Chapter 2 - The Golden Cage
By the end of the week, Cameron’s entire life had been drastically rewritten.
Her cheap cotton uniforms were replaced by elegant silk blouses and tailored trousers, purchased by Matteo’s terrifyingly efficient assistant.
She was given a massive suite down the hall from Leo’s room, featuring a marble bathroom larger than her old apartment.
But the luxury meant absolutely nothing to Cameron compared to the terrifying intensity of the Duca household.
Every time she walked through the penthouse, the security guards and senior staff would stop and stare at her in silent horror.
They were looking at a ghost, and Cameron felt the weight of their disbelief pressing down on her shoulders.
Despite the eerie atmosphere, Leo was thriving under her gentle, unwavering care.
The violent tantrums completely stopped, replaced by a quiet, desperate attachment to the woman he believed was his mother.
“Mama, look at my train,” Leo cheered one afternoon, holding up a red wooden toy in the sunlit playroom.
Cameron’s heart broke a little, but she knelt down and softly tapped his nose.
“I love the train, sweetie, but remember, my name is Auntie Cam.”
Leo frowned, his bottom lip pushing out in a stubborn pout that perfectly matched his father’s.
“No,” the toddler insisted fiercely.
“You are Mama.”
Before Cameron could correct him again, a deep, raspy voice echoed from the doorway.
“Let him call you whatever brings him peace,” Matteo said, leaning against the doorframe in a dark tailored suit.
Cameron stood up quickly, brushing imaginary dust off her knees as a strange heat rushed to her cheeks.
“It isn’t healthy for him to live in a fantasy, Matteo,” she argued, crossing her arms defensively.
Matteo walked into the room, his eyes scanning her face with that same intense, unreadable hunger.
“Nothing about this situation is normal, Cameron.”
He stopped inches away from her, so close she could smell his expensive cologne and the faint trace of dark espresso.
“My investigators found something at the Chicago orphanage where you were processed,” he whispered, ensuring Leo couldn't hear.
“What did they find?” Cameron asked, her breath catching in her throat.
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“Your adoption file was heavily redacted by a federal judge,” Matteo revealed, his expression turning deadly serious.
“Someone very powerful paid a lot of money to make sure your existence was erased from the world.”
