NovelStartChapter 71
The elevator climbed toward the penthouse of Pierce Tower, each floor ticking by on the digital display as my
stomach tightened with a mix of anger and nervous anticipation. | wore a simple black dress, nothing
revenge.
When the doors opened, | stepped into a space unlike anything I'd expected. Not
the
cold, modernist showcase typical of billionaire penthouses, but a warm, wood- paneled sanctuary with floor-to-
ceiling bookshelves and comfortable leather furniture. Classical music played softly in the background. The wall
of windows offered a breathtaking view of Manhattan at sunset, the city transformed into gold and shadow.
Alexander stood by a small bar cart, his back to me. He'd removed his suit jacket and rolled
up his shirtsleeves, looking more approachable than I'd ever seen him.
"Scotch? Wine? Something else?" he asked without turning
"Answers," | replied, my voice steadier than | felt.
He turned then, a slight smile on his face that didn't
quite reach his eyes. "Straight to business. One of the many things | admire about you."
| tossed the folder onto his coffee table. Papers spilled out, financial records, surveillance reports, market
manipulation evidence, all documenting his shadow campaign against Rose and Stefan. "Explain this," |
demanded, remaining standing even as he gestured toward a seat. "Explain why you've been secretly helping
destroy Rose and Stefan for the past year without telling me." Alexander studiedfor a long moment, then
moved to a bookshelf and pulled out a small wooden box. "Perhaps we should start at the beginning."
He placed the box on the table between us and finally, | sat down across from him. He opened it carefully,
removing what looked like a hospital ID bracelet, faded and worn. "Boston Memorial Hospital. Five years ago." He
set the bracelet gently on that changed everything."
What
top of the red papers. "The night
s have to do with Rose and
| stared at the plastic band, confusion replacing sof my anger. does Stefan?”
"Everything." Alexander sat opposite me, his eyes never leaving my face. "Five years ago, | was in a car accident
on the Massachusetts Turnpike. Multiple vehicles. Three fatalities. | was trapped in the wreckag A chill ran
throughas fragments of memory stirred, a rainy night, flashing emergency lights, a medical conference in
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtBoston I'd attended alone because my parents was too busy with work and perfect Rose. "I was bleeding
internally," Alexander continued. "The doctors later said | had minutes left, at most. Until someone insisted they
check the less damaged vehicles. Someone who refused to leave until every pers My breath caught. "That was
you? In the black sedan?"
Alexander nodded, something soft and vulnerable crossing his face. "That was me. And you were the one who
found me. Who rode in the ambulance. Who gave her information as emergency contact when no family came
forward."
Chapter 71
The memory crystallized, the barely conscious man, face bloody and unrecognizable. The hospital forms I'd filled
out while waiting for news of his condition. The nurses tellinghe had no visitors, no one asking about him.
"I stayed in Boston three extra days," | whispered, the past rushing back. "I visited your room. Read to you while
you were unconscious."
"RISING EX WIFE: LoveAgain Mrs Graves," Alexander said softly. "You said it was your favorite and the Author
Annypen, was also your favorite"
Tears stung my eyes unexpectedly. "I never knew your name. The hospital just had a case number. And when |
had to return to New York, to my family, I..."
"You left flowers. And a note." Alexander reached into the box again, removing a faded piece of hospital
stationery. "Whoever
you are, | hope you heal completely. Someone is thinking of you, even if you're alone right now.'!!
My throat tightened at the sight of my own handwriting from years ago. "I don't understand. If that was you, why
didn't you tellwhen we met?"
Alexander moved to the window, gazing out at the darkening city. "After | recovered, | tried to find you. All | had
was a name, Camille Lewis, and the knowledge that you'd attended a medical conference in Bosto
He turned back to
me, his expression both tender and pained. "I cto New York, intent on thanking
the woman who'd saved my life. But when | arrived..."
"I was married," | finished for him, understanding dawning.
"To Stefan Rodriguez. Living what seemed to be a perfect life with a successful husband and budding design
career." Alexander's smile held no bitterness, only a gentle resignation. "It didn't seem right to intrud "So you
left?" The thought of how different things might have been made my heart ache.
"| left. But | kept track of you from a distance. Just... checking occasionally to make sure the woman who'd shown
such kindness to a stranger was happy." His voice dropped lower. "Until | started noticing things A cold
realization washed over me. "You knew. Before it happened. You knew Stefan
was betrayingwith Rose." Alexander nodded, regret clear in his eyes. "I was making arrangements to return
to New York, to somehow warn you, when news broke about your accident. Your car going off tha He moved back
to the sofa, sitting closer tothis time. "I didn't believe it. Couldn't accept it. |
hired investigators, had them looking into every aspect of that night. But then, A week later, | discovered
something unexpected. You were alive."
My head snapped up. "What do you
mean? How could you possibly have known?"
"I have resources that most people can't imagine," Alexander said simply. "My security team tracked you and
Victoria leaving the
cementry, after seeing the pictures i was relieved that you were alive."
Shock rippled through me. "You knew? Before Victoria ever presentedas her daughter? Before the surgeries
were complete?"
Alexander nodded. "I knew Victoria had found you. Saved you. Was helping you recover and transform. But |
didn't know why, or what you planned to do with your new identity." Chapter 71
"So all this time," | said slowly, trying to process what he was telling me, "you've known exactly who | was. Even
through the surgical changes. The new identity. Everything." "Yes," he admitted. "From the beginning."
"And
you said nothing. For fifteen months." Anger briefly flared again. "You watched
"What should | have said?" Alexander asked quietly. "When Victoria finally
introduced you as her daughter, when you emerged with a new face and a new purpose, it was clear you'd
chosen a specific path. It wasn't my place to interfere with that choice."
"Until you did interfere," | said, gesturing to the evidence on the table. "Until you started manipulating events
behind the scenes, helping destroy Rose and Stefan without my knowledge."
"Not interfere," Alexander corrected gently. "Support. Remove obstacles. Ensure your plan succeeded." He
leaned forward, his eyes intent on mine. "I saw what they did to you, Camille. Watched helplessly as y The raw
sincerity in his voice made it impossible to maintain my anger. He had helped advance my revenge without
seeking credit. Had used his considerable resources to ensure Rose and Stefan's destruction without revealing
his involvement until | discovered it myself.
"Why cforward now?" | asked. "Why letdiscover your involvement?"
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm
"Because revenge is ending," Alexander said simply. "Rose company is destroyed. Stefan's shipping empire is in
ruins. The justice you sought has largely been served."
He reached across the
table, not quite touching me. "And because | couldn't bear to remain in the shadows any longer, watching you
wonder what comes next without offering another possibility." "Which is?"
"A future not defined by vengeance. By destruction." Alexander's gaze held mine steadily. "A
future built on creation instead. On moving forward rather than looking back."
| studied him, this man who had known my true identity all along, who had silently supported my quest for
justice without ever revealing his own connection to my past.
"Why would you helplike
this?" | asked, needing to hear it directly. "Commit resources, time, influence, all to help someone take revenge?"
Alexander's expression softened. "Because five years ago, a stranger showed kindness to a broken man when no
one else bothered. Because | watched from afar as that swoman's life was torn apart by tl The simple
sincerity in his voice broke through defenses | hadn't even realized I'd constructed. For nineteen months, Victoria
had been my only ally, her strategic brilliance guiding my transformation from victim benefit analysis, with
emotional distance. Alexander offered something different, support without agenda, alliance without conditions.
"I don't know what comes next," | admitted, surprised by my own vulnerability. "For nineteen months, revenge
has been my only purpose. | never planned for after."
"Then perhaps we figure it out together," he suggested, his voice gentle. "One day at a time."
As the last rays of sunlight faded from the sky, casting the room in soft shadows, | realized something had
fundamentally shifted inside me. For nineteen months, my world had contained only destruction, taking A future
defined by what | might build, not what | had torn down.
"Why now?" | asked softly. "Why reveal yourself at this moment?"
"Because | see you standing at a crossroads," Alexander replied. "Victory achieved, revenge nearly complete.
And | wanted you to know that when you decide what comes next, you won't be facing it alone. Unl offer hung
between us, unspoken but clear. Partnership. Support. Perhaps something more, if | chose it.
"Tellmore," | said softly, "about this future you imagine."
Alexander's smile reached his eyes this time, warm and genuine. "How about over dinner? | happen to know an
excellent chef who prepares meals in that kitchen over there."
For the first tin longer than | could
remember, | smiled without calculation, without strategy, without performance.
"I'd like that," | said.
As Alexander ledtoward the kitchen, his hand lightly touching the small of my back, | realized | was taking
my first step into the unknown territory of after.
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