NovelStartChapter 74
The ballroom fell
silent as Camille stepped onto the stage. The crystal chandeliers above cast a glow that seemed to highlight her
transformation, her posture straight and confident, her chin raised, her eyes clear and focused. G
She took the microphone from Victoria, her fingers steady despite the hundreds of wide eyes fixed on her.
Whispers
rippled through the crowd: "It can't be..." "She's dead..." "How is this possible?"
The faces that mattered most to her stood frozen in shock. Her mother clutched her father's arm, her mouth
hanging open. Stefan had gone deathly pale, as if seeing a ghost. And Rose.... Rose's face had drain "Thank you
all for coming tonight," Camille began, her voice carrying across the stunned silence. "Sof you knewas
Camille Lewis. Others have cto knowas Camille Kane. The truth is, | am bot She paused, allowing her
words to sink in. Camera phones were raised throughout the ballroom, recording every moment. This was not
just a private revelation; it would becpublic knowledge within minute "Eighteen months ago, | discovered
divorce papers on my anniversary. My husband, Stefan Rodriguez..." she gestured toward him, and the crowd's
eyes followed ".....had decided our marriage was over becau Stefan flinched visibly, taking a half-
step back as if trying to disappear into the crowd.
"What | didn't know then was that this wasn't a recent development. You see, Rose and Stefan had a relationship
for years before | ever met him. | was simply a placeholder, a convenient detour on their path to "On the night |
signed those divorce papers, something insidebroke. | thought I had lost everything. Little did | know that
loss was just the beginning."
She looked directly at Rose now, whose face had shifted from shock to something darker, a mixture of rage and
fear.
"After | left, | was attacked in a parking garage. Men who were hired to deliver a message. They beatuntil |
could barely stand. They toldto leave New York and never cback, that | wouldn't survive a
11
Her mother let out a low moan, covering her mouth with trembling hands.
"I would have died that night if Victoria Kane hadn't found me." Camille turned to Victoria, who stood like a
sentinel at the side of the stage. "She saved
me, not just by stopping the attackers, but by showingthat I could transform my pain into power."
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt
Victoria gave her a subtle nod, her face showing rare public emotion.
"The question, of course, is who would wantgone so badly? Who would pay to haveattacked? Who would
benefit most from my disappearance?"
All eyes shifted to Rose, who had begun to back away, looking for an exit.
"Rose Lewis arranged my murder," Camille stated, her voice cutting through the room like a blade. "My sister,
Chapter 74
the person who claimed
to love me, orchestrated an attack meant to frighteninto leaving or.... if necessary... ensure | never spoke
again.”
The crowd erupted in murmurs. Security guards subtly moved to block the exits.
"I have evidence," Camille continued once the noise died down. "Bank transfers, phone records, testimony from
the men who were hired. Everything has been provided to the district attorney's office." Rose lunged forward
suddenly, her mask of sophistication entirely gone. "You lying bitch!" she screamed, her voice raw with fury. "You
had everything! Everything was handed to you while | had to fight for scrap Security moved toward Rose, but
Camille raised a hand to stop them. This confrontation had been years in the making. She wouldn't cut it short
now.
"I never wanted to hurt you," Camille said, keeping her voice steady. "But you plotted againstmy entire life.
You manipulated everyone around me. You took joy in my pain."
"I only wanted what should have been mine!" Rose shouted, tears streaming down her face now, smearing her
perfect makeup. "Do you know what it's like to watch someone else live the life you deserved? | wa The ballroom
was utterly silent now, the crowd watching the scene unfold with horrified fascination.
"So yes, | arranged for those men to scare you," Rose continued, past caring about the consequences of her
confession. "You were supposed to run away, not die. And when your car was pulled from the river, | "You
thought your plan had worked too well," Camille finished for her. "You thought | was dead, and you celebrated
while pretending to mourn."
Her mother stepped forward then, her face ashen. "Rose... tellthis isn't true. Tellyou didn't try to hurt
your sister."
Rose's laugh was hollow. "Sister? She was never my sister. She was an obstacle, a roadblock standing between
"And what exactly did you want, Rose?" Camille asked, though she already knew the answer.
"Everything that was yours," Rose spat. "Stefan, your family, your social standing. | deserved it all more than you
ever did."
Stefan finally found his voice, stepping away from Rose as if she were toxic. "You toldCamille left because
she couldn't handle us being together. You said she ran away...
"And you believedbecause it was convenient," Rose shot back. "Don't pretend you're innocent in this,
Stefan. You were all too happy to move on withthe minute she was gone."
Camille watched the man she had once loved crumble under the weight of his guilt. There was a twhen she
had dreamed of this
moment, of seeing him broken. Now, she felt nothing but a distant pity.
Her father approached the stage, his shoulders hunched with shame. "Camille, my God... we didn't know. We
should have known, but we didn't see..."
"No, you didn't see," Camille agreed, her tone gentle but firm. "You never saw me. Not really. And you certainly
never saw who Rose truly was, despite all the signs."
Her mother was weeping openly now. "Please, Camille. Please forgive us. We can be a family again. We can
make this right."
Chapter 74
For a moment, Camille felt a flicker of her old self, the young woman who had always sought approval, who had
always tried to keep the peace. But that woman was gone, burned away in the transformation tha
was now.
"I'm afraid that's not possible," she said. "Camille Lewis died that
night in the parking garage. The woman who stands before you is Camille Kane. Victoria has
legally adopted me, and | am her heir. That chapter of my life is closed forever."
"You can't just erase us!" her mother cried, desperation in her voice. "We're your parents!"
"You stopped being my parents the moment you chose to believe in Rose's lies rather than seeing the truth that
was right in front of you," Camille replied, sadness coloring her words
despite her resolve. "I don't hate you. | simply don't need you anymore."
Stefan moved toward the stage, his eyes pleading. “Camille, | know | can never undo what | did. But I've
changed. Seeing what Rose really is, understanding what happened to you, it's opened my eyes. Please Camille
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmstudied his face, remembering how she had once
thought he was the center of her world. How small that world had been.
"| forgive you, Stefan," she said finally. "Not because you deserve it, but because | refuse to carry the weight of
hating you any longer. That forgiveness doesn't mean reconciliation. It means freedom, my freedo anger. "You
think you've won?" she hissed. "You think this grand display changes anything? This isn't over. You took
everything from me, and I'll make you pay for it."
Camille met her gaze evenly. "No, Rose. | took back what was mine.... my dignity,
my power, my life. Everything else, you lost all on your own."
Rose looked around wildly, seeing all eyes on her, seeing her carefully constructed world collapsing. Her face
contorted with rage as she pointed a trembling finger at Camille.
"This isn't over," she hissed, loud enough for everyone to hear. "You think you've won? You think you can just
cback from the dead and destroy everything I've built? I'll make you pay for this, Camille. You h With that,
Rose stormed toward the exit, shoving past guests who quickly moved out of her way. The heavy doors slammed
behind her with an echoing finality.
As Rose disappeared, Camille felt a peculiar lightness spreading through her chest. This moment that she had
imagined for so long... it wasn't bringing the savage triumph she had expected. Instead, there was Victoria joined
her on stage, placing a steady hand on her shoulder. "You did well," she said quietly.
"Is it over?" Camille asked, suddenly uncertain.
"The revenge is over," Victoria replied. "But your life..... your real life....... is just beginning."
Camille turned back to face the crowd, many of whom were still recording every moment on their phones. The
story would be everywhere by morning. There would be legal battles, public scrutiny, endless quest "Thank you
for coming tonight," she said to the crowd, her voice strong and clear. "This event marks not just the revelation
of the truth, but the beginning of something new. The phoenix doesn't rise from the ash
She felt Alexander Pierce's eyes on her from somewhere in the crowd, and for the first time, she allowed herself
to acknowledge the possibility of a future beyond this moment, a future not defined by the past bu "The Phoenix
Foundation will provide support for victims of domestic abuse and those who have been betrayed by the people
closest to them," she continued. "Sometimes the deepest wounds cfrom those As she stepped away from
the microphone, the room erupted in applause..... whether from genuine support or simply the spectacle of it all,
she couldn't tell. But as Victoria led
her from the stage, Camille knew that whatever cnext, she would face it not as the woman who had been
discarded and betrayed, but as someone entirely new.
Camille Kane had risen from the ashes of Camille Lewis's destruction. And unlike the old fairy tales, this phoenix
wasn't interested in happy endings with false princes or fractured families. She was interested in The revenge
story had ended. Her real story was just beginning
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