Chapter 2 - The Woman Who Wasn't Afraid
Anna refused.
Immediately.
"No."
The entire lobby went silent.
Even Daniel Davis looked like he had forgotten how to breathe.
People didn't say no to Lorenzo Moretti.
Not twice.
Not once.
But Anna crossed her arms.
"I am not leaving my workplace because a wealthy man suddenly finds my attitude interesting."
Lorenzo stared at her.
Most people avoided his eyes.
Anna didn't.
That was the first thing that interested him.
The second was that she wasn't pretending.
Everyone around him always had an agenda.
Fear.
Money.
Protection.
Power.
Anna had none of those.
She was simply angry.
"You don't know who I am," Lorenzo said.
Anna gave him a tired look.
"I know enough."
A dangerous silence followed.
One of his men stepped forward.
"Careful."
Anna looked at him.
"No."
The man stopped.
Anna turned back to Lorenzo.
"If you came here expecting everyone to fall apart because you walked in, congratulations. Everyone else did."
She glanced around.
"But I'm still doing my job."
Lorenzo studied her.
"You grew up in Italy."
It wasn't a question.
Anna's expression changed slightly.
"How do you know?"
"The dialect."
She remained quiet.
"Palermo?"
Her eyes narrowed.
"Why do you care?"
Lorenzo ignored the question.
"My family is from Campania."
"I know."
The answer came too quickly.
For the first time, Lorenzo looked surprised.
"You know?"
Anna looked away.
"My grandmother used to talk about families like yours."
"Families like mine?"
"The ones people respected because they were afraid."
The room became colder.
Lorenzo's expression hardened.
"And what did your grandmother teach you?"
Anna looked directly at him.
"That powerful men are usually the ones who need the most reminding that they are human."
Nobody spoke.
Then something unexpected happened.
Lorenzo smiled.
Not the cold smile everyone feared.
A real one.
Small.
Almost invisible.
"You are either incredibly brave."
He stepped closer.
"Or incredibly foolish."
Anna shrugged.
"Maybe both."
For several seconds, Lorenzo simply watched her.
Then he turned to his men.
"Wait outside."
They immediately obeyed.
Anna noticed.
That surprised her.
The feared mafia boss listened.
At least sometimes.
Lorenzo lowered his voice.
"Your grandmother was right about one thing."
"Which is?"
"Power changes people."
He looked toward the hotel entrance.
Rain hit the glass doors.
"But she was wrong about another."
Anna waited.
"Not everyone with power forgets they were once powerless."
Something about his words caught her attention.
Before she could respond, Lorenzo's phone rang.
He answered.
"Yes."
His expression changed.
The calm disappeared.
Not completely.
But enough.
A problem.
A serious one.
He listened silently.
Then ended the call.
Anna noticed.
"Bad news?"
Lorenzo looked at her.
"Someone inside my organization betrayed me."
The honesty surprised her.
"Why tell me?"
"Because now I need someone I can trust."
Anna almost laughed.
"You barely know me."
"No."
His eyes held hers.
"I know exactly enough."
A pause.
"You are the first person tonight who had the opportunity to impress me."
He stepped closer.
"And chose honesty instead."
Anna didn't answer.
Lorenzo picked up his coat.
"Tomorrow morning, someone will come to this hotel."
"Who?"
"A person who wants information about me."
"And?"
Lorenzo's voice became quieter.
"When they ask you questions, don't answer."
Anna frowned.
"Why?"
"Because if they know you spoke to me..."
He stopped.
The warning was clear.
"They will put you in danger."
For the first time that night, Anna saw something different in Lorenzo Moretti.
Not arrogance.
Not cruelty.
Concern.
But before she could ask anything else, he walked away.
Leaving her standing behind the concierge desk.
Confused.
Angry.
May you like
And strangely unable to forget the man who had understood every word of her insult.
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