with a worried expression.

“Your mind seems to be far away; what’s wrong?” She asked, and I glanced around the dining table, realizing that I was the only one seated and that the rest of the ladies had probably gone to the lounge.

“It’s nothing; I’m just tired.” I gave a small smile, standing to my feet.

“Are you sure, because you have been acting strange for an hour now and hardly even ate anything?”

“I’m not really hungry; you don’t have to worry about me. Honestly, I’m fine. Maybe a bit overwhelmed, but fine.”

She didn’t look convinced but decided not to drag the matter out, which made me let out a sigh.

“If you say so, then, but I want you to know that if you need someone to talk to, just know that I’m here.”

“I know, thanks.” I smiled.

“Okay, then. We better not keep Vivienne waiting; I’m sure the last thing she wants is to be left alone with the likes of Victoria and Laura. Heaven knows that woman can’t stand the sight of them, not that I can blame her. Those two just have a way of making you want to strangle them.”

“You and me both.” I laughed, agreeing with her, as I got up from my seat and we both made our way to the lounge.

♤♤♤♤

Sin’s  Pov We all sat at the dinner table, the conversation flowing through the table, but I couldn’t help but notice how nervous and anxious Mani was.

Her focus never strayed from the man in front of her, and I very well knew the reason why. As much as I didn’t want her to know that her best friend’s father was involved with the mafia, I knew there was no way to avoid them ever meeting since Carson worked for me.

Letting out a sigh, I took a hold of her hand, giving it a squeeze, causing her attention to shift to me, and she let out a smile, one that didn’t reach her eyes.

I raised her hand to my lips, placing a kiss in her palm, before carrying on eating.

I was certain she had many questions swirling in that pretty mind of hers, and she was probably wondering about his involvement with me.

Once we finished up our meals and I gave the men the signal, letting them know it was time to discuss the main reason for the dinner, I turned to Mani and cupped her cheek, bringing her attention back to me.

“I have some matters to discuss in my study; why don’t you spend some time getting to know Vivienne? She seems to like you a lot.” I whispered softly in her ear before placing a light kiss on her lips as I stood, making my way to my study with the men.

We all took our respective seats, going straight to business. Mr. Moreau, Mr. Bianchi, and Mr. Carson were in charge of running some of my legal businesses. Since I couldn’t be everywhere, they were in charge of each company, making sure to run important matters by me before making any decisions. This was the reason for our meeting.

Our discussion carried on for nearly thirty minutes as the trio filled me in on the matters of business.

“That’s about everything.” Carson says, rounding up since he was the last of the three men to give his report.

“I believe we are done for today. We better hurry back to the lounge; we shouldn’t keep our woman waiting.” I said, dismissing them, and they all smiled, except for Carson, who remained rooted in his spot even after the two men left the study.

“What seems to be the problem, Carson?” I ask, sitting back in my chair and crossing my arms, knowing fully well his reason for staying back.

“I’m certain you know very well the reason.” He spat venom, causing me to raise an eyebrow at his boldness.

“I’m afraid I don’t; why don’t you enlighten me then?” I replied, my gaze darkening.Property © of NôvelDrama.Org.

“Yes, we no doubt have an alliance.” He says, “I would have been wrapped up in debt if it weren’t for you, for which I’m no doubt grateful, but her…”

“My involvement with Mani has absolutely nothing to do with you.”

“It fucking does, Sin!” he yells. “She is my daughter’s best friend, and more than that, she is family. She is too kind-hearted and too good to be involved in something as dangerous as this. She won’t fit into the mafia family. She can be easily taken advantage of, Sin. She doesn’t know much about this world, and I’d like to keep it that way. She is way too pure for you; I don’t want someone like you interfering in her life.”

“Like I said, Carson, whatever goes on between Mani and me is none of your fucking business. I can very well take care of her, and I would be damned if I let anything happen to her.”

“How certain are you that you can keep her safe? You have enemies everywhere, Sin. She is not fit for this life; let her go.”

“You have no right to tell me what to do and what not to do; know your place. Have a nice night,” I said, ending the conversation.

Carson let out a defeating sigh before making his way out of the study, and my jaw tickled with my hand clenched in a fist.