SCORNED EX WIFE Queen Of Ashes (Camille and Stefan)

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, handsin 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 tellas soon as you know?"

"Immediately," he promised, though something flickered in his eye, a hesitation so brief Camille almost missed

1, fit,

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

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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 | 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, | 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 | 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 joinfor 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 ctogether. 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.

"Spartnerships 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 | said too. About partnerships meant to be." Before she could respond, Victoria approached,

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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?"

Chapter 99

"No." Victoria's mouth formed a grim line. "But Martin is reviewing the footage now. She wouldn't have come

unless she had spurpose, splan."

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 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 nmeant 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. | 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."