Chapter 2 – “The Enemy Who Knew Her Name”
The first rule Camila Williams had learned about dangerous men was simple:
They never asked for permission.
They took.
They took attention. They took space. They took whatever they wanted from the world and expected everyone else to move aside.
Lorenzo Moretti was no different.
Except somehow, he had taken the one thing she had spent years protecting.
Her peace.
For three days after the Halcyon Grand Hotel incident, Camila tried to convince herself that the man with blood dripping from his hand and murder in his eyes was nothing more than a strange, terrifying memory.
A powerful stranger.
A mistake.
A moment that would never happen again.
She repeated that every morning while walking into the Sterling & Co. kitchen.
She repeated it while measuring flour.
She repeated it while decorating cakes.
She repeated it while lying awake at two in the morning, staring at her ceiling and remembering the way Lorenzo had looked at her.
Not like she was a woman he wanted.
Like she was a woman he had already decided belonged somewhere in his world.
And that scared her more than anything.
“Camila.”
She looked up from the chocolate mousse she was preparing.
Aiden Gallagher stood across the kitchen island, watching her.
He had been doing that more often lately.
Watching.
Not in the uncomfortable way Lorenzo did.
Aiden watched like he cared.
Like he was trying to understand.
“You’ve been somewhere else all morning,” he said.
Camila forced a smile. “I’m working.”
“You’re aggressively whisking chocolate.”
She looked down.
The mousse was almost ruined.
She sighed.
“Maybe the chocolate offended me.”
Aiden laughed softly.
It was easy.
Normal.
That was what she liked about him.
Aiden belonged to the world Camila understood.
He was the kind of man who brought coffee when someone worked overtime. The kind who remembered birthdays. The kind who knew how to make people laugh without making them feel small.
Lorenzo Moretti belonged to another world.
A world where men carried guns beneath expensive jackets.
A world where one broken glass could silence an entire room.
Aiden stepped closer.
“Can I ask you something?”
Camila immediately became cautious.
“Depends.”
“Are you avoiding me?”
The question surprised her.
She looked at him.
“What?”
“You heard me.”
“Aiden…”
“I asked you to coffee.”
She remembered.
Two days before the Halcyon event.
He had stood beside the pastry station, stealing a strawberry from her bowl while pretending he wasn’t.
“You know,” he had said, “most people would charge extra for this.”
“For stealing?”
“For inspiration.”
“You’re a floor manager, not a food critic.”
“Maybe I’m both.”
She had laughed.
Then he had smiled.
“Coffee tomorrow?”
She had almost said yes.
Almost.
But then everything changed.
Camila placed the whisk down.
“I’m sorry.”
Aiden’s expression shifted.
Not angry.
Just disappointed.
“I knew it.”
“Knew what?”
“That there was someone else.”
Her heart jumped.
“No.”
“Camila.”
“There isn’t.”
He studied her face.
“You’re a terrible liar.”
She almost smiled.
“I’m not lying.”
“Then why do you look guilty?”
Because she was thinking about a man who had no right to occupy her thoughts.
Because she remembered the warmth of Lorenzo’s hand beneath hers.
Because she remembered the terrifying softness in his voice when he told her not to leave alone.
But she couldn’t tell Aiden that.
Not when she barely understood it herself.
“There isn’t anyone,” she repeated.
Aiden nodded slowly.
“Okay.”
But his eyes said he didn’t believe her.
Before Camila could respond, the kitchen door opened.
Everyone stopped.
The Sterling & Co. kitchen was usually chaotic.
Chefs shouted.
Timers beeped.
Servers rushed through.
But suddenly, silence fell.
The reason stood in the doorway.
Lorenzo Moretti.
Camila’s stomach dropped.
He looked completely out of place among stainless steel counters and flour-covered aprons.
Yet somehow, he owned the room.
He wore a black coat over a charcoal suit. His expression was unreadable. Two men stood behind him, both dressed like they were there for business that had nothing to do with desserts.
Aiden immediately stepped between them.
“Can I help you?”
Lorenzo’s eyes moved to him.
The temperature in the room changed.
Camila saw it.
Everyone saw it.
The difference between an ordinary man and a dangerous one.
Aiden was confident.
Lorenzo was lethal.
“I’m here for Camila.”
Her heart stopped.
The entire kitchen turned toward her.
Camila closed her eyes briefly.
Of course.
Of course this would happen.
“A word,” Lorenzo said.
She crossed her arms.
“You could have called.”
“I don’t have your number.”
“That’s because I didn’t give it to you.”
A few workers looked like they wanted to disappear.
Nobody spoke to Lorenzo Moretti that way.
Apparently, Camila did.
Something flickered in his eyes.
Not anger.
Interest.
“I need five minutes.”
“No.”
The answer came immediately.
His eyebrows lifted slightly.
“No?”
“No.”
“Most people don’t tell me no.”
“Then most people need better boundaries.”
A dangerous silence followed.
One of Lorenzo’s men looked almost horrified.
Camila realized she might have just insulted the most feared man in Chicago.
Again.
But Lorenzo only stared at her.
Then, unexpectedly…
He smiled.
A real one.
Small.
Brief.
Almost impossible to notice.
“You’re different.”
“I hear that often.”
“I believe it.”
Aiden looked between them.
Confusion crossed his face.
“Camila?”
She hated the way her name sounded coming from him.
Because suddenly she was aware of two worlds colliding.
The safe world.
And the dangerous one.
Lorenzo noticed Aiden.
Of course he did.
His expression hardened.
“This is him?”
Camila froze.
“What?”
“The man you thought about.”
The kitchen went silent.
Aiden looked confused.
Camila felt heat rush to her face.
“You’re unbelievable.”
Lorenzo stepped closer.
Not enough to threaten.
Enough to remind her who he was.
“Am I wrong?”
“Yes.”
His eyes narrowed.
“Then who is he?”
“That’s none of your business.”
For a moment, something dangerous passed through Lorenzo’s face.
Not anger.
Something worse.
Jealousy.
Camila realized it before he did.
And that frightened her.
Because a man like Lorenzo Moretti should not be jealous.
A man like him should not care.
“You don’t get to walk into my workplace and interrogate me,” she said quietly.
The words landed.
Lorenzo looked at her.
Really looked at her.
And something changed.
The powerful man disappeared for half a second.
Leaving behind someone who looked almost uncertain.
“I’m sorry.”
The room froze.
Nobody expected that.
Least of all Camila.
Lorenzo Moretti apologized.
To her.
“I shouldn’t have come here like this,” he said.
His voice lowered.
“I wanted to see if you were okay.”
Camila blinked.
“Why?”
The question seemed to surprise him.
Because he didn’t have an answer.
Finally, he said:
“Because after you touched my hand, I realized something.”
She waited.
“I didn’t want anyone else’s hands near my wounds.”
Her breath caught.
That was not what she expected.
Not from him.
Not from a man like him.
Before she could respond, one of his men suddenly moved.
“Boss.”
The tone changed everything.
Lorenzo turned.
The man whispered something.
Camila couldn’t hear the words.
But she saw Lorenzo’s expression transform.
Cold.
Controlled.
Dangerous.
“What happened?”
The man glanced at Camila.
Then away.
“Someone leaked the information.”
“What information?”
Lorenzo’s jaw tightened.
“The woman.”
Camila’s blood went cold.
“What woman?”
The man looked uncomfortable.
Lorenzo looked at her.
And for the first time since she met him…
She saw fear in his eyes.
Not for himself.
For her.
“Camila,” he said.
Her name sounded like a warning.
“What?”
“You need to listen carefully.”
The room seemed to disappear.
“You are no longer invisible.”
She frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“It means someone knows about you.”
A chill ran down her spine.
“Who?”
Lorenzo stepped closer.
His voice became dangerously quiet.
“My enemies.”
The words settled heavily.
Camila laughed nervously.
Because the alternative was accepting the truth.
“You’re saying your enemies are interested in me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
His eyes locked onto hers.
“Because they know you matter to me.”
Silence.
Aiden stared.
The kitchen staff froze.
Camila felt like the floor had shifted beneath her.
“Lorenzo…”
“I’m not asking you to trust me.”
“Good.”
“I’m asking you to survive.”
She hated that his words frightened her.
She hated that part of her believed him.
Because men like Lorenzo Moretti didn’t walk into kitchens to make dramatic speeches.
They came because something was wrong.
And something was very wrong.
Her phone rang.
Everyone looked toward it.
Camila reached into her pocket.
Unknown number.
She hesitated.
Lorenzo’s expression changed immediately.
“Don’t answer.”
Her fingers tightened around the phone.
“It could be work.”
“No.”
“How do you know?”
His eyes became darker.
“Because your workplace calls from registered numbers.”
The phone continued ringing.
Everyone watched.
Finally, it stopped.
A second later…
A message appeared.
Camila opened it before Lorenzo could stop her.
Her face went pale.
“What?”
Aiden stepped closer.
“Camila?”
She couldn’t speak.
Lorenzo took the phone gently from her hand.
His expression became empty.
Too empty.
“What does it say?” Camila whispered.
He didn’t answer.
“Lorenzo.”
Slowly, he turned the screen toward her.
Three words.
Three terrifying words.
WE KNOW YOUR NAME.
Below it was a photograph.
Not from tonight.
Not from the hotel.
A picture taken yesterday.
Of Camila leaving her apartment.
Her blood turned cold.
Someone had been watching her.
For how long?
Lorenzo looked at the picture.
Then at her.
And when he spoke, his voice was no longer the voice of a powerful man.
It was the voice of someone preparing for war.
“From this moment forward, you do not go anywhere alone.”
Camila swallowed.
“I don’t need a bodyguard.”
“You do.”
“I can take care of myself.”
“I know.”
His answer surprised her.
He stepped closer.
“That’s why I’m afraid.”
For the first time, Camila saw past the rumors.
Past the fear.
Past the legend of Lorenzo Moretti.
She saw a man who had built an empire on never caring.
And somehow…
She had become the one thing he could lose.
Outside the kitchen windows, dark clouds gathered over Chicago.
The storm was coming.
And Camila Williams had just stepped into the center of it.
May you like
Because someone had declared war on Lorenzo Moretti.
And they had chosen her as the battlefield.
