Chương 7
“See what?”
She looked at the floor.
“My family.”
The answer was not what he expected.
“Your family?”
Camilla nodded.
“My father does not lose.”
Enzo frowned.
“That is a strange thing to say.”
“It is a true thing.”
“No one is that powerful.”
She gave a small, tired smile.
“You still believe that.”
He did not answer.
Because there were moments when he was not sure.
His own success had come from understanding systems.
Businesses.
People.
Contracts.
But families built around wealth and reputation operated differently.
They protected their own rules.
“My father spent thirty years building relationships,” Camilla said.
“He built influence.”
“He built stability.”
“For who?”
The question came quickly.
She looked at him.
For a moment, she looked like she wanted to argue.
Then she stopped.
“For everyone who benefits from it.”
“That is not the same thing.”
“No.”
Her voice became quieter.
“It is not.”
Enzo leaned against the edge of the table.
“Start from the beginning.”
Camilla looked toward the bookshelf.
“I do not know where the beginning is anymore.”
“That is usually how people describe things they avoided for too long.”
She looked at him.
A small flash of anger appeared.
Then disappeared.
“You are very different tonight.”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“I think I was always this person.”
“Then why did you ignore things?”
The question landed because it was the one he had been asking himself.
He looked away.
“Because ignoring something is easier when everyone around you does the same.”
Camilla studied him.
That answer seemed to surprise her.
Maybe because she expected him to defend himself.
Maybe because she recognized the feeling.
“My father has people everywhere,” she said.
“Security.”
“Lawyers.”
“Friends.”
“People who owe him.”
Enzo nodded.
“That is not unusual.”
“No.”
She swallowed.
“But what he does with those people is.”
The room became still.
“What does he do?”
Camilla walked to the window.
Outside, the garden lights reflected against the dark glass.
“He fixes problems.”
“That sounds like a wealthy person’s way of saying he removes consequences.”
Her shoulders lowered slightly.
“Yes.”
The word was almost a whisper.
“He always told me that consequences were for people without resources.”
Enzo felt something cold settle in his stomach.
“And you believed him?”
“I grew up hearing it.”
“That is not an answer.”
She turned around.
“No.”
Her expression changed.
“I did not believe him.”
The admission surprised him.
“Then why follow the same behavior?”
Camilla looked down.
“Because knowing something is wrong does not always mean you know how to stop doing it.”
The sentence was the closest thing to an apology he had heard from her.
It was incomplete.
It did not erase anything.
But it was human.
Enzo remained silent.
Camilla continued.
“The video was not supposed to be used against Adeline.”
“Then why keep it?”
“Because my father likes insurance.”
The word made Enzo uncomfortable.
“Insurance against what?”
“People.”
He stared at her.
She looked embarrassed.
“He collects information.”
“On everyone?”
“Everyone who matters.”
The answer disturbed him.
Not because it was impossible.
Because it was believable.
Powerful people often called surveillance preparation.
They called control protection.
They called fear management.
“What does he have on me?” Enzo asked.
Camilla hesitated.
That was enough.
“Camilla.”
She closed her eyes.
“He has information about your company.”
“What information?”
“I do not know exactly.”
“You do not know?”
“My father does not tell me everything.”
For the first time, Enzo believed her.
Not because he trusted her.
Because fear was difficult to fake for someone who usually performed confidence.
“Why would he collect information about me?”
“Because he knew you would eventually question him.”
The answer bothered Enzo.
Not because it was threatening.
Because it suggested Camilla’s father had predicted this moment.
“You mean he expected this?”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“He expected that one day you would stop being useful.”
The words were harsh.
But Camilla said them like someone repeating something she had heard too many times.
Enzo looked at her.
“You are saying our engagement was business.”
“No.”
She paused.
“Not only business.”
That hurt more than if she had simply admitted it.
Because complicated truths were harder to fight.
Camilla sat down finally.
The confidence in her posture was gone.
“I cared about you.”
Enzo remained standing.
“I believe you did.”
The answer seemed to hurt her.
“But that does not mean you knew how to love someone.”
She looked up.
“You think I do not know that?”
“I think you learned that love was something you could manage.”
Her eyes moved away.
A long silence followed.
The kind that existed when someone heard a truth they had already suspected.
Enzo’s phone vibrated again.
This time it was Michael.
He answered immediately.
“What happened?”
Michael’s voice was tense.
“The security chief admitted he has a copy of the footage.”
Enzo looked at Camilla.
“Why?”
“He claims he was protecting the family.”
“That means nothing.”
“I know.”
Michael paused.
“There is more.”
Enzo waited.
“The footage is not the only thing he has.”
Camilla stood slowly.
She already knew.
Enzo saw it.
“What else?”
Michael continued.
“He has recordings from several incidents inside the house.”
The room became colder.
“Incidents involving who?”
Another pause.
“Mostly staff.”
Enzo looked at Camilla.
She did not look surprised.
That was the answer.
“You knew.”
Camilla’s face tightened.
“I suspected.”
“How long?”
She did not speak.
“How long, Camilla?”
“Months.”
The word came quietly.
Enzo stepped back.
Not because he was afraid.
Because disappointment had physical weight.
“You knew people were being recorded.”
“I did not know where the files were.”
“That is not what I asked.”
Camilla’s eyes filled slightly.
But she did not cry.
That almost made it harder.
“I was scared.”
The admission sat between them.
Not a justification.
Not a defense.
Just the truth.
Enzo looked at her for a long moment.
Then he walked toward the door.
“Where are you going?”
May you like
“To find out what happened in my house.”
“Enzo.”
