Ch. 201..205: SCORNED EX WIFE Chapter 201-205
Chapter 201
Victoria Kane stood at the head of the Kane Industries boardroom, her hands gripping the mahogany table harder than she wanted to admit. The last three days had been hell. Stock prices dropping. Investors pulling out. Emergency meetings that stretched into the early morning hours.
And now Camille wasn't answering her calls.
"Ma'am, the Henderson Group is demanding answers about the security breach," said Marcus Webb, her chief financial officer. Dark circles ringed his eyes. "They're threatening to withdraw their investment entirely."
Victoria nodded, but the movement made her head spin. The cancer treatments had been going well, but the stress of the corporate crisis was undoing months of progress. Her body felt like it was fighting two wars at once.
"Schedule a call with Henderson's board," she said, her voice hoarser than usual. "Tomorrow morning. I'll speak to them personally."
"Actually, ma'am," Webb continued, his face grim, "they want to meet today. In two hours."
Victoria closed her eyes for a moment. The fatigue was bone-deep, making every thought feel like wading through mud. She hadn't felt this weak since the early days of her diagnosis.
"Fine. Set it up."
The next hour blurred together. Phone calls with angry investors. Damage control meetings with the PR team. Emergency conferences with department heads trying to trace the source of the leaks that were bleeding their company dry.
Through it all, Victoria kept thinking about Camille. Three days ago, her daughter had called in tears, saying she needed to stay at the estate for a while. Something about needing space to think. Victoria had offered to come home immediately, but Camille had insisted she stay in the city to handle the crisis.
Now Victoria wondered if something had happened between Camille and Alexander. The timing felt wrong. The crisis at Kane Industries, Camille's sudden distance, Alexander's increased involvement in their business affairs - it all connected in ways that made Victoria's chest tight with worry.
"The Henderson call is ready," Webb announced.
Victoria stood up from her chair and immediately regretted it. The room tilted sideways, black spots dancing at the edges of her vision. She grabbed the table to steady herself.
"Ma'am? Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," Victoria lied. She wasn't fine. Her heart was racing, her hands were shaking, and every breath felt like work.
The conference call lasted forty-five minutes. Forty-five minutes of polite accusations and barely concealed threats. Victoria used every ounce of her remaining strength to project confidence, to reassure Henderson's board that Kane Industries was stable and secure.
By the time she hung up, she was soaked in sweat.
"We saved the Henderson account," Webb said with relief. "But there are six more calls scheduled for this afternoon."
Victoria tried to respond, but the words wouldn't come. The boardroom was spinning now, and the tight pain in her chest was spreading down her left arm.
"Ma'am?"
Victoria reached for her water glass, but her hand wouldn't cooperate. The glass fell, shattering against the floor in a spray of crystal and water.
"Call an ambulance," Webb shouted to someone.
Victoria felt herself falling, the expensive Persian rug rushing up to meet her. The last thing she remembered was the sound of her phone ringing and someone saying Camille's name.
*** ** **
Camille burst through the hospital doors like a hurricane, her face white with panic. She'd been in Victoria's garden when Webb called, trying to make sense of her marriage falling apart, when the news hit her like a truck.
Victoria had collapsed. Victoria was in the ICU. Victoria might be dying.
"Where is she?" Camille demanded at the nurses' station.
"Room 314, but visiting hours..."
Camille was already running down the hall, her heels clicking against the polished floor. She pushed through the ICU doors without slowing down.
Victoria lay in the hospital bed looking smaller than Camille had ever seen her. Tubes and wires connected her to machines that beeped and hummed with mechanical life. Her skin was pale gray, her breathing shallow and assisted by a ventilator.
"Victoria?" Camille whispered, taking her hand. The skin felt paper-thin and cold.
Victoria didn't respond. Her eyes remained closed, her face peaceful but frighteningly still.
"She's been sedated," said Dr. Martinez, appearing beside the bed. "The stress caused severe complications with her cancer recovery. Her blood pressure spiked dangerously high, and we had to put her into a medically induced state to allow her body to stabilize."
Camille felt tears burning her eyes. "Is she going to be okay?"
"We're doing everything we can. But the next twenty-four hours are critical. Her body has been through tremendous strain, and the cancer markers are elevated again."
"Can she hear me?"
"It's possible. Many patients in medicated states retain some awareness. You can talk to her, but keep it calm and positive. No stressful information."
After Dr. Martinez left, Camille sat beside Victoria's bed, holding her hand and watching the monitors. This was her fault. Victoria was fighting for her life because Camille had abandoned her during the crisis. Because she'd been so consumed with her own problems that she'd left Victoria to face the attacks alone.
"I'm sorry," she whispered to Victoria's still form. "I should have been here. I should have helped you instead of running away to deal with my own mess." The door opened quietly, and Camille looked up expecting to see a nurse. Instead, Alexander walked in, his face etched with genuine concern.
"What are you doing here?" Camille's voice was ice.
"I heard about Victoria. I wanted to see if she's okay."
"You're not welcome here."
Alexander moved closer to the bed, his eyes taking in Victoria's unconscious form
and the machines keeping her stable. "How is she?"
"Why do you care? Isn't this what you wanted? Victoria Kane brought down by the stress of defending herself against your attacks?"
"I never wanted her to get sick. I never wanted her to suffer like this."
"Just financially. Just professionally. Just emotionally." Camille stood up, placing herself between Alexander and Victoria's bed. "You've been systematically destroying her company while I was naive enough to think you loved me."
"I do love you. That part was never fake."
"Don't." Camille's voice cracked with pain. "Don't stand in this hospital room and talk about love while the woman who saved my life is fighting for hers because of what you've done."
Alexander's face crumpled. "Camille, if I could take it back..."
"But you can't. You can't undo the surveillance photos or the stolen security plans
or the months of lies. You can't undo using our marriage as a weapon against my family."
"She destroyed my uncle. She covered up deaths and ruined his life."
"According to who?" Camille's voice rose, then immediately dropped as she remembered Victoria needed quiet. "Who told you that, Alexander? Who gave you this information that made you decide revenge was more
important than the woman you claimed to love?"
Alexander was quiet, his jaw set in stubborn lines.
"Tell me who convinced you to destroy our marriage for a dead man's vendetta."
"It doesn't matter who..."
"It matters to me!" Camille's whisper was fierce. "It matters because whoever it was manipulated you into breaking my heart. It matters because someone used your grief to turn you into a weapon against Victoria."
"The evidence speaks for itself."
"What evidence? Anonymous documents? Convenient timing right before our engagement? Someone wanted you to believe Victoria was guilty, Alexander. Someone who benefited from you attacking Kane Industries."
Alexander stared at Victoria's unconscious form, doubt flickering in his eyes for the first time. "The facts..."
"The facts are that you chose to believe the worst about Victoria without ever talking to her directly The facts are that you married me under false pretenses and spent our entire relationship planning to destroy my family." Camille's voice broke. "The facts are that the man I loved doesn't exist."
"That's not true."
"Isn't it? The Alexander I fell in love with would have come to me with his
concerns. He would have trusted me enough to tell me the truth. He would have
chosen our future over his past."
Alexander reached for her, but Camille stepped back.
"Don't touch me. Don't ever touch me again."
"Camille, please. We can work through this. We can..."
"We can't work through anything built on lies and revenge." Camille's tears fell freely now. "You used me, Alexander. You used our love, our marriage, our life together as a cover for your war against Victoria."
"It wasn't supposed to happen like this. My feelings for you became real."
"When? When exactly did you decide you actually loved me instead of just using me? Before or after you installed surveillance equipment to photograph Victoria at our wedding? Before or after you stole Kane Industries' security plans from my
briefcase?"
Alexander had no answer.
"Get out," Camille said quietly.
"Camille...."
"GET OUT!" Her voice carried all the pain and betrayal of the last few days. "Get
out of this room. Get out of this hospital. Get out of my life."
Alexander stood frozen, his face white with anguish.
"If you ever loved me, even a little bit, you'll leave right now and never come back.
Victoria is dying because of the stress you caused. I am broken because of the
lies you told. You've destroyed everything you claimed to care about."
"I can make this right."
"You can't. There is no right anymore. There's just the wreckage of what we used
to have and the reality of who you really are."
Alexander took one last look at Victoria's still form, then at Camille's tear-stained
face. Something in her expression must have finally convinced him, because he turned and walked toward the door.
"For what it's worth," he said quietly, "I am sorry."
"Your sorrow doesn't fix anything. It doesn't bring back Victoria's health or my trust
or the marriage I thought we had." Camille's voice was hollow. "Your sorrow is just another thing you'll have to live with."
The door closed behind him with a soft click.
Camille sank back into the chair beside Victoria's bed, taking her hand again. The
machines continued their mechanical rhythm, keeping Victoria stable while her body fought to recover from the damage stress had done.
"I'm here now," Camille whispered. "I'm not going anywhere. We'll get through this together, just like we always do."
But as she watched Victoria's still face, Camille wondered if some damage could
never be undone. If some betrayals cut too deep to heal. If some fights were too big to win. Outside the hospital room, the corporate war continued. The attacks on Kane Industries hadn't stopped just because Victoria was unconscious. If anything,
whoever was behind them would probably see her hospitalization as an opportunity to
strike harder. Camille squeezed Victoria's hand tighter. She'd failed Victoria once by running
away when the crisis started. She wouldn't fail her again.
Whatever came next, whoever was really behind the attacks on their company,
Camille would face it head-on. For Victoria. For their family. For everything they'd
built together.
But first, Victoria had to survive the night.
Chapter 202
Camille sat in the hospital cafeteria, staring at a cup of coffee that had gone cold hours ago. She hadn't left the hospital since Victoria's collapse two days earlier. The doctors said Victoria's condition was stable but critical. The sedation would continue for at least another day while her body fought to recover from the stress- induced complications.
The cafeteria smelled like disinfectant and overcooked vegetables. Fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, casting everything in harsh white light that made everyone look sick. Camille felt sick too, but not from the lighting. She felt sick from the weight of everything falling apart around her.
Kane Industries was bleeding money. Stock prices had dropped another fifteen percent since Victoria's hospitalization. Major investors were pulling out, citing concerns about leadership stability. The board was demanding emergency meetings that Camille wasn't prepared to handle alone.
And Alexander kept calling.
She'd blocked his number after the fifth call, but he found ways around it. Messages through his assistant. Emails to her work account. Even a handwritten letter delivered to the hospital. All saying the same thing: he was sorry, he wanted to explain, he needed her to understand.
Camille didn't want to understand. Understanding would mean acknowledging that part of her still loved him. That part of her wanted to believe his feelings had been real, even if everything else was a lie.
"Camille?"
She looked up to see Stefan Rodriguez standing beside her table. He looked tired, older than his years, wearing a simple black sweater instead of his usual expensive suits. His left shoulder was still stiff from the bullet he'd taken saving her from Rose.
"Stefan? What are you doing here?"
"I came to see how Victoria is doing. And to see how you're holding up."
Camille laughed, but it sounded more like a sob. "I'm not holding up. I'm drowning."
Stefan sat down across from her without being invited. "I know the feeling." They sat in uncomfortable silence for a moment. Stefan was the last person Camille had expected to see. Their relationship had been complicated since he'd saved her life. She'd forgiven him for the affair with Rose, but forgiveness didn't erase history. It didn't make their conversations easy.
"I heard about you and Alexander," Stefan said quietly.
"Did you?" Camille's voice was bitter. "What exactly did you hear?"
"That he's been investigating Victoria. That he believes she's responsible for his uncle's death." Stefan paused. "That your marriage is over."
Camille's throat tightened. Hearing the words out loud made them more real. "It was never a real marriage to begin with."
"That's not true."
"How would you know?"
Stefan met her eyes. "Because I know what it looks like when someone loves you genuinely, and I know what it looks like when someone is using you. I did both to you."
The honesty in his voice caught Camille off guard. "Stefan—"
"Alexander loved you first. Before he knew about Victoria, before anyone told him about his uncle. I saw it at your engagement party. The way he looked at you wasn't calculated. It was real."
"It doesn't matter now."
"Doesn't it? If someone manipulated him into believing Victoria was guilty, if someone used his grief to turn him against you, doesn't that change things?"
Camille stared at her cold coffee. "He still chose revenge over our marriage. He still lied to me for months. He still used our wedding as cover for surveillance."
"Yes, he did. And that was wrong. But the question is whether he was acting on real evidence or manufactured lies."
"Why do you care?"
Stefan was quiet for a long moment. "Because I know what it's like to lose you because of my own mistakes. And because I owe you something."
"You don't owe me anything. You saved my life. We're even."
"No, we're not." Stefan leaned forward. "You gave me a second chance when you had every right to hate me forever. You let me help with the Phoenix Foundation. You let me prove I could be better than the man who betrayed you."
Camille looked at him, seeing the genuine regret in his eyes. The same regret that had driven him to take a bullet meant for her.
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying let me help you investigate Alexander's claims about Victoria. Let me help you find out if someone has been manipulating all of you."
"Why would you want to do that?"
"Because if Victoria is innocent, she deserves to have her name cleared. And if Alexander was manipulated, you deserve to know the truth about what destroyed your marriage."
Camille felt tears starting again. "I can't handle any more betrayals, Stefan. I can't discover that someone else I trusted was lying to me."
"Then let's find out if Victoria was telling the truth or if Alexander was. Let's get real answers instead of living with suspicion and pain."
"I don't know how to investigate something like this. I don't know where to start."
"I do." Stefan pulled out his phone and showed her a folder of documents. "I've been looking into Alexander's uncle already. Victoria asked me to investigate Alexander's background before all this happened."
Camille stared at the phone. "Victoria suspected Alexander?"
"She suspected someone was feeding Kane Industries information to outside attackers. She wanted to know if Alexander might be involved." Stefan's expression was grim. "She was right to be suspicious."
"Show me."
Stefan opened the folder on his phone. "These are the official court records from the Meridian Technologies case. The real ones, not edited versions."
Camille read through the documents, her heart sinking with each page. The safety violations were clear. The worker complaints that Richard Pierce had ignored. The shortcuts his company had taken to underbid competitors.
"This doesn't match what Alexander showed me," she whispered.
"What did Alexander show you?"
"Richard Pierce's journal. It painted Victoria as the villain. Said she planted evidence and bribed inspectors."
Stefan nodded grimly. "I'd like to see that journal. And any other evidence Alexander has."
"He won't talk to me. And even if he would, I don't want to see him."
"Then we'll have to find another way."
The cafeteria door opened, and Hannah Zhao walked in. Kane Industries' chief engineer looked exhausted, her usually perfect appearance rumpled from days of crisis management.
"Camille? I've been looking for you." Hannah sat down beside them. "How's Victoria?"
"The same. Sedated. Fighting." Camille gestured to Stefan. "Hannah, this is Stefan Rodriguez. Stefan, Hannah Zhao."
Hannah's eyes widened slightly. "The Stefan Rodriguez? From the Rodriguez Shipping crisis?"
Stefan winced. "That's me. Though I'd prefer to be known for something else these days."
"Stefan wants to help investigate the allegations against Victoria," Camille explained. "He thinks someone might have manipulated the evidence Alexander was given."
Hannah leaned forward, interested. "What kind of evidence?"
"Documents suggesting Victoria covered up safety violations and destroyed Richard Pierce's company to hide her crimes," Stefan said.
"That's impossible," Hannah said immediately. "I've worked with Victoria for five years. She's obsessive about safety protocols. She'd rather lose money than risk lives."
"That's what I thought too," Camille said. "But the documents Alexander has seem real. His uncle's journal entries, official-looking reports..."
Hannah's expression sharpened. "Can I see them?"
"Alexander won't share them with me."
"Then we'll have to get them another way." Hannah pulled out her laptop. "I can analyze digital documents for signs of manipulation. Altered timestamps, inconsistent formatting, metadata that doesn't match the supposed creation dates."
Stefan and Camille exchanged glances. "You can do that?"
"I can do more than that. If someone created fake evidence to frame Victoria, they
left digital fingerprints. Modern document editing leaves traces that are almost impossible to hide completely."
"But we still need access to Alexander's evidence," Stefan pointed out.
Hannah smiled for the first time in days. "Leave that to me. Alexander's been sharing files with Kane Industries systems for months as part of the Phoenix Grid project. His computer has been on our network.
If the documents are on hi
system..."
"You can access them remotely?"
"I can access them legally. He signed agreements allowing Kane Industries IT support for collaborative projects. Those agreements include remote access for technical assistance."
Camille felt a spark of hope for the first time since finding the surveillance photos. "How long would it take?"
"A few hours to access his system. Maybe a day to analyze everything I find." Hannah's fingers were already flying over her keyboard. "But
do
Camille, you need to know - ifve). no
this, there's no going back. Whatever we find, whether it proves Victoria's innocence or guilt, you'll have to live with the truth."
Camille thought about Victoria lying unconscious in the hospital room upstairs. About Alexander's desperate phone calls and letters. About her marriage that had crumbled in a single conversation.
"I need to know the truth," she said finally. "Whatever it costs me."
Stefan nodded. "Then let's find it."
Hannah's laptop chimed as she connected to Kane Industries' servers. "I'm in
Alexander's system. There are hundreds of files here. Documents, photos, audio recordings..."
"Audio recordings?" Camille's stomach dropped.
"Phone calls. Conversations. Some are labeled with dates going back months." Hannah's face went pale as she read the file names. "Camille, some of these are recordings of your private conversations with Alexander."
The cafeteria suddenly felt too small, too bright, too full of the smell of disinfectant
and despair. Camille gripped the edge of the table.
"He recorded me?"
"It looks like he recorded everything. Every conversation, every argument, every intimate moment." Hannah's voice was horrified. "This goes way beyond gathering evidence about Victoria. This is surveillance of you personally." Stefan's jaw tightened. "What else is there?"
Hannah scrolled through the files. "Financial records for Kane Industries. Security footage from the corporate offices. Internal memos about board meetings. And..." She paused, her face going white.
"What?"
"A folder labeled 'Phase Five - Final Strike.' It's password protected, but the metadata shows it was created yesterday. After Victoria's collapse." Camille felt the room spinning around her. "He's still planning something. Even after everything that's happened, he's still planning to attack Victoria." "Not just Victoria," Hannah said quietly, reading the file structure. "There are
subfolders for Kane Industries, for you personally, and for something called 'Public Exposure Event.""
"He's going to destroy all of us," Camille whispered.
Stefan reached across the table and took her hand. "Not if we stop him first."
Hannah looked up from her laptop, determination replacing the shock in her eyes. "I can break the password protection. I can find out exactly what Alexander is planning. But we need to do this fast, before he realizes we're in his system."
Camille stared at the laptop screen, seeing years of marriage reduced to folders
of surveillance and betrayal. Every private moment catalogued. Every vulnerable conversation recorded. Every trust violated.
"Do it," she said. "Find out what else my husband has been hiding from me."
As Hannah's fingers flew over the keyboard, Camille realized this was just the beginning. Whatever they found in Alexander's files would either Clear Victoria's name or confirm her guilt. It would either
expose a conspiracy against their family or reveal truths that would destroy them all.
Chapter 203
Alexander Pierce stood in his empty penthouse, staring at the financial news ticker scrolling across his wall-mounted screen. Kane Industries stock had not only recovered from its morning crash but was now trading higher than before Victoria's collapse. His carefully orchestrated attack had been completely neutralized in a matter of hours.
His hands trembled with rage as he gripped his phone, watching the numbers climb steadily upward. Months of planning. Months of gathering evidence, building his case, positioning himself for the perfect strike. All of it undone by a few phone calls from powerful men he'd never even considered.
The penthouse felt cavernous around him. Camille's belongings were gone, taken during his brief absence yesterday. Her books, her clothes, her coffee mug from the kitchen counter - every trace of their life together had been erased. The silence pressed against him like a physical weight.
His phone buzzed with an encrypted message: *Meeting tonight. Pier 47. 11 PM.*
Alexander's jaw clenched. The Guardian wanted to meet in person. That only happened when plans required major adjustments or when things had gone catastrophically wrong.
The hours crawled by with agonizing slowness. Alexander paced his apartment, replaying the morning's events over and over. He'd watched the stock price plummet during pre-market trading, felt the satisfaction of seeing Victoria's empire finally cracking under pressure. Then Richard Lewis and Senator Alvarez had appeared like avenging angels, systematically dismantling his attack with surgical precision.
Who was Senator Alvarez to Camille? Alexander had researched every aspect of her life, every relationship, every connection. The revelation that one of the most powerful men in Washington would personally intervene to save Kane Industries felt like discovering a hidden landmine in familiar territory.
By ten-thirty, Alexander was driving through the industrial district toward the waterfront. Pier 47 was abandoned at this hour, nothing but rusted shipping containers and broken streetlights. The kind of place where conversations happened that could never be traced or recorded.
He found the Guardian waiting in the shadows between two storage units, a figure in an expensive coat whose face remained hidden in darkness.
"You failed," the Guardian said without preamble.
"The Lewis family intervened. I had no way of predicting Senator Alvarez would get involved."
"You should have researched deeper. You should have known about every connection, every relationship, every potential threat."
Alexander's hands clenched into fists. "I spent months gathering intelligence on Victoria Kane and Camille. There was no indication that..."
"There was no indication because you were looking at the wrong targets." The Guardian's voice carried cold disappointment. "You focused on Victoria's business relationships and Camille's emotional vulnerabilities. You ignored the most dangerous threat of all."
"Which is?"
"Old money. Old power. The kind of influence that doesn't show up in corporate filings or social media profiles." The Guardian stepped closer, his face still obscured by shadow. "Richard Lewis comes from five generations of New England wealth. His family has been placing senators and judges for over a century. Senator Alvarez owes his entire political career to Lewis family support."
Alexander felt sick. "You knew about this?"
"I suspected. But I thought Victoria's crimes were severe enough that even the Lewis family wouldn't risk their reputation defending her." The Guardian's tone was bitter. "I underestimated their loyalty to Camille."
"So what now? We've lost the element of surprise. They know someone is targeting Kane Industries."
"Now we escalate to ensure justice is served."
Alexander didn't like the sound of that. "What do you mean?"
The Guardian pulled out a tablet and showed Alexander a series of financial documents. "The Lewis family's wealth comes from dozens of investments, holdings, and business partnerships. Real estate developments, technology companies, pharmaceutical research. As long as they can prop up Kane Industries with their connections and capital, Victoria Kane will never face consequences for what she did."
Alexander studied the documents, his stomach growing heavier with each page. "You want to attack Camille's parents?"
"I want to ensure that seventeen innocent people who died in that factory explosion get the justice they deserve. I want to make sure Victoria Kane can't hide behind powerful friends when the truth comes out."
"This isn't about Camille's family. This is about Victoria's crimes."
"Is it?" The Guardian's voice took on a passionate edge. "Think about it, Alexander. Victoria Kane covered up a factory accident that killed seventeen people. She destroyed your uncle's company and drove him to suicide to protect her own reputation. And now she's using her adopted daughter's family connections to escape accountability."
Alexander felt the familiar anger burning in his chest. "The Lewis family is protecting Kane Industries because they love Camille, not because they know about Victoria's crimes."
"Exactly. They're choosing family loyalty over justice for murder victims. They're helping a killer escape consequences because she happens to be their daughter's adoptive mother."
"They don't know what Victoria did."
"Then maybe it's time they learned." The Guardian gestured to the tablet again. "We expose Victoria's crimes publicly. We show the world, including the Lewis family, exactly what kind of woman they're protecting. When they see the evidence of her cover-up, when they understand that seventeen people died because of her greed, they'll withdraw their support."
Alexander stared at the documents detailing Richard and Margaret Lewis's investments. "And if they don't? If they choose to support Victoria even after knowing the truth?"
"Then they become complicit in covering up mass murder. Then they become legitimate targets in our quest for justice."
The words sent a chill down Alexander's spine. "What exactly are you suggesting?"
"I'm suggesting that anyone who knowingly protects a killer deserves to face consequences. The Lewis family built their wealth over generations. If they use that wealth to shield Victoria Kane from justice, then perhaps they should lose it."
"That would destroy Camille too. Everything she inherited, everything her parents built for her."
jet
"Camille made her choice when she chose Victoria over you. She chose the woman who killed your uncle over the man who loved her." The Guardian's voice turned persuasive. "She's already lost to you, Alexander. The question is whether she'll lose while Victoria faces justice, or whether she'll keep everything while seventeen families never get closure for their murdered loved ones."
Alexander felt torn between rage and doubt. "I don't want to hurt Camille."
"You're not hurting her. You're
ensuring that mass murder doesn't go unpunished. You're making sure that your uncle's death means something." The Guardian stepped closer. "Those seventeen people who died in that factory had families, Alexander. They had children who grew up without parents. They had spouses who never got justice. Don't you think they deserve better than watching their killer live in luxury while being protected by political influence?"
"Of course they deserve justice."
"Then help me expose the truth. Help me show the world what Victoria Kane really is. If the Lewis family withdraws their support after learning about the cover- up, then Kane Industries falls naturally. If they choose to protect a killer despite knowing what she did, then they share her guilt."
Alexander stared at the financial documents on the tablet. Every instinct told him this was wrong, that attacking Camille's family was crossing a line he couldn't uncross. But the Guardian's words echoed in his mind: seventeen people dead, families without justice, a killer protected by wealth and influence.
"The evidence against Victoria," Alexander said slowly. "You're certain it's solid?"
"I've shown you the safety reports your uncle tried to file. I've shown you the evidence of Victoria's bribery and intimidation. I've shown you the cover up that followed the factory explosion." The Guardian's voice was unwavering. "Seventeen people died because Victoria Kane chose profits over safety. Your uncle died because he tried to expose her crimes."
"And you believe attacking the Lewis family is the only way to get justice?"
"I believe that justice delayed is justice denied. I believe that letting a killer escape consequences because she has powerful friends is an insult to every victim's
memory."
Alexander closed his eyes, thinking of his uncle's journal entries, the pain and desperation in those final weeks before his suicide. "What would you need me to do?"
"Help me expose Victoria's crimes publicly. Help me show the Lewis family and the world what kind of woman they're protecting. When the truth comes out, when seventeen families finally get the justice they deserve, then your uncle can rest in peace."
"And if the Lewis family still chooses to support Victoria after seeing the evidence?"
"Then they become part of the cover-up. Then they share responsibility for keeping a killer out of prison." The Guardian's voice hardened. "And then we use every legal and financial tool at our disposal to make sure they can't continue protecting her."
Alexander felt the weight of decision pressing down on him. Part of him recoiled at the idea of targeting Camille's family. But another part, the part that had carried grief and anger for months, whispered that maybe this was the only way to honor his uncle's memory.
"I need time to think about this."
"Time is a luxury we don't have. Kane Industries recovered today because of Lewis family intervention. Every day we wait gives them more opportunity to consolidate their defense of Victoria."
"One day. Give me one day to decide."
The Guardian was quiet for a long moment. "Twenty-four hours. But Alexander, remember what's at stake here. This isn't about your marriage or your personal feelings for Camille. This is about seventeen innocent people who deserve justice. This is about making sure your uncle's death meant something." Alexander walked away without responding, his footsteps echoing off the concrete pier. Behind him, the Guardian melted back into the shadows between the shipping containers.
As Alexander drove home through empty streets, his mind churned with conflicting
emotions. The evidence against Victoria seemed solid. The Guardian's passion for justice felt genuine. But something about targeting the Lewis family felt wrong, even if they were protecting a killer.
His uncle really had died believing Victoria Kane was responsible for destroying his life. The factory explosion really had killed seventeen people. The cover-up really had protected Victoria while the victims' families suffered without answers. But Camille was innocent. Her parents were innocent. They didn't know about
Victoria's alleged crimes, didn't understand what kind of woman they were protecting. Alexander pulled into his empty penthouse garage and sat in his car for a long moment. He couldn't undo what he'd done to Camille. He couldn't repair the trust he'd shattered or take back the surveillance photos or erase the months of lies.
But maybe he could ensure that his uncle's death and the deaths of seventeen innocent people finally received the justice they deserved.
Even if it meant destroying the family of the woman he'd already lost forever.
As Alexander rode the elevator to his empty apartment, he realized he was facing the most important decision of his life. Honor his uncle's memory and seek justice for mass murder victims, or protect the family of the woman whose heart he'd
already broken.
Twenty-four hours to choose between justice and mercy. Twenty-four hours to decide whether love was stronger than the need for revenge. Twenty-four hours to determine what kind of man he really was.
Chapter 204
Chapter 204
Richard Lewis sat in his private study at three in the morning, surrounded by documents that painted a picture of calculated betrayal. The mahogany desk his grandfather had built was covered with financial reports, digital surveillance evidence, and communication records that told a story no father should ever have to read.
His daughter's husband had been systematically destroying Kane Industries. The man Camille had trusted with her heart, her future, her most vulnerable moments, had been photographing Victoria at their wedding and stealing security plans during their honeymoon.
Richard's hands trembled as he read through the final piece of evidence: an advance copy of a press release scheduled to go live in six hours. The headline made his blood run cold: "Kane Industries CEO Victoria Kane Linked to Cover-Up of Factory Deaths - Exclusive Investigation Reveals Decades of Corporate Murder."
The release contained detailed allegations about a factory explosion fifteen years ago, claiming Victoria had bribed safety inspectors and destroyed evidence to protect her company's reputation. It painted her as a cold-blooded killer who valued profits over human lives.
Richard knew the release was scheduled to hit every major financial news outlet simultaneously. By the time markets opened, Kane Industries would be facing not just stock manipulation but criminal allegations that would destroy the company completely.
He picked up his phone and began making calls.
"Tom, it's Richard Lewis... I need an emergency favor... There's a fraudulent press release about to go live targeting my daughter's company... Yes, I know it's late, but this can't wait until morning..."
One call became ten. Ten became twenty. Richard worked through his contact list with methodical precision, calling in favors accumulated over thirty years of business relationships. Newspaper editors who owed him for charitable donations. Television producers whose careers he'd supported. Digital platform executives whose companies had benefited from Lewis family investments.
By five AM, the press release had been blocked from every major outlet. Legal injunctions had been filed. Criminal complaints about securities fraud were being prepared.
But blocking the attack wasn't enough. Richard needed to confront the man who had violated his daughter's trust so completely.
At seven AM, Richard Lewis stood outside Alexander Pierce's penthouse building. The doorman recognized him immediately - the Lewis family name carried weight in every corner of Manhattan society.
"Mr. Lewis? Is everything all right?"
"I need to see Alexander Pierce. Tell him it's urgent."
The elevator ride to the penthouse felt endless. Richard's anger had been building for hours, fueled by every document he'd read, every piece of evidence that showed how thoroughly Alexander had deceived Camille.
Alexander answered the door looking haggard and exhausted. His expensive shirt was wrinkled, his hair uncombed, his eyes bloodshot from sleepless nights. When he saw Richard, his face went white.
"Mr. Lewis? I wasn't expecting..."
"We need to talk." Richard pushed past Alexander into the penthouse without invitation.
The apartment was a mess. Empty bottles on the kitchen counter. Takeout containers scattered across expensive furniture. The remnants of a life that had fallen apart when the lies became too heavy to carry.
"Sit down," Richard commanded.
Alexander remained standing, his jaw set in stubborn lines. "If you're here about Camille..."
"I'm here about Kane Industries. I'm here about the stock manipulation, the stolen security plans, the surveillance photos of Victoria." Richard's voice was deadly quiet. "I'm here about the press release you scheduled to destroy my daughter's company this morning."
Alexander's face crumpled. "How did you..."
"How did I find out? You mean besides the fact that you've been sloppy enough to leave digital fingerprints all over your crimes?" Richard pulled out a folder thick with evidence. "I have documentation of every illegal access to Kane Industries systems. Every stolen document. Every manipulated stock trade."
"You don't understand. Victoria Kane is..."
"Victoria Kane is what? A killer? A criminal? A monster?" Richard's voice rose for the first time. "Or is she the woman who saved my daughter's life when everyone else abandoned her?"
Alexander stared at the floor, unable to meet Richard's eyes.
"Look at me when I'm talking to you." Richard's command was sharp enough to cut glass. "Look at me and explain how you justify using my daughter's love as a weapon against her family."
Alexander's head snapped up, his eyes blazing with desperate anger. "She covered up seventeen deaths! She destroyed my uncle's company and drove him to suicide!"
"According to who? Anonymous documents delivered at convenient times? Evidence that appeared exactly when you needed motivation to betray your wife?"
"The evidence is real..."
"The evidence is manufactured." Richard slammed the folder down on Alexander's coffee table. "I've had forensic accountants and digital investigators working all night. Your proof has been edited, doctored, and enhanced to support a narrative that doesn't match the actual court records."
Alexander went very still. "That's impossible."
"Is it? When did you last independently verify the claims against Victoria? When did you speak to any of the victim's families? When did you review the original safety reports that supposedly show her guilt?"
"I... the person who gave me the evidence...."
"Used your grief to turn you into a weapon against my daughter." Richard's voice was full of cold fury. "Someone fed you exactly what you needed to believe to do exactly what they wanted you to do."
Alexander sank into a chair, his face pale with dawning horror. "But the factory explosion really happened. People really died."
"Yes, they did. And the court records show your uncle's company was responsible for faulty equipment installation. The safety violations were real, but they were committed by Meridian Technologies, not Kane Industries."
"You're lying."
"I'm showing you documentation you should have examined before you destroyed your marriage." Richard opened the folder and spread official court documents across the table. "These are the actual legal proceedings. The real safety reports. The testimony of workers who tried to warn your uncle about the dangerous shortcuts he was taking."
Alexander stared at the documents, his face hardening with stubborn resistance. "This is fake."
"Your uncle made choices that killed seventeen people. When the families sued, he blamed Kane Industries to deflect responsibility from his own failures. Victoria Kane defended her company against false accusations, not covered up her own crimes."
"You're lying to protect Victoria." Alexander's voice grew heated. "These documents have been altered just like you claim mine were."
"Were real. Your uncle was consumed by guilt over the deaths he caused. He couldn't live with the responsibility for those seventeen lives, he tried to blame someone else. When that failed, when the
courts found Meridian Technologies liable, he took his own life rather than face the consequences."
Alexander pushed the court documents away without reading them carefully. "You think I'm stupid? You think I'll just accept your version of events because you wave some papers in my face?"
"I'm not destroying my uncle's memory based on lies from Victoria Kane's protector," he said bitterly.
"You haven't destroyed anything yet. Victoria Kane is still walking free after murdering seventeen innocent people." Alexander's eyes blazed with unshaken conviction. "You can wave all the fake documents you want, but I know what she did."
"Someone who benefits from Kane Industries' collapse. Someone who saw your grief as a tool to be used." Richard's voice softened slightly with frustration. "Someone who is probably planning to continue their attacks even now that you've been exposed."
"Good. Victoria Kane deserves everything that's coming to her." Alexander stood up, his posture defiant. "And if you try to protect her, you're complicit in covering up mass murder."
"You have to stay away from my daughter." Richard's voice turned ice-cold again. "And you have to stop this insane vendetta against Victoria."
"Never." Alexander's voice was firm with resolution. "Victoria Kane will pay for what she did to my uncle and those seventeen families. If you want to protect a killer, that's your choice. But I won't stop seeking justice."
"Justice?" Richard laughed bitterly. "You surveilled her private conversations. You used her wedding day as cover for photographing Victoria. You spent your honeymoon planning how to destroy her family's company. That's not justice, Alexander. That's obsession with revenge."
Alexander's face twisted with pain and anger. "My uncle died because of Victoria Kane. Seventeen people died because of her greed. I won't let her escape consequences just because she has powerful friends protecting her."
"I know what I have to do," Alexander said firmly. "And I won't be stopped by threats or fake evidence."
"Then you're beyond help." Richard moved closer, his presence intimidating despite his smaller stature. "But hear this clearly - if you continue attacking my daughter's company, if you hurt Camille any more than you already have, I will destroy you personally."
"Destroy me for seeking justice? For honoring my uncle's memory?" Alexander's voice was bitter. "At least I'll know I stood up to corruption instead of enabling it."
"You're not seeking justice. You're seeking revenge based on lies." Richard gathered up the documents. "But you're too blinded by hate to see the truth even when it's put in front of you."
"I won't stop fighting for justice just because you threaten me." Alexander's jaw was set in stubborn determination. "My uncle deserves better than being forgotten so Victoria Kane can continue living in luxury."
"Then you give that information to the FBI, not to me." Richard's voice was grim with finality. "And you stay away from Camille while you destroy yourself with this pointless crusade."
Alexander's shoulders straightened with renewed resolve. "I know exactly what I need to do. And tonight, I'm going to take the next step in making Victoria Kane pay for her crimes."
"When is your next contact with this Guardian person?"
"Tonight. And I'm going to tell him yes. Victoria Kane and anyone protecting her
needs to face consequences." Alexander met Richard's eyes with cold determination.
Richard went very still. "You're planning to attack my family?"
"I'm planning to remove the obstacles preventing justice. If the Lewis family wants
to protect a killer, then you're part of the problem."
"And what did you tell this Guardian?"
"I'm going to tell him tonight that I'm ready to do whatever it takes." Alexander's
voice was cold with resolution. "Victoria Kane has hidden behind wealth and power for too long."
"You're making a terrible mistake, Alexander."
"The only mistake I made was not acting sooner." Alexander moved toward the
door, clearly wanting Richard to leave. "My uncle and seventeen innocent people deserve justice, and they're going to get it."
"You want me to leave so you can continue planning attacks on my family?"
"I want you to understand that nothing will stop me from exposing Victoria Kane's crimes. Not threats not fake evidence, not family
loyalty. Alexander's eyes burned "Tonight, the Guardian and tare going to plan how to bring down everyone who's been protecting a mass murderer."
with unwavering convict Durned.
Richard stared at Alexander with a mixture of anger and disbelief. "You're beyond reasoning with."
"I'm committed to justice. Something you wouldn't understand since you're more
concerned with protecting your daughter's feelings than exposing the truth." "And if I try to stop you?"
"Then you'll be choosing to protect a killer over innocent victims. But you can't
stop justice, Mr. Lewis. Victoria Kane's crimes will be exposed, with or without your cooperation."
Richard moved toward the door, his face grim with determination. "We'll see about that."
"Yes, we will." Alexander's voice followed him. "And when the truth comes out,
when everyone sees what Victoria Kane really is, you'll know you chose the wrong side."
As Richard walked toward the elevator, he could feel Alexander's defiant stare burning into his back. The young man was lost to reason, consumed by a need for revenge that had become more important to him than truth, love, or basic humanity.
Richard didn't turn around when Alexander called after him: "Tell Camille I'm sorry
she chose to protect a murderer. But my uncle and those seventeen families deserve better."
The elevator doors closed on Alexander's unrepentant face, leaving Richard alone with the crushing weight of what he'd learned. His daughter had married a
man who was willing to destroy innocent people in pursuit of what
he believed was justice. The attacks on Kane Industries weren't just continuing - they were about to
escalate to include the entire Lewis
family.
Alexander Pierce was no longer just Camille's betrayed husband. He had become
a true enemy, willing to sacrifice anyone and everyone in his way.
Richard pulled out his phone as the elevator descended. It was time to call
Senator Alvarez and prepare for a battle that was about to become much more dangerous than any of them had anticipated.
Chapter 205
Victoria's eyes opened slowly in the hospital room, focusing on Camille's face for the first time in three days. The machines around her bed beeped steadily, marking the rhythm of her recovery. Her skin still looked pale against the white pillows, but the dangerous gray color was gone.
"How long was I out?" Victoria's voice was barely a whisper.
Camille squeezed her hand gently. "Three days. You scared us all."
"The company?"
"Stable. Dad and Uncle Eduardo helped with the stock crisis. We're okay for now."
Victoria tried to sit up, wincing at the effort. "There's something I need to tell you. About Alexander's accusations. About what really happened fifteen years ago." "You don't need to explain anything right now. Just focus on getting better."
"No." Victoria's grip on Camille's hand tightened. "If Alexander is spreading lies about Meridian Technologies, you need to know the truth. All of it."
Dr. Martinez appeared in the doorway, checking Victoria's chart. "Mrs. Kane, it's good to see you awake. How are you feeling?"
"Like I've been hit by a truck. But I need to speak with my daughter and her colleagues about urgent business matters."
"I'm not sure that's wise. Your blood pressure is still elevated..."
"Doctor, someone is trying to destroy my company based on false accusations about events from fifteen years ago. The stress of not addressing this will be worse for my health than discussing it."
Dr. Martinez looked between Victoria and Camille, then sighed. "Thirty minutes. No more. And if your blood pressure spikes, we end the conversation immediately."
After the doctor left, Camille called Stefan and Hannah. Both arrived within twenty minutes, their faces showing relief at seeing Victoria conscious and alert.
"Before we start," Victoria said, looking at each of them, "what I'm about to share with you has been locked away for fifteen years. Some of it will be painful to hear. But if Alexander is using doctored evidence to attack us, you need to understand what really happened."
She gestured to her briefcase, which Camille had brought from the office. "In the side pocket, there's a key. Take it."
Camille found the small silver key, ornate and old-fashioned, similar to the one she'd found in Alexander's office.
"That key opens a private safe in my office. Behind the bookshelf, there's a hidden panel. The safe contains documents I've kept about every major legal challenge Kane Industries has faced. Including the Meridian Technologies case."
Stefan leaned forward. "Why keep those records separately?"
"Because some truths are too dangerous to leave in regular files. Because some stories are more complicated than the public versions." Victoria's eyes grew distant. "The Meridian Technologies factory explosion wasn't a simple case of corporate negligence. It was a tragedy caused by multiple failures, multiple people making choices that cost seventeen lives."
Hannah pulled out her laptop. "Should I take notes?"
"Take everything. Record everything. Because after today, I never want to speak about this again."
Camille felt her chest tighten. "What really happened, Victoria?"
Victoria closed her eyes, gathering strength. "Fifteen years ago, Kane Industries and Meridian Technologies were competing for a major industrial contract. The client wanted the cheapest bid, the fastest installation, the lowest ongoing maintenance costs. Both our companies submitted proposals."
"Alexander said you underbid Meridian to steal the contract," Stefan said carefully.
"We did underbid them. But not by cutting safety measures. We underbid them by accepting lower profit margins." Victoria's voice grew stronger. "Richard Pierce chose a different strategy. He cut costs by using substandard materials and rushing safety inspections."
"The factory explosion," Hannah said quietly.
"Happened six months after installation. Seventeen people died when a pressure valve failed during routine maintenance." Victoria's voice cracked slightly. "The valve was supposed to be rated for high-pressure industrial use. Instead, Richard Pierce had ordered residential-grade equipment to save money."
Camille felt sick. "Alexander doesn't know this?"
"Alexander has been shown selected pieces of a larger story. Someone gave him Richard Pierce's personal journal, which focused on his anger and blame toward me. But they didn't show him the engineering reports that proved the faulty equipment was Meridian's responsibility."
"Why would Richard Pierce blame you if his company was at fault?" Stefan asked.
Victoria's expression became pained. "Because I knew about the substandard materials before the explosion happened."
The room went silent except for the beeping of medical machines.
"You knew?" Camille's voice was barely audible.
"Two weeks before the explosion, one of Meridian's engineers contacted me. He was concerned about the equipment Richard Pierce was ordering for the installation. He thought Kane Industries should know that our competitor was cutting dangerous corners."
"What did you do?"
"I documented everything he told me. I had my legal team research whether we had any obligation to report suspected safety violations by a competitor. I spent sleepless nights debating whether to warn the client or stay out of Meridian's business."
Victoria's heart monitor began beeping faster as her stress levels rose. "And?" Hannah prompted gently.
"I decided it wasn't my place to interfere. We were competitors. If I reported Meridian's cost-cutting to the client, it would look like I was trying to sabotage them to win the contract myself." Victoria's voice was full of old pain. "I told myself that Meridian's engineers would catch the problems before anyone got hurt. I told myself that Richard Pierce was too experienced to let truly dangerous equipment be installed."
Camille felt tears starting. "So you did nothing?"
"I did nothing. And two weeks later, seventeen people died."
The heart monitor's beeping increased noticeably. Dr. Martinez appeared in the doorway, but Victoria waved him away.
"When the families sued after the explosion, Richard Pierce tried to claim that Kane Industries had sabotaged his equipment. He said we'd deliberately provided him with false specifications to make his installation fail."
"That's when you fought back," Stefan said.
"That's when I defended my company against false accusations. But Richard Pierce knew that I had prior knowledge of his cost-cutting. He threatened to make that information public, to claim that Kane Industries knew about the dangerous equipment and chose not to warn anyone."
"Which would have made you look complicit," Hannah realized.
"Exactly. So when the courts
investigated the explosion, I
provided every document showing that Meridian Technologies was
responsible for the fa
I proved that Richard Pierce had certified the installation as safe when he knew it wasn't. defended
Kane Industries by destroying
Meridian Technologies completely."
Victoria's voice grew quieter. "But I never told the courts about the engineer who warned me beforehand. I never admitted that I could have prevented those deaths by speaking up two weeks earlier."
"You protected yourself by staying silent about your prior knowledge," Camille said, understanding dawning.
"I protected Kane Industries. I protected our employees, our clients, our future. I made sure that Richard Pierce couldn't drag us down with him by claiming we were accessories to his negligence."
"But you felt guilty," Stefan observed.
"I felt responsible. Not legally, but morally. I could have saved seventeen lives by warning the client about Meridian's dangerous shortcuts. Instead, I worried about business ethics and competitive fairness while people were about to die."
The room fell silent as everyone processed Victoria's revelation.
"So when Richard Pierce's company collapsed and he took his own life," Hannah
said slowly, "you felt like you'd caused his destruction?"
"I caused his destruction by exposing his crimes. But I could have prevented his crimes by speaking up earlier." Victoria looked directly at Camille. "I've carried that weight for fifteen years. The knowledge that I chose business considerations over human lives, even if I didn't realize people would die."
"Alexander doesn't know any of this," Camille said.
"Alexander has been told a story where I'm a calculating killer who destroyed an innocent man. The truth is more complicated. I'm someone who made a moral choice that haunts me every day, but I'm not the monster Richard Pierce's journal makes me out to be."
"Someone edited the story to make you look worse," Stefan said. "Someone wants Alexander to believe I'm evil enough to deserve complete destruction. They've taken real events, real guilt, real consequences, and twisted them into a narrative that justifies revenge."
Victoria's monitor began beeping urgently. Dr. Martinez rushed in with a nurse. "That's enough for today," he said firmly. "Mrs. Kane needs rest." "Wait," Victoria called out as they prepared to leave. "The safe in my office. Get those documents tonight. Study everything. Understand exactly what happened so you can defend Kane Industries when the next attack comes."
"What next attack?" Camille asked.
"Whoever gave Alexander the false evidence about me won't stop just because
he's been exposed. They'll find another way to destroy us. And next time, they might target all of you personally."
As they left Victoria's room, Camille felt overwhelmed by the complexity of what she'd learned. Victoria wasn't innocent - she had chosen business considerations over potentially saving lives. But she wasn't the cold-blooded killer Alexander believed her to be either.
She was a woman who'd made an impossible choice under pressure, who'd lived with the consequences for fifteen years, and who was now paying the price for someone else's manipulation of the truth.
"What do you think?" Camille asked Stefan and Hannah as they walked toward
the elevators.
"I think Victoria is telling us the truth," Stefan said. "But I also think the truth is complicated enough that someone could easily manipulate parts of it to support false accusations."
"I think we need to see those documents tonight," Hannah added. "Because if
someone has been editing the real story to create fake evidence, we need to understand exactly how they did it."
Camille nodded, but her heart felt heavy. Alexander had destroyed their marriage based on lies, but those lies contained enough truth to feel believable. Victoria
had failed to prevent seventeen deaths, even if she wasn't responsible for causing
them.
The elevator doors closed, carrying them toward a night of painful revelations and difficult truths. But at least now they would be fighting back with complete information instead of manufactured lies.
The question was whether the truth would be enough to save them all.