SCORNED EX WIFE Queen Of Ashes (Camille and Stefan)

Chapter 57

Camille's point of view

The afternoon

sun warmed my office, casting golden light across the polished mahogany of my desk. | twirled the small blue

velvet box between my

fingers, savoring the moment before opening it. Alexander's security chief had delivered it personally twenty

minutes ago, his professional demeanor never slipping as he handed over both the box and a sealed envelope.

"Mr. Pierce sends his regards, Ms. Kane," was all he'd said before departing

Now, alone with this unexpected gift, | found myself hesitating. The diamond necklace still rested in my personal

safe upstairs, Victoria had reluctantly agreed to delay its return after our PR team's insistence tha no intention of

letting our connection fade quietly away.

| opened the envelope first, sliding a finger beneath the seat. The handwritten note inside showed confident

strokes, Alexander hadn't delegated this task to an assistant. strong,

*For the phoenix who rises higher with each flight. These remindedof your eyes, seeing what others miss,

reflecting depths

others fear to explore. The necklace was for the world to witness. These are for you alone. Until our paths cross

again.-

A*

Heat crept up my neck as | read the words twice more. In fifteen months as Camille Kane, I'd received countless

professional compliments, careful social flatteries, and calculated business overtures. None had Because none

had seemed to see me. Not Victoria's creation Not the polished heiress. But something beneath all the

careful layers, something | sometimes feared had died along with Camille Lewis.

| opened the velvet box slowly. Inside, nestled on white silk lay a pair of sapphire earrings. Not ostentatious like

the diamond necklace, but elegant in their understated beauty. The deep blue stones caught the a These are for

you alone.

My fingers touched one earring gently, feeling its weight. Unlike the necklace, which had clearly been chosen for

both its tic public impact and its business implications, these seemed genuinely personal. Without fully

deciding to, | moved to my private bathroom, removing my current earrings and replacing them with Alexander's

gift. The sapphires hung perfectly, their color bringing out something in my eyes | ha

"Ms. Kane?"

Rebecca's voice through the intestartledfrom my reflection. | returned quickly to my desk, pressing the

response button.

"es"

"The financial team has completed their analysis of Rodriguez Shipping's vulnerabilities. They're ready whenever

you'd like to review the next phase."

Business. Reality. The reason

for everything I'd becover the

past fifteen months.

"Send them in," | replied, tucking Alexander's note into my desk drawer.

Rebecca entered first, tablet in hand, followed by two members of our financial team. All three stopped short

when they saw me, eyes going to the sapphire earrings I'd forgotten to remove in my haste. New accessories, Ms

Kane?" Rebecca asled, her professional tone not quite hiding her curiosity.

Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt

| touched one earring briefly, then lowered my hand. "Just trying something different. The report?"

Rebecca handedher tablet, but not before | caught the flash of understanding in her eyes. The sapphires

weren't public knowledge yet, but Alexander's press statement about the necklace had been release minutes.

The addition of sapphire earrings

would generate another round of speculation when eventually noticed, which Rebecca undoubtedly realized.

"As you can see on page one," our chief financial analyst began, “Rodriguez Shipping's last potential lifeline

disappeared yesterday when Eastern Capital Partners declined their emergency funding request."

I scrolled through the report, satisfaction warming my blood as | reviewed the numbers. Stefan's company was

now functionally insolvent. Their stock had dropped seventy percent in three weeks. Major clients

Their cash reserves?" | asked.

"Depleted," the analyst replied. "They can't make payroll next week without selling assets. The banks have

frozen their credit lines pending financial review."

"And the Rose Lewis situation?"

Rebecca took ov

cover, swiping to a different section of the report. "Her fashion line is effectively finished. All major retailers have

canceled orders. Her manufacturing partners have terminated contracts. Most telling, her biggest | nodded,

feeling the familiar mix of satisfaction and emptiness these reports always brought. Victory, yes. Justice for what

they'd done to me. But the hollow feeling afterward grew stronger each time. "So we're ready for phase three," |

said, setting the tablet down.

Rebecca nodded. "The acquisition team is prepared to offer twenty cents on the dollar for Rodriguez Shipping's

Asian routes. Given their financial situation, they'll have no choice but to accept whatever we offer

"And for Rose's business?"

"Nothing worth salvaging" Rebecca's assessment was clinical, detached. "The brand is toxic now. Better to let it

collapse completely than associate Kane Industries with it in any way."

| stood, moving to the window to hide the conflict | feared might show on my face. Outside, spring had

transformed the mansion's gardens, new life emerging after winter's dormancy. Much like | had emerged af But

into what?

"Ms. Kane?" Rebecca's voice pulledback. "Do we proceed with the Rodriguez acquisition offer?"

The question deserved more consideration than my automatic yes. Acquiring Stefan's shipping routes made

good business sense for

Kane Industries. Victoria had outlined the strategic benefits months ago, planning for the moment his company

would be vulnerable enough for hostile takeover.

But something inhesitated now. Not from compassion for Stefan, he deserved every bit of the destruction

raining down on him. The man who had handeddivorce papers on our anniversary, who had be

No, my hesitation cfrom a different source. A growing sense that revenge, however sweet, wasn't filling the

emptiness insidethe way I'd expected. That systematically

destroying Rose and Stefan's lives wasn't healing the wounds they'd inflicted on mine.

Alexander's words from his note floated back to me: The phoenix who rises higher with each flight.

Was this rising? Or was | still circling the sashes, unable to truly leave them behind?

"Ms. Kane?" Rebecca prompted again, her voice gentle. "Your decision?"

1 turned back to face them, decision made. "Proceed with the offer, but at thirty cents on the dollar, not twenty."

Surprise flickered across the analysts’ faces. Rebecca's expression remained neutral, though | sensed her

curiosity at my slight show of mercy.

"May | ask why?" she inquired carefully.

"Because twenty cents would be driven by emotion, by desire to humiliate him completely," | replied, surprising

myself with my honesty. "Thirty cents makes better business sense. It's still a brutal lowball offer he Rebecca

nodded, making notes on her tablet. "And the timing?"

"Tomorrow morning, immediately after their board meeting votes on his removal as CEO, When he's at his most

vulnerable."

The team departed with their instructions, leavingalone once more with thoughts | couldn't quite organize.

removed Alexander's sapphires from my ears, returning them to their velvet box while struggling to Fifteen

months of single-

minded focus on destroying Rose and Stefan. Fifteen months of becoming someone new, someone stronger,

someone incapable of being hurt the way Camille Lewis had been hurt. All leading to this moment o complete

victory.

Yet something had shifted inside me. Sperspective | hadn't anticipated.

My phone buzzed with a text from Victoria: *Pierce's press statement has generated another wave of media

interest. Our stock is up nearly fifteen percent today. The PR team suggests we consider a joint chari The

suggestion would have been unthinkable from Victoria three days ago. Alexander's careful chess moves were

reshaping the board, influencing even Victoria's strategic calculations.

Before | could respond, another text appeared: *However, remind you that

our primary focus remains the completion of our

plan. The Rodriguez acquisition is the priority. Don't allow distractions, however financially beneficial they might

appear *

Distractions. Victoria's code for Alexander and whatever complicated emotions he stirred in me. Emotions that

threatened the single-

minded focus on revenge she'd cultivated since pullingfrom the

wreckage of my former life.

| started to type a response, then stopped as my private literang, The number displayed made my

heart beat faster despite my efforts at control.

"Alexander," | answered, keeping my voice nentral despite the flutter in my stomach.

"Sapphires have historically symbolized clarity of thought, he said without greeting. "The ability to see through

illusion to truth. They seemed appropriate for a woman standing at a crossroads."

| glanced at the blue velvet box, wondering again how he always seemed to know any mind, my situation, my

inner conflicts.

"What crossroads would that be?" Lasked.

"The one where you decide if revenge is enough to build a life upon. Or if perhaps something more awaits the

phoenix once the fire burns out."

His insight

sent a chill down my spine. Had | been so transparent? Had my growing doubts about Victoria's carefully

orchestrated revenge somehow becvisible to his perceptive eyes?

"The fire is still burning," I said, moving to the window again. "Rose and Stefan aren't quite destroyed yet."

"And when they are? What then for Camille Kane?"

Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm

The question echoed my own thoughts so precisely | nearly gasped. "I haven't decided," | admitted, surprising

myself with the honesty.

"Perhaps that's the real purpose of the sapphires," Alexander said, his voice softening slightly. "To help you see

beyond the flames to what awaits after."

"And what might that be?"

"That, little phoenix, is something only you can determine. | heard him shift, imagined him standing at

his own window in Pierce Tower, looking out over the scity from a different vantage point. “Though | would

be honored to help you discover possibilities beyond Victoria's carefully scripted revenge.” The offer hung

between us, loaded with implications neither of us had directly voiced.

"Victoria wouldn't approve," | said finally, knowing it was an understatement.

"Victoria sees only the path she's designed for you. The role she's created. The revenge she's orchestrated." His

voice remained gentle but firm. "I see the woman beneath all that. The one who rises not just fro My free hand

touched the sapphire earrings in their velvet box. "You say that as if you know me. The real me." "Perhaps | do,"

he replied. "Better than you might expect."

Before | could question this cryptic statement, he continued, "I have a meeting | can't postpone. But consider

having dinner withtomorrow. Seven o'clock. The rooftop at Meridian. No press, no public eyes, j guess." The

invitation should have been simple to decline. Victoria would expect nothing less. Our careful plan allowed no

room for personal connections, especially not with someone as perceptive and unpredito deliver. "That's all |

ask." | could hear the smile in his voice. "Until tomorrow, perhaps."

After hanging up, | returned to my desk, mind spinning with possibilities | hadn't allowed myself to consider

before. Tomorrow morning, Stefan would be removed as CEO of his family's company. By afternoon, h Victory.

Complete and total Justice for what they had done to Camille Lewis.

Tut what then? What would remain for Camille Kane once revenge was achieved?

Who would | be when hatred no longer defined my purpose?

My finger hovered over Victoria's text, still awaiting response. The path forward she offered was clear, familiar,

safe in its controlled precision. The continued execution of our plan. The final destruction of those w Instead of

replying;, | opened my desk drawer and removed Alexander's note again. The phoenix who rises higher with

each flight

Maybe there was something beyond revenge. Something beyond the careful script Victoria had written for my

rebom life. Something | couldn't yet define but felt drawingforward nonetheless.

My phone buzzed with another message from Victoria: *Your decision on the Rodriguez offer?

*

This t| responded: Proceeding tomorrow morning at thirty cents on the dollar. More strategically sound than

Twenty.

Her reply cimmediately: *| agree. Well reasoned. Dinner at seven to discuss final details?

*

| stared

at the invitation, knowing that accepting would mean refusing Alexander's. Choosing Victoria's path over the

undefined possibilities he represented.

The sapphires caught afternoon light, their blue depths seeming to hold questions | wasn't

yet ready to answer. Questions about who | was becoming About what lay beyond revenge. About the woman

emerging from the ashes of Camille Lewis who might want more than Victoria's carefully orchestrat My fingers

hovered over the keyboard, poised between two futures I couldn't fully see.