The man who bought her name

Camilla’s pov My full name Camilla Salvatore used to mean something. To journalists, it meant my father’s legacy the brilliant scholar, the archivist who spent his life preserving the truth of others while burying his own. To trainees, it meant respect. To me, it was the last thread tying me to a man whose absence feels louder every year. But today, standing in the cold marble hall of the National Identity Bureau, that name meant nothing. “Try it again,” I tell the receptionist, forcing my voice not to betray me. “There must be a mistake somewhere.” The receptionist, a tired woman with gold braids and a tired frown, taps her keyboard again. The screen flashes red. Again. “I’m sorry, miss,” she says softly. “Your name ‘Camilla Salvatore’ is no longer available for renewal.” “No longer available?” I grip hard on the paperwork. “It’s my name. I I … I can't recall changing it.” She shifted her eyes in sympathy “It was purchased.” A strange ringing fills my ears. “Purchased? By who?” She trembles. That’s what scares me most she trembles, as if saying his name might summon him. “By Diego Lopez” My stomach drops. The billionaire. The man with enough power to unmake anyone with a smile on his face. The man whose family, once powerful, was wiped out by a scandal tied to my father. “What do you mean by ' purchased?” I whisper trying to hold my breath “You can’t just buy a person’s name.” “You can,” she sighs. “At least when it’s tied to an identity patent. Mr. Lopez bought the entire Salvatore registry last night.” My heartbeat slams in my chest. This wasn’t a mistake. This was Personal. I gather my papers with shaking hands, barely managing a stiff nod before turning away from the desk. The other people in line stare at me some in curiosity, others in discomfort as I walk out of the building and into the blinding sunlight. The city noise hits me like a wave. Cars honk, Sellers shout, children play chasing each other, lovers display their affection, everywhere seems lively as if my world hasn’t just collapsed. My best friend, Sandra Ortega, sat with her sunglasses pushed up into her curls. When she saw my face, she stood. “What happened? You look like you just saw a ghost,” she asked with concern “I wish it were a ghost,” I say bitterly. “A ghost wouldn’t have bought my name.” Her jaw drops. “Wait….what?” “Diego Lopez,” I spit out. “He bought the Salvatore name. I am legally… no one.” Sandra swears so loudly.. “That man is inhuman. Why would he” She stops. “Oh.” Of course, she knows. Everyone knows. The Duego Lopez feud wasn’t quiet. “Do you think this is about your father?” she asks softly. “It has to be.” I swallow. “My father destroyed his family. So now he’s destroying mine.” Sandra grips my shoulders. “Then go to him. Demand your name back.” The thought alone makes me shiver. Go to Diego Lopez? The man known for turning enemies into ashes? “Cam, you can’t live without a legal identity,” she pestered. “You can’t sign contracts, travel, or work. You can’t even own an apartment…the best thing is to go sort it out with him” I know. God, I know. “I’m not letting him defeat me,” I whisper. “Then go,” she says, revving her scooter. “His tower is fifteen minutes from here.” I drop onto the scooter seat beside her legs trembling. I try breathing. But my lungs failed me. Sandra crouches in front of me. “Tell me everything. Slowly.” I swallow hard. “It started normally. I just needed to renew my name registration. I handed over the forms and….and the system just kept rejecting it. Then the receptionist said my name doesn't exist anymore.” Sandra's face twists. “As if your identity is a username someone forgot to log out of.” “It’s worse,” I whisper. “It didn’t expire. It was stolen.” “Purchased.” Sandra corrects bitterly. “This city is something else.” I bury my face in my hands. “Why my name? Why me?” “Because he’s a power-drunk maniac who cares only about himself?” she offers. But we both know the truth. Diego Lopez doesn’t waste time on useless things. He only acts when he wants something or when he wants someone gone. I lift my head and stare at the sky, the sun too bright against the towering buildings. “He didn’t do this because he wants something from me,” I say, voice cracking. “He did it because he wanted to avenge what my family did to his family.” Sandra sits beside me. “Your father is gone, Camilla. Whatever feud existed should have died with him.” “Too bad, it didn't.” I force a shaky laugh. “Lopez made sure of that.” I stare at the legal papers in my hands. Pages that mean nothing now. Ink that has no authority. My signature, my name. “Do you understand what this means?” I choke out. “If I try to use my ID, it will flag me as ‘identity invalid.’ If I try to withdraw money, the system will freeze. I can’t even buy food.” Hey,” Sandra says quickly, sliding her arm around my shoulders, “you have me. You’re not going to starve or sleep on the streets.” I force a nod but the unease in my stomach remains the same, The world hasn’t changed but my place in it has changed overnight. Without warning. “I feel like I’m disappearing,” I whisper trying to hold back my tears. “Like I’m fading out of my own life.” She squeezes me tighter. “You aren’t disappearing, Cam. Someone is pushing you out. That’s not the same thing.” But the difference feels thin and fragile, like tissue paper stretched over a wound that won’t stop bleeding. A notification suddenly buzzes on my deadened identity bracelet a red alert vibrating against my wrist. IDENTITY STATUS: INVALID. ACCESS DENIED. He didn’t just block my name he removed me from the system.