Ch. 96..100: SCORNED EX WIFE Chapter 96-100
Chapter 96
Chapter 96
The city lights twinkled below Camille's penthouse like fallen stars trapped on earth. She stood at the floor-
to-
ceiling windows, arms wrapped around herself, watching the tiny cars move through the streets forty floors below. Behind her, Alexander poured two glasses of red wine, the soft gurgle of liquid filling the comfo
It had been three days since the press the Phoenix project has issue and they sorted it out. Three days of relative peace. The thought felt
strange to Camille, peace was not something she had known since finding those divorce papers twenty five months ago.
"Your thoughts seem far away," Alexander said, approaching with the wine glasses. His footsteps were quiet on the plush carpet.
Camille accepted the glass, her fingers brushing his. That small touch sent warmth
spreading up her arm. "Not far. Just... processing everything."
Alexander stood beside her at the window. Unlike many men who felt the need to fill silence, he seemed content to share it with her. That was one of the many things she had come to appreciate about him. "Victoria called earlier," Camille said after taking a sip of wine. "The latest reports show Kane Industries stock has fully recovered. The
Phoenix Grid project is back on schedule."
Alexander nodded. "That's good news."
"Yes." Camille turned from the window. "But that's not what I want to talk about tonight."
She moved to the cream-
colored sofa and sat down, tucking one leg beneath her. The softness of the cushions welcomed her tired body, Alexander followed, sitting close enough for comfort but with space between them, always respec "What would you like to talk about?" he asked, his dark eyes studying her face.
Camille took a deep breath. "Us. This thing between us that we keep dancing around."
Alexander's expression remained calm, but she noticed how his fingers tightened slightly around the wine glass. " 1 was wondering when we'd have this conversation."
"Is that why you've never pushed?"
"Partly." He set his glass on the coffee table. "I didn't want to rush you. After everything with Stefan and Rose..... 1 know trust doesn't
come easily to you anymore."
The mention of their names didn't sting like it once had. Progress, Camille thought.
"For a long time," she began, staring into her wine, "I thought that part of me was dead. The part that could feel... this." She gestured between them. "Victoria taught me to channel everything into revenge. To se "And now?" Alexander's voice was quiet.
Camille looked up at him. "Now I find myself thinking about you when you're not there. Wanting to tell you things as soon as they happen. Wondering what you'd think about decisions I'm making." She paused.
Tibe
"Why does it scare you?"
Chapter 96
She set her glass beside his. "Because I trusted before, and it almost destroyed me. Because Victoria warned me not to let emotions cloud my judgment. Because I'm not sure who I am when I'm not fighting an "Camille," he said, her name soft on his lips, "do you remember when we first met? At the hospital in Boston?" She nodded slowly, memories stirring from a time that felt distant now, belonging to a different versi Tears threatened at the corners of Camille's eyes. She blinked them back, unwilling to cry, a habit Victoria had trained out of her.
"The woman you're describing sounds like a stranger to me now," she confessed.
"She's not." Alexander reached out slowly, giving her time to pull away if she wanted. When she didn't, he took her hand in his. "She's still there. I see her when you work on the Phoenix Grid, not just as revenge for people. I see her when you talk about the foundation you're building to help other women."
His thumb traced gentle circles on her palm. The simple touch sent waves of warmth through her entire body. "That's why I've never pushed," he continued. "I wanted you to find your own way back to that woma The word hung in the air between them. Love. Not spoken as a declaration, but as a possibility.
Camille fought the instinct to withdraw her hand, to retreat behind the walls Victoria had helped her build. "What if that woman is gone for good? What if Victoria's creation is all that's left?"
Alexander shook his head. “She trained you to survive, to fight back. That was necessary. But Victoria Kane didn't create you, Camille. She helped shape you, but your core, who you truly are, that was always t He reached into his pocket and pulled out something small. When he opened his palm, Camille gasped Lying there was a silver pendant in the shape of a delicate rose.
"You left this with me," Alexander said softly. "In the hospital. You said it would protect me like it had protected you."
Camille stared at the pendant. She remembered it now, a gift from her grandfather, when she was sixteen. She had worn every day until...
"I've kept it safe," Alexander said. "Waiting for the right moment to return it to you."
Her fingers trembled as she reached for the pendant. The familiar weight of it in her palm unlocked memories she had buried, of who she had been before the betrayals, before the pain.
"I don't know if I can be that woman again," Camille whispered.
"You don't have to be who you were," Alexander replied "None of us can go backward. But you can bring the best parts of who you were into who you're becoming"
He moved closer, the space between them now just inches
"I care about you, Camille. Not just Camille Kane, Victoria's creation. Not just Camille Lewis, the woman who was
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betrayed. All of you. Every version. Every layer."
The walls around Camille's heart, walls built through months of pain and rebuilding trembled. Not falling, not yet, but weakening.
"I don't want to make promises I can't keep," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I don't know if I can trust like that again."
"I'm not asking for promises," Alexander said. "Just... possibility. The chance to see where this goes, one day at a time."
Camille looked down at the silver rose pendant in her palm, then back
up at Alexander. His eyes held no demands, only patient hope.
Something shifted inside her, not the calculated moves of a chess player Victoria had taught her to be, but something more organic. Growth pushing through concrete "One day at a time," she repeated. "I think I can manage that."
The smile that spread across Alexander's face warmed her more than the wine had. He lifted his hand, hesitated, then gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. The simple gesture made her breath catch. "That's all I'm asking for," he said.
Outside, the city continued its nighttime dance of lights and sounds. But inside the penthouse, the world had narrowed to just the two of them, a man and woman finding their way toward each other through the Camille looked at the silver rose pendant once more before closing her fingers around it. For the first time in longer than she could remember, the future held something beyond revenge. Something that felt dan
"Stay for dinner?" she asked, her voice steadier
now. "I'm not much of a cook, but we could order in."
Alexander's smile deepened. "I'd like that very much."
As they moved to the kitchen to look through takeout menus, Camille felt lighter than she had in months. The path ahead was still uncertain, filled with threats from Rose, challenges with the Phoenix Grid, and h And somewhere deep inside, in a place Victoria's training hadn't reached, the woman she used to be, the one who would sit with a stranger in a hospital, stirred to life again.
Chapter 98
Chapter 98
Rose stared at the screens covering the wall of Herod
Preston's penthouse office. Six displays showed different angles of the Phoenix Grid construction site, live feeds that shouldn't exist. Workers in yellow hard hats moved across the site like ants, unaware of the "Your security access is impressive," Rose said, stepping closer to examine a monitor showing the main control center where engineers hunched over computers. "How did you get these feeds?" Herod's mouth curled into the barest hint of a smile. "Money opens doors. Especially when those doors belong to underpaid security guards with gambling debts."
He stood beside her, close enough that she could smell his expensive cologne. In the three weeks since they'd begun working together, Rose had grown to appreciate his attention to detail. Unlike the men she' "And our man?" she asked, tapping a fingernail against the screen showing workers installing circuit panels.
Herod pressed a button on his desk. The center screen zoomed in on a thin man with ginger hair tucked under his hard hat. "James Walsh. Senior electrician. Twenty years' experience. Divorced. Two children h wife's medical bills."
Rose studied the man's face. Ordinary. Forgettable. Perfect.
"And he's completely bought in?"
"He believes he's working for a competitor looking
to delay the project." Herod's voice carried the confident tone of someone who had covered every angle. "He has no idea what will really happen when those modified circuits overload."
Rose felt a thrill race through her body. Not just excitement something deeper. More primal. For twelve months she had lived in the wreckage of her carefully constructed life. Watching her fashion empire crumb Now, finally, revenge was within reach.
"Show me the blueprint modifications again," she said.
Herod slid a tablet across his glass desk. On screen, two sets of technical drawings appeared
side by side. To Rose's
symbols, and measurements.
untrained eye, they looked identical, a maze of linen
"The original is on the left," Herod explained, pointing to specific sections. "Our version is on the right. The changes are subtle. Temperature sensors adjusted to report normal readings even when heat levels ris shutting down. Backup systems reconfigured to fail simultaneously rather than sequentially."
Rose didn't fully understand the technical details, but she understood the result. "And these changes guarantee disaster?"
Herod nodded, eyes gleaming with something that looked unnervingly like excitement. "The system will appear to function normally during
testing. The flaws won't activate until
full power runs through the grid for at least seventy-
two hours. By then, the heat buildup in the main junction boxes will be unstoppable."
"And the result?"
"Catastrophic failure. Multiple explosions across the grid network. Blackouts throughout the city. And most importantly..." he tapped the screen where Camille's office was located at the Grid headquarters, "....co Rose closed her eyes, savoring the mental image. Camille in handcuffs. Victoria Kane's empire crumbling. Everything they'd built reduced to ashes.
"The timing is critical," Herod continued, moving to the window overlooking the Manhattan skyline. "Walsh installs the modified circuits tomorrow. Final testing begins the day after. The groundbreaking ceremony "And then?" Rose joined him at the window.
"And then we wait." Herod's reflection in the glass looked almost predatory. "Three days
after the ceremony, the grid goes fully operational. Seventy-
two hours after that...
"Boom," Rose whispered.
"Precisely."
Rose tried to picture Camille's face when she realized what was happening. Would she know immediately that Rose was behind it? Or would the confusion and panic keep her from seeing the truth until it was t "There's one more thing we need to discuss," Herod said, turning away from the window. "Walsh."
Rose frowned. "What about him?"
"He's a loose end. After the installation is complete, he needs to disappear."
The coldness in Herod's voice sent an unexpected chill through Rose. She had wished Camille dead, had hired men to frighten her into leaving town, but hearing Herod speak so casually
about eliminating a man whose only crime was being desperate enough to take their money...
"Is that necessary?" she asked, surprising herself with the question.
Herod studied her face, his expression unreadable. "Having second thoughts, Rose? That seems unlike you."
His tone held
a challenge Rose couldn't afford to fail. She straightened her spine, raising her chin. "Not at all. I'm simply being practical. A dead electrician raises questions."
"A dead electrician in a car accident fifty miles from New York raises no questions at all. Particularly when his blood alcohol level suggests he was drinking heavily." Herod returned to his desk. "That's already ar Rose nodded, swallowing the unexpected discomfort. This was war. Wars had casualties.
"Any word on Victoria's movements?" she asked, changing the subject.
Herod tapped another button. A new screen appeared showing Victoria Kane leaving her building, flanked by security. "She's increased surveillance on you. My sources say her security chief is frantically trying "Will they succeed?"
"No." Herod's confidence seemed absolute. "By the time they figure out who I am, it will be far too late."
Rose moved to the desk where several phones lay in a neat row. "And these are ready?"
"Yes. Untraceable. Use a different one for each
call. Destroy them afterward." He picked up one
of the phones. The encrypted messaging app is already
installed. Our communications will leave no trace,"
Rose took the phone, their fingers brushing. The contact sent electricity up her arm, a different kind of thrill than thoughts of revenge. For a moment, neither pulled away.
"You've thought of everything," Rose said softly.
"That's why I survived when my family didn't. Why I rebuilt while Victoria thought she had destroyed us completely." Herod's voice dropped lower. "Never underestimate the power of patient hatred, Rose. It burn Rose understood. Hadn't she nursed her own hatred for Camille since childhood? Hadn't she plotted for years to take everything her sister had?
"So we're set," she said, pocketing the phone. "Nothing left but to watch it unfold."
"Almost nothing." Herod opened a drawer and removed a small box. "One final touch."
Inside the box lay a silver pin shaped like a phoenix rising from flames, identical to the emblem Camille wore constantly.
"A gift from an anonymous donor to every major news outlet in the city," Herod explained. "Arriving the morning after the explosions, with a note suggesting they investigate whether Kane Industries knew about Rose picked up the pin, turning it in the light. "My sister does love her symbols."
"And symbols are powerful. Especially when they're turned against you." Herod closed the box. "The phoenix that rises from these ashes will be us, Rose. Not Camille Kane.”
Rose felt dizzy with anticipation. After months of humiliation, of watching Camille rise from the dead to claim a new identity and destroy everything Rose had built, the tables were finally turning. "What will you do?" she asked Herod. "After?"
"Acquire what
remains of Kane Industries at pennies on the dollar. Rebuild it in my own image." His eyes met hers. "And you?"
Rose hadn't thought that far ahead. Her focus had been so completely on destruction that she'd given little consideration to what came after. "I haven't decided," she admitted.
Herod
studied her face for a long moment. "Perhaps," he said slowly, "we might discuss possibilities. Over dinner.
41
Rose blinked, caught off guard by the suggestion. "Dinner?"
"Tonight. My private chef makes an exceptional coq
au vin His tone remained businesslike, but something in his eyes suggested more than simple collaboration. "We should celebrate our imminent success."
Rose found herself nodding before she had fully processed
the invitation. "I'd like that."
Herod's smile was brief but genuine. "Excellent. Eight o'clock." He glanced at his watch. "But first, we should check in with our electrician. He should be installing the critical components within the hour."
He pressed a button on his desk phone. "Bring the car around."
Rose gathered her coat, her mind racing
with unexpected thoughts. The plan was perfect. Camille would lose everything,
her reputation, her freedom, possibly even her life if she happened to be in the wrong place when the grid failed. Victoria Kane would watch her
empire crumble, just as she had once destroyed the Preston family. Yet as she followed Herod to the elevator, Rose found herself thinking not of revenge, but of dinner. Of the way
Herod's eyes had lingered on hers. Of the possibility that destroying Camille might be not an end, but a beginning.
The elevator doors closed, carrying them downward. They stood side by side, not touching but somehow connected by the invisible threads of shared purpose. Of mutual destruction turned to potential creation. "You're smiling," Herod observed.
"Am I?" Rose hadn't realized. "I suppose I'm just looking forward to seeing Camille's face when she realizes who destroyed her."
"We," Herod corrected quietly. "Who destroyed her."
Rose met
his gaze in the mirrored wall of the elevator. For the first time in longer than she could remember, she didn't feel alone in her hatred. Didn't feel like the only one who saw through Camille's perfect facade. "Yes," she agreed as the elevator reached the ground floor. "We."
Outside, a sleek black car waited, engine running. As Rose slid into the leather seat, she realized something else unexpected, beyond the thrill of coming revenge, beyond the strange new connection with Hero Soon Camille would know how it felt to lose everything. To watch your world burn around you while those you trusted turned away. To fall from the heights Rose herself had been pushed from.
And from those ashes, perhaps something
new would rise after all. Something Rose hadn't dared to imagine.
Not just vengeance.
But victory.
Chapter 99
Chapter 99:
Morning sunlight
bathed the construction site in golden light as hundreds gathered for the Phoenix Grid groundbreaking ceremony. Camera crews swarmed like bees, jostling for position around the stage erected at the center of Behind the stage, in a temporary structure serving as a preparation area, Camille stared at her reflection in a full-
length mirror. Her cream-colored suit
was impeccable, her makeup flawless, the perfect corporate image Victoria had taught her to project. Yet beneath this polished exterior, unease churned in her stomach.
Hannah Zhao, the chief engineer, poked her head through the doorway. "Five minutes, Ms. Kane."
Camille nodded, adjusting the phoenix pin on her lapel. Even after discovering the blueprint discrepancies, Victoria had insisted the ceremony proceed as planned. "We don't show weakness," she had declared we never, ever let our enemies know we've spotted them."
The door opened again. Alexander entered, handsome in a navy suit, his presence immediately filling the small
space.
"Nervous?" he asked, coming to stand behind her.
Their eyes met in
the mirror. “Not about the speech," Camille admitted. "But knowing Rose is out there somewhere, watching, planning.....” Alexander rested his
hands lightly on her shoulders. Through the fabric of her suit jacket, his touch sent warmth spreading across her skin.
"We've triple-
checked the modifications to Hannah's designs," he reminded her. "The sabotage attempt failed. The Grid is safe."
"For now." Camille turned to face him. "But Rose won't stop. Neither will her
mystery partner. And we still don't know who he is."
Alexander's jaw tightened. "My team is close to identifying him. Very close."
"You'll tell me as soon as you know?"
"Immediately," he promised, though something flickered in his eye, a hesitation so brief Camille almost missed
1. it.
A production assistant tapped on the door. "Ms. Kane? We're ready for you."
Camille took a deep breath, centering herself. Alexander caught her hand.
"Remember," he said softly, "this is about more than beating Rose. This is your vision. Your
creation."
She squeezed his fingers, drawing strength from his steadiness. "Our creation," she corrected. Together they walked out
into the sunlight, where hundreds of faces turned toward them. Camera flashes popped like lightning strikes. Reporters called out questions
that blended into unintelligible noise. On the stage, Victoria stood at the podium, commanding attention with her mere presence despite her recent haggard appearance.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Victoria's voice rang out over the crowd. "Today marks not just
the beginning of a revolutionary power grid that will transform New York's energy future. It also represents the culmination of a vision, a vision carried forward by my daughter and heir, Camille Kane."
Chapter 99
Victoria gestured toward Camille, who ascended the steps to wild applause. For a heartbeat, standing beside Victoria, Camille flashed back to twenty three months ago, broken, bleeding in a parking garage, he moment to this stage seemed impossible, yet here she stood.
As Victoria stepped aside, Camille approached the microphone. The crowd hushed. Hundreds of eyes fixed on her face. Somewhere in that sea of humanity, Camille knew, Rose might be watching. Waiting for "Thank you all for coming today," Camille began, her voice steady
despite the storm of emotions inside her. "The Phoenix Grid represents more than sustainable energy. It embodies something I believe in deeply, ttransformation."
In the front row, Alexander watched her, his presence a silent anchor. Beside him sat the mayor, the governor, and tech
industry titans who had invested in the project.
"We named this project after the phoenix for a reason," Camille continued. "In mythology, the phoenix burns completely, reduced to ashes, yet rises again, not just restored, but made stronger by the very fire tha Her eyes swept across the crowd, making brief contact with individuals, connecting with them just as Victoria had taught her.
"Many of you know that Kane Industries faced challenges bringing this project to fruition. There were those who said it couldn't be done. Those who actively worked against us."
A murmur ran through the crowd. Everyone remembered the stock manipulation, the media attacks, the sabotage attempts that had made headlines.
"But like the phoenix, we didn't just survive those challenges, we transformed them into opportunities. Each obstacle
forced us to innovate, to strengthen our designs, to build something better than we had originally conceived."
Camille paused, letting her
words sink in. In the distance, beyond the crowd, she caught sight of a flash of movement, a woman with dark glasses slipping behind a construction vehicle. Her heart jumped. Rose? She forced herself to continue, refusing to show any reaction. "The Phoenix Grid
will revolutionize how this city powers itself. Clean energy, intelligently distributed, with backup systems that ensure no neighborhood experiences blackouts while others have excess capacity."
The technical portion of her speech continued for several minutes, detailing the Grid's innovations. Throughout, Camille maintained
her poise, though her senses remained hyperalert for any sign of Rose in the crowd.
Then she shifted tone, her voice becoming more personal. "But today, I want to speak not just about energy transformation, but about personal transformation."
The crowd stilled, sensing the change.
"Many of you have experienced moments when everything you counted on vanished. When the life you
built seemed to crumble beneath your feet."
In the front row, Alexander leaned forward slightly, his eyes never leaving her face.
"Those moments, the ones that burn us down to
our foundations, they're terrifying. They're painful." Camille's voice softened. "But they also offer us rare gifts. The chance to rebuild. To rise from our own ashes as something stronger, wiser, more resilient than Her hand reached up to touch the phoenix pin at her lapel.
"Second chances don't erase our scars. They don't undo the past. But they allow us to use that past, all of it, the
Chapter 99
painful parts especially, as fuel for something new. Something better."
In that moment, Camille wasn't speaking as Camille Kane, Victoria's carefully crafted heir. She was speaking as herself, the woman who had lost everything and still found a way forward.
"The Phoenix Grid represents Kane Industries' commitment to sustainable energy. But it also symbolizes something I believe in my soul, that transformation isn't just possible. It's inevitable, if we have the coura Applause erupted, scattered at first, then building to a thunderous wave. Victoria, standing to the side, nodded once, a gesture of approval that meant more to Camille than the crowd's reaction.
"And now," Camille said when the applause subsided, "I'd like to invite Alexander Pierce, whose company
has been instrumental in developing the revolutionary solar technology that powers the Grid, to join me for the official groundbreaking."
Alexander mounted the stage in a few graceful strides. Standing beside Camille, he seemed to belong there, his quiet strength complementing her fire.
"The Phoenix Grid represents the future," Alexander said into the microphone, his deep voice carrying across the crowd. "But it also represents what happens when visionaries come together. Kane Industries b unparalleled engineering expertise. Pierce Enterprises contributed next-
generation solar technology. Together, we've created something neither could have achieved alone."
His eyes shifted to Camille, and something in his gaze sent heat rushing to her cheeks.
"Some partnerships are simply meant to be," he
added, the double meaning clear to anyone watching. A ripple of whispers spread through the crowd as cameras clicked frantically, capturing the moment.
Victoria stepped forward, breaking the tension. "And now, for the official groundbreaking."
Three golden shovels waited at the edge of the stage. Victoria, Camille, and Alexander descended the steps together, moving to the prepared patch of earth marked with the Phoenix Grid logo.
Together, they plunged the shovels into the ground, turning over the first symbolic scoop of dirt as cameras flashed and the crowd applauded. Alexander's shoulder pressed briefly against Camille's, a touch that “Ladies and gentlemen, the Phoenix Grid!" Victoria announced.
The celebration continued for another hour, interviews, photos, congratulations from politicians and business leaders. Through it all, Camille maintained her professional demeanor, though her eyes occasionally for any sign of Rose.
Finally, as the event wound down, Camille found herself alone with Alexander near the edge of the construction site.
"You were magnificent," he said quietly. "Your speech about transformation, it wasn't just words for you, was it?" Camille shook her head. "No. Every syllable was real."
He reached for her hand, not caring who might
see. “I meant what I said too. About partnerships meant to be." Before she could respond, Victoria approached, her face tight with controlled tension.
"Security spotted Rose," she said without preamble. "At the back of the crowd during your speech. She was with someone, a man but they disappeared before we could intercept them." Camille's momentary peace shattered. "Did you identify him?"
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"No." Victoria's mouth formed a grim line. "But Martin is reviewing the footage now. She wouldn't have come unless she had some purpose, some plan."
Alexander's phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen, his expression darkening. "I need to take this," he said to Camille. "It's about that matter we discussed."
He stepped away, speaking in low tones into his phone. Victoria watched him go, something unreadable in her
eyes.
"He's hiding something," Camille said softly.
Victoria nodded. "Yes. But the question is whether he's hiding it from us, or for us."
Camille turned to scan the construction site where workers were already beginning preliminary work, unaware of the drama unfolding around them. Somewhere in that massive project, Rose had tried to plant the seeds of destruction. Had they truly found all the sabotage attempts? Or was something still waiting, hidden
deep in the systems, ready to trigger catastrophe?
The day had been perfect, the ceremony
flawless, her speech powerful, Alexander publicly by her side. Yet as the sun began its descent, casting
long shadows across
the construction site, Camille couldn't shake the feeling that this was merely the calm before a storm whose scope she had yet to fully grasp.
Alexander returned, his face carefully composed but tension evident in the set of his shoulders.
"What is it?" Camille asked.
He glanced at Victoria before answering. "We've identified Rose's partner."
Victoria stepped closer. "Who?"
Alexander took a deep breath. "Herod Preston.”
The name meant nothing to Camille, but Victoria's face went so pale Camille feared she might
faint.
"Preston?" Victoria whispered. "That's impossible. The Prestons are gone. I made sure of it."
"Not all of them," Alexander said grimly. "Not Herod."
Victoria gripped Camille's arm with fingers that suddenly seemed bony, fragile. "If Herod Preston is helping Rose, this isn't about you anymore, Camille. It's about me. About Sophia.'
"Who is he?" Camille demanded. "What does he want?"
Victoria's eyes, usually so calculating and cool, now burned with something Camille had never seen there before, raw fear.
"He's the brother of the man who killed my daughter," Victoria said. "And if
he's working with Rose, then this isn't sabotage. It's annihilation."
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Chapter 100
Victoria's hands shook as she poured
herself a drink in her office. The setting sun cast long shadows across the room. Outside the floor- to-
ceiling windows, New York City sparkled, unaware of the storm brewing among its towering buildings.
"Herod Preston," Victoria whispered the name like a curse, staring into her glass. "After all these years..."
Camille had never seen Victoria like this, unsteady, shaken to her core. Since Alexander had revealed Rose's partner at the groundbreaking, Victoria had barely spoken, rushing them back to Kane Industries he "You need to tell me everything," Camille said. "Who is he? What does he want?”
Victoria drained
her glass in one swallow. "Herod Preston is the younger brother of Charles Preston. The man who was engaged to my daughter Sophia before her death."
She set her glass down with a sharp click.
"Charles Preston's family owned Preston Shipping, once a rival
to Kane Industries. They were old money, very powerful. They didn't approve of Charles marrying Sophia. When they couldn't break the engagement, they arranged her car accident." Alexander stood by the window, listening silently.
"You told me this before," Camille said softly. "You took revenge on them. Destroyed their company." Victoria's laugh held no humor. "I did more than that. I made sure every Preston lost everything. Charles com "But he blames you for what happened to his family," Alexander said.
Victoria nodded. "Apparently. I heard he dropped out after his father died. Disappeared. I assumed he'd gone abroad, living on whatever scraps the family had hidden away."
"Alexander, what did your sources find?" Camille asked.
Alexander crossed the room, pulling up files on his tablet. "Herod Preston has been operating under various aliases for the past decade. He built a fortune in
Asia, property development, mostly. Very successful. Very quiet. He returned to the States two years ago and has been buying up companies
through shell corporations."
"How did he find Rose?" Camille asked.
"More likely she found him," Victoria said. "Rose
has always had a talent for sniffing out useful allies. And someone hungry for revenge against me would be irresistible to her."
Carmille rose from her chair. "So this isn't just about me anymore. Rose brought Herod into this because he wants to hurt you. By targeting the Phoenix Grid, he strikes at both of us." Victoria's eyes met Camille's. "Yes, And Camille, I'm sorry, I've put you in danger. Again."
The raw pain in Victoria's voice stripped away years of her carefully constructed armor. In that moment, she wasn't the powerful CEO, the vengeful mother, the calculating mentor. She was simply a woman frigh Camille crossed the room and knelt beside Victoria's chair, taking her cold hands. "No. Don't you dare blame yourself. Rose is my fight. She's been my fight since she tried to kill me."
"But Herod..."
"Herod made his choice when he partnered with Rose. When he targeted the Phoenix Grid." Camille squeezed Victoria's hands. "We've faced enemies before. We'll face this one too."
Victoria shook her head. "You don't understand. The Prestans were different. Charles was... unstable. Brilliant but unhinged. Herod was always the same, quieter, more calculating. If he's spent ten years planni "Then we'll spend however long it takes stopping him," Camille finished firmly. She stood up. "I won't let you fight him alone."
Victoria looked up, surprise flashing across her face.
"From the moment you found me in that parking garage, you've fought for me,” Camille continued. "You reshaped me. Gave me purpose. A new life. Everything I am now, I owe to you.'
"Camille..."
"No, let me finish." Camille's voice grew stronger. "You taught me to never show weakness. To always strike first. To use every resource at my disposal." She placed her hand over Victoria's. "Well, now I'm using Alexander stepped closer. "She's right, Victoria. Divided, Herod and Rose can pick us off one by one. Together, they don't stand a chance."
Victoria's eyes moved between them, something shifting in her expression. Slowly, the familiar steel returned to her gaze.
"Together," she
repeated, as if testing the word. "It's been a long time since I trusted anyone enough to fight alongside them."
"Then it's about time you started," Camille said.
Victoria stood, smoothing her suit jacket. "They'll expect us to be defensive now. To focus on protecting the Grid. Especially after the groundbreaking."
Alexander nodded. "Which means we need to be offensive instead."
"Exactly." Victoria
moved to her desk, pressing the intercom. "Sarah, get me the files on all Preston family holdings from ten years ago. And schedule a meeting with the legal team for seven AM tomorrow."
She released the button and turned back to Camille and Alexander. "If Herod's been operating under aliases, there must be a paper trail somewhere. We find
his assets, we find his weaknesses."
"I'll have my team working through the night," Alexander said.
Camille watched them shift into strategic mode, but her mind was elsewhere.... on Rose. Rose, who had manipulated
everyone since childhood. Rose, who wouldn't stop until she had destroyed everything Camille loved.
"What are you thinking?" Victoria asked.
"Rose won't be satisfied with just damaging the Grid," Camille said slowly. "She wants me to suffer. To watch everything I care about burn."
She turned to face them both.
Victoria's eyes widened slightly, "You think she'll go after Alexander? Or me?"
"Eventually. Yes." Camille's throat tightened. "Rose has always wanted what I have. She took Stefan. She tried to take my family, my reputation, my status. Now she'll want to take...
Alexander crossed the room in three quick strides, taking her face in his hands. "Let her try."
His touch anchored her, pushing back the wave of fear threatening to drown her. In his eyes, she saw not just affection but fierce determination.
"I'm not Stefan," he said quietly. "I won't be manipulated. I won't
be turned. And I'm a lot harder to get rid of than she thinks."
Victoria watched them, then opened her desk
drawer and removed something small and silver. She
held it out to Camille, a pin in the shape of a knight chess piece.
"I was going to give you this after the Grid went online," Victoria said. "The knight, the piece that moves differently than all the others. The piece that can leap over obstacles. The piece that's most dangerous wh Camille took the pin, feeling its weight in her palm.
"Now I think you need it sooner," Victoria continued. "To remind you that sometimes the best move isn't the obvious one."
"Thank you," Camille said, pinning it beside her phoenix emblem.
Victoria straightened. "We'll need to move quickly. I want twenty-four-
hour security on all of us. Full background checks on everyone working on the Grid project."
"Done," Alexander said.
"And Rose?" Camille asked.
Victoria's mouth tightened. "We need to draw her out. Force her to show her hand."
"How?"
"By giving her something she can't resist." Victoria rubbed her temples. "What does Rose want more than anything?"
"To destroy me," Camille said. "To take everything I have."
"Exactly. And right now, what's most important to you?"
"The Phoenix Grid." Camille understood immediately. "We make her think we've discovered a flaw in the system. Something that could delay the launch."
Alexander nodded. "A carefully leaked internal memo suggesting security concerns. Technical problems that need addressing."
"Rose will think her sabotage was discovered," Camille continued, "but not completely understood. She'll want to know exactly what we found, and what we missed."
"And Herod will want to adjust his timeline," Victoria added. "They'll need to communicate, to coordinate."
Victoria studied them both. "You're not ready to go public.
"No. Not yet. Not like this," Camille exchanged a glance with Alexander. "What we have is too new, too personal to. use as a strategic move."
"We don't want Rose targeting it specifically," Alexander added. "Better to keep it private, protected."
Victoria nodded. "I understand. Some weapons are best kept sheathed until the perfect moment. We'll find another way to draw them out."
Camille felt relief wash through her. What was growing between her and Alexander felt precious, fragile despite its
strength.
"Thank you," she said softly.
Victoria's gaze sharpened. "Don't thank me yet. This fight is just beginning, and it will get much worse before it ends. Herod Preston spent a decade rebuilding from nothing. That kind of patience, that level of de "Neither will we," Camille said firmly.
Victoria smiled then, a real smile that transformed her face. "No. We won't."
She turned to Alexander. "Have your team leak that internal memo first thing tomorrow. Make it seem accidental, an email sent to the wrong distribution list, perhaps.”
"Consider it done."
Victoria moved toward the door. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to make some calls."
At the doorway, she paused, looking back at Camille. "Camille... thank you. For saying you won't let me fight alone. It's been a very long time since anyone stood with me.
Before Camille could respond, Victoria was gone.
Alexander took Camille's hand. "Are you alright?"
“No,” she admitted. “I'm scared. Not for myself, but for her. For you."
"Hey," Alexander said gently, pulling her closer. "Remember what you told Victoria? Together. We fight together.
"Besides," he added, a hint of steel entering his
voice, “Rose may think she knows you. But she has no idea who I am. What I'm capable of."
Camille caught a glimpse of something hard and dangerous beneath his usual controlled exterior.
"You've been fighting for me from the shadows all this time," she said softly. "Now we fight side by side."
"Side by side," he agreed. "No more operating separately. No more secrets between us."
His phone buzzed. He frowned at the screen. "My team found something. Herod has been moving large sums to offshore accounts. Recently."
"What does it mean?"
"It means he's preparing for something big." Alexander's eyes met
hers. "Camille, whatever's coming... it's
But even as she spoke the words, a whisper of doubt curled through her mind. Rose had always been one step ahead. And now, with Herod Preston beside her, with resources and hatred fueling them both...