Chapter 6
Chapter 6
Camila's True Face
Metal screamed against metal.
The sound exploded across the rain-soaked intersection like a bomb.
Julian's luxury sedan spun sideways as the driver fought desperately to regain control. The car missed the fuel truck by inches before slamming through a concrete traffic barrier.
The airbags deployed with a violent force.
Glass shattered.
Smoke filled the cabin.
Then...
Silence.
"Mr. Rossi!"
The driver coughed violently, blood running down his forehead.
"Sir! Can you hear me?"
Julian blinked.
His ears rang.
Pain shot through his shoulder as he struggled to breathe.
"I'm..."
He winced.
"I'm alright."
Outside, people rushed toward the wrecked vehicle.
Someone shouted for an ambulance.
Another person called the police.
The rain continued pouring over the twisted metal.
Julian's first thought wasn't about the crash.
It was about Elena.
"They'll come after you."
Her warning echoed inside his mind.
She had been right.
This wasn't an accident.
Someone had tried to kill him.
An hour later...
St. Augustine Medical Center.
The emergency physician finished examining Julian.
"You're fortunate."
Julian looked up.
"Fortunate?"
"You have a fractured shoulder and several bruised ribs."
The doctor smiled faintly.
"Another few centimeters and we'd be having a very different conversation."
Julian nodded silently.
His phone buzzed.
Nathan.
His head of corporate security.
"I've already reviewed the vehicle."
Nathan's voice was tense.
"The brake line was cut."
Julian closed his eyes.
"So it wasn't mechanical failure."
"No."
"It was sabotage."
"When?"
"Probably while the car was parked at the hotel."
Julian's grip tightened around the phone.
Someone had been close enough to touch his vehicle.
Close enough to watch him.
Across the city...
Camila sat alone in her luxury apartment.
A television news report played in the background.
"Billionaire Julian Rossi survives serious traffic collision..."
She immediately muted the television.
Her hands trembled as she reached for her phone.
She dialed a number.
The call connected.
"He's alive."
The man on the other end remained silent.
"I told you this was risky."
His voice was cold.
"Risky?"
"You failed."
"I didn't cut the brakes."
"No."
"But you gave us his schedule."
Camila swallowed hard.
"I never agreed to murder."
"You agreed to help."
"I thought..."
She struggled to breathe.
"I thought we'd scare Elena."
The man laughed quietly.
"You still believe this is about Elena?"
Camila's heartbeat quickened.
"What do you mean?"
"It was never about her."
The line went silent for a moment.
Then he spoke again.
"She was only an obstacle."
"And now..."
"So are you."
The call ended.
Camila stared at the dead screen.
For the first time...
She realized she wasn't working with dangerous people.
She was working for monsters.
Three months earlier...
Camila had first met Julian at a charity gala in Milan.
The meeting hadn't been accidental.
A sophisticated older woman had approached her days before.
"You need money."
Camila had laughed bitterly.
"Who doesn't?"
The woman slid a folder across the café table.
Inside were photographs.
Julian Rossi.
Business articles.
Travel schedules.
Public appearances.
"I want you to meet him."
Camila frowned.
"Why me?"
"Because you're exactly his type."
"What happens after I meet him?"
The woman smiled.
"You make him happy."
"And?"
"You keep him distracted."
Camila hesitated.
"That's all?"
The woman nodded.
"For now."
The payment promised inside the envelope was more money than Camila had earned in two years.
She accepted.
At first...
She believed it was nothing more than corporate espionage.
She had no idea she was stepping into a conspiracy.
Present Day.
Camila paced nervously around her apartment.
Every lie she'd told Julian replayed inside her head.
She hadn't fallen in love with him.
Not at first.
He had simply been an assignment.
But over four months...
Things had changed.
Julian was kind.
Respectful.
He never treated her like an accessory.
He listened when she spoke.
He remembered small details.
He had even helped pay for her younger brother's surgery without telling anyone.
She hadn't expected that.
Now...
She had helped people try to kill him.
A loud knock echoed through her apartment.
Three sharp knocks.
She froze.
No one knew where she lived.
Another knock.
Harder this time.
Slowly...
She opened the door.
A man in a dark suit stood outside.
He smiled politely.
"Miss Camila."
She stepped backward.
"How did you—"
"You've been difficult to reach."
"I don't know you."
He calmly walked inside without invitation.
"You don't need to."
He closed the door.
"My employer wants to remind you..."
"...that loyalty is rewarded."
He placed a velvet jewelry box on the table.
Inside rested a diamond bracelet.
Worth a fortune.
Camila stared at it.
"I don't want this."
The man smiled.
"You misunderstand."
"It isn't a gift."
"It's a warning."
Her blood ran cold.
"If you betray us..."
He gently closed the lid.
"...this will be the last beautiful thing you ever receive."
Then he left.
Meanwhile...
Back at the Grand Alcazar Hotel...
Elena forced herself through another shift despite the exhaustion pulling at every muscle in her body.
She hadn't heard about Julian's accident.
Not yet.
She pushed her housekeeping cart toward Suite 1815.
The hallway suddenly blurred.
Her breathing became shallow.
A sharp pain tightened across her abdomen.
"No..."
She gripped the wall.
Not now.
Please...
The room spun.
Maria rushed around the corner.
"Elena!"
She caught her just before she collapsed.
"Call an ambulance!"
Another housekeeper grabbed a phone.
Elena clutched her stomach.
"My baby..."
Maria knelt beside her.
"Stay with me."
"I'm trying."
Tears streamed down Elena's face.
"I can't lose him."
At the hospital...
Julian had just signed his discharge papers when his phone rang again.
It was Maria.
Her voice shook.
"Mr. Rossi..."
Julian immediately recognized her.
"What happened?"
"It's Elena."
His heart stopped.
"Is she alright?"
"She collapsed."
The hallway around Julian seemed to disappear.
"Which hospital?"
Maria gave him the name.
Julian didn't even wait for the elevator.
Ignoring the protests of nurses and doctors, he ran toward the emergency exit.
His injured shoulder screamed with pain.
He didn't care.
As Julian sped toward the maternity hospital...
Another black sedan quietly pulled away from the curb across the street.
Inside sat the same man who had watched Elena's apartment.
He looked at a photograph clipped inside a file.
It showed Elena smiling on her wedding day.
Across her face...
A red X had been drawn.
The man calmly reached into his coat and loaded a suppressor onto a handgun.
Then he started the engine.
This time...
He wasn't planning another accident.
This time...
May you like
He intended to finish the job himself.
End of Chapter 6
