Chapter 3
1108 Words
Camilla's pov
The next morning, the city feels calmer like the air itself knows I’m walking straight into a lion’s den.
Sandra insisted on accompanying me, but I refused.
If I’m going to confront Diego Lopez, I need to walk in with whatever strength I have left.
The Lopez Tower rises like a blade cutting the sky sixty floors of glass and steel. I’ve seen it from afar my entire life, but standing at its entrance now… it feels like standing at the mouth of something hungry.
A security guard steps in front of me the moment I cross the revolving doors.
“Appointment?” he asks, scanning me with the kind of look people reserve for stray pets.
“I’m here to see Diego Lopez,” I say.
“Do you have an appointment?”
“I didn’t know I needed one to reclaim my name,” I snap.
He pauses, eyes narrowing. Before he can respond, a man in a tailored charcoal suit approaches. He looks mid-forties, sharp jaw, sharper expression definitely he's a high-level staff.
“Miss Salvatore?” he asks.
The way he says my name with caution as if he’s unsure whether I’m allowed to have it, makes something inside me burn.
“Yes,” I say tightly. “And I want to speak to Mr. Lopez.”
He studies me for one long, silent moment, then gestures toward the private elevator.
“He’s expecting you.”
My stomach drops.
He knew I’d come.
Of course he did.
The elevator doors close, sealing me inside a world of mirrored glass and soft music that feels like mockery. With each passing floor, my heartbeat gets louder.
When the doors open, I’m greeted by silence.
Then by him.
Diego Lopez stands near a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows, the skyline blazing behind him like a crown of light. He’s dressed in all black, one hand rests in his pocket, the other loosely holding a tablet.
He doesn’t turn immediately.
He doesn’t need to.
His presence fills the room long before he faces me.
“Miss Salvatore,” he says at last, voice smooth and cold. “You took your time.”
Anger rushes through me so fast I almost forget where I am.
“You bought my name.”
Finally, he looks at me.
And God help me his eyes are worse than I imagined.
“I acquired the Salvatore registry,” he corrects. “Your name was included.”
“Don’t pretend this is a business,” I snap. “This is personal. You did this to punish me right?.”
He smiled faintly curving his mouth
“Your father destroyed my family,” he says calmly. “So I bought yours.”
My nails dig into my palms. “My father is no more”
“Consequences,” he replies, “don’t die with the guilty.”
The room tilts. For a moment, rage silences every thought I have.
“What do you want?”
He steps closer close enough that I notice the clean scent of smoke. Close enough that I see the faint shadows of sleepless nights under his eyes.
“I want the Salvatore archive,” he says. “The encrypted files your father left behind.”
I blink.
“My father never….”
“Don’t lie,” he says softly. Almost gently. “I'm smart enough to be lied to ”
I found it hard to breathe
Because he’s right.
My father left something behind files he told me never to touch. Files I never understood.
“You bought my name,” I whisper, “to manipulate me into giving you access to the files?”
“Camilla,” he says “you were never the target. The archive is.”
“And if I refuse?”
“Then you remain… legally nonexistent.”
A chill rips through me.
“You can’t erase me.”
“I already did,” he says quietly. “Unless you decide to cooperate.”
My voice breaks. “You used my father’s sins to trap me.”
“No,” he says, stepping even closer. “I used your father’s sins to reach you.”
Both anger and fear stir inside me.
“And what happens when I’ve given you what you want?” I ask.
His gaze flickers just once.
Then he says the last thing I wanted to hear
“I’ll give you your name back.”
The silence that follows is suffocating.
In that moment, I realize two things:
One…Diego Lopez isn’t just dangerous.
He’s calculated, patient, and terrifyingly certain.
And two…he needs me more than he wants to admit.
I straighten my shoulders. “Fine. But I’m not your pawn.”
He studies me for a while.
“No,” he murmurs. “You’re much more interesting than that.”
His smile widens slowly
“Welcome to the game, Camilla.”
My legs don’t feel like mine as I turn away from him. The room suddenly feels too bright, too sharp, too full of him. His cologne, his scent, and everything.
The elevator doors close behind me, and only then do I breathe. My reflection in the mirrored panel looks pale.
Welcome to the game, Camilla.
I hate how the words replay in my head.
By the time the elevator reaches the lobby, anger has replaced shock. I push through the glass doors and step into the street, the cold wind slapping my cheeks.
Sandra spots me immediately from across the plaza.
She jogs over, curls bouncing, worry etched across her face. “Cam! Oh my God, what happened? What did he say? Did you yell at him? Did he threaten you?”
I try to answer, but I don't know where to start.
“He wants something,” I manage. “Something my father left behind.”
Sandra blinks. “Your father? Cam… what did he want exactly?”
I shake my head, still piecing together the shock. “The archive the encrypted one.” My voice lowers. “He said he’ll give me back my name if I give him access.”
Sandra looks horrified. “That’s blackmail. You can’t just..”
“I know,” I snap, then soften. “I know. But he’s not bluffing, He already erased me.”
Sandra grabs my arm. “Then we’re going to figure this out. We’ll go home, breathe, and…”
She stops.
Her gaze shifts over my shoulder.
“Camilla…”
My heart slams hard as I turn to look where she's looking
And standing across the street, leaning against a black car, watching me, is Diego Lopez.
- Writer
