Chapter 3: The Enemy Within
Chapter 3: The Enemy Within
The morning arrived quietly.
Too quietly.
Lorenzo Rossi had learned a long time ago that peace was often the most dangerous moment.
Because storms rarely announced themselves.
They simply appeared.
He stood inside his private office, staring through the floor-to-ceiling windows at the city below.
Thousands of people moved through the streets.
Thousands of lives.
Thousands of stories.
But his mind was focused on one.
Karen Miller.
He disliked the fact that she occupied his thoughts.
Not because she was insignificant.
Because she was not.
She had entered his world without fear, without ambition, without calculation.
And that was exactly what made her dangerous.
People always wanted something.
Money.
Influence.
Protection.
Status.
But Karen?
She wanted none of it.
She had looked at Mia and seen a child.
She had looked at him and seen a man.
Not a name.
Not an empire.
A man.
And Lorenzo Rossi had no idea how to handle that.
His assistant, Daniel, entered the room.
“Mr. Rossi.”
Lorenzo did not turn.
“Report.”
Daniel placed a file on the desk.
“The leak is confirmed. Someone accessed confidential acquisition documents.”
“Who?”
“We are tracing it.”
Lorenzo finally looked at him.
“You said that yesterday.”
Daniel remained calm.
“I know.”
A pause.
“But there is something else.”
Lorenzo’s expression hardened.
“What?”
Daniel hesitated.
“The person who accessed the files also searched personal information.”
The room changed instantly.
“Whose information?”
Daniel looked down.
“Miss Karen Miller.”
Silence.
A dangerous silence.
Lorenzo’s fingers tightened around the edge of the desk.
“Why?”
“We don’t know yet.”
Lorenzo walked toward the window again.
The city suddenly felt different.
Smaller.
More threatening.
Because someone had crossed a line.
They had touched something that belonged to him.
Not his company.
Not his wealth.
Her.
“Find everything.”
Daniel nodded.
“About Karen?”
“About everyone involved.”
His voice lowered.
“And Daniel.”
“Yes?”
“If anyone gets close to her…”
He stopped.
He didn’t finish.
He didn’t need to.
Daniel understood.
Karen woke up that morning believing the previous day had been a strange dream.
A billionaire had defended her.
A little girl had trusted her.
She had entered a mansion.
She had seen a completely different side of a man everyone feared.
It felt impossible.
But when she checked her phone, reality returned.
A message from the boutique.
Her position had been restored.
A formal apology was attached.
She stared at the screen.
She should have felt happy.
Instead, she felt uncomfortable.
Because none of this would have happened without Lorenzo.
And she didn’t want her life changed because of someone’s power.
She wanted to earn things herself.
Her phone rang.
Unknown number.
She hesitated.
Then answered.
“Hello?”
No one spoke.
Only silence.
Then a voice.
“Karen Miller.”
Her body immediately became tense.
“Yes?”
“You don’t know me.”
“Who is this?”
A soft laugh.
“That’s exactly the problem.”
The call ended.
Karen stared at the phone.
Her heart beat faster.
It was nothing.
Probably a wrong number.
But a strange feeling remained.
A feeling that something had just begun.
At the Rossi mansion, Lorenzo was already waiting.
Karen had not expected him to send a car.
But he did.
She almost refused.
Almost.
Then she remembered Mia.
That was the only reason she accepted.
When she arrived, Mia immediately ran toward her.
“Karen!”
Karen smiled as the child hugged her.
“Good morning.”
“You came back.”
“Yes.”
Mia looked at Lorenzo.
“Uncle said you might not.”
Karen glanced at him.
“You said that?”
Lorenzo looked slightly uncomfortable.
“I said there was a possibility.”
Mia frowned.
“That means you thought she wouldn’t come.”
Lorenzo looked at his niece.
A billionaire CEO.
A man who negotiated million-dollar deals.
Defeated by a child’s disappointed expression.
“I was wrong.”
Mia smiled.
“Good.”
Karen laughed softly.
“You’re very strict with him.”
“She needs to be.”
Lorenzo answered.
Karen looked at him.
The response surprised her.
He didn’t sound annoyed.
He sounded grateful.
Later, while Mia played in the garden, Karen noticed Lorenzo watching from a distance.
“You worry about her constantly.”
“Yes.”
“No hesitation?”
“No.”
Karen smiled.
“That’s rare.”
“What?”
“Someone admitting they care.”
His eyes shifted toward her.
“Caring is a weakness in my world.”
Karen became serious.
“Maybe your world is the problem.”
The sentence was simple.
But Lorenzo looked at her carefully.
Most people avoided challenging him.
Karen walked directly into difficult conversations.
And somehow…
He respected it.
“You always speak like this?”
“Like what?”
“Like you’re not afraid.”
Karen looked away.
“I am afraid.”
That answer surprised him.
“You are?”
“Yes.”
“Of what?”
She was silent.
Then:
“Of becoming someone who stops caring.”
For a moment, Lorenzo forgot how to respond.
Because he understood.
More than anyone.
The peaceful moment ended.
A loud crash came from inside the house.
Lorenzo immediately turned.
His entire body changed.
The warmth disappeared.
The protector appeared.
“Mia.”
He moved before thinking.
Karen followed.
They entered the house.
A security guard stood near the entrance.
“Mr. Rossi, someone attempted to enter through the west gate.”
“Who?”
“We don’t know.”
Lorenzo’s face became cold.
“Show me.”
Karen grabbed his arm.
“Wait.”
He stopped.
The fact that she touched him surprised both of them.
“Don’t go alone.”
His eyes dropped to her hand.
Then back to her face.
For a moment, he saw something he had forgotten.
Someone worrying about him.
Not because of his name.
Because of him.
“I can handle it.”
“I know.”
She looked directly into his eyes.
“That’s not what I said.”
The words stayed between them.
Lorenzo was used to people needing him.
But Karen was different.
She wanted him safe.
The security footage showed a man near the gate.
Only for a few seconds.
But enough.
Lorenzo froze.
Because he recognized him.
Daniel noticed.
“You know him?”
Lorenzo’s expression darkened.
“Yes.”
Karen looked at him.
“Who is he?”
The answer came quietly.
“My brother.”
The room went silent.
Karen blinked.
“Your brother?”
Lorenzo nodded.
“Adrian Rossi.”
A name filled with history.
A name that carried betrayal.
Years ago, Adrian had been the person Lorenzo trusted most.
Until he discovered that his own brother had tried to destroy the company from inside.
Lorenzo had removed him.
Cut him out.
Erased him.
Or so he thought.
Karen looked at Lorenzo.
“And now he’s back.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Lorenzo stared at the footage.
His eyes became unreadable.
“Because he knows exactly where to hurt me.”
Karen’s expression changed.
“Mia.”
Lorenzo said nothing.
Because she was right.
Adrian didn’t return for money.
He didn’t return for business.
He returned because he wanted revenge.
And then Karen remembered the phone call.
Her blood ran cold.
“Lorenzo.”
He looked at her.
“There’s something you should know.”
“What?”
She slowly showed him her phone.
“The call this morning.”
His expression changed as he read the message history.
Unknown number.
No information.
No trace.
But Lorenzo understood.
Adrian had already found her.
The air became heavy.
“From now on,” he said.
Karen looked at him.
“What?”
“You don’t go anywhere alone.”
She frowned.
“That’s an order?”
“No.”
His voice softened.
A little.
“It’s a request.”
That surprised her.
Because Lorenzo Rossi did not request.
He commanded.
And that was when Karen realized something.
The man who controlled entire companies.
The man who could destroy enemies with a phone call.
Was afraid.
Not for himself.
For her.
That night, Adrian Rossi sat alone in an expensive apartment overlooking the city.
He watched the news.
Lorenzo Rossi.
The untouchable man.
The perfect businessman.
The cold king.
Adrian smiled.
Because he knew the truth.
Kings fell the hardest.
He looked at a photograph of Lorenzo and Isabella.
Then at Karen.
“Let’s see…”
He whispered.
“Does he choose his empire…”
His fingers tightened around the picture.
“Or does he choose her?”
May you like
And for the first time in years…
Lorenzo Rossi had something to lose.
