SCORNED EX WIFE Queen Of Ashes (Camille and Stefan)

Chapter 191 Chapter 191 New York's skyline welcomed Camille and Alexander hafter six weeks of Italian sun. Their penthouse apartment filled with gifts and flowers as news of their return spread through social circles. Among the bouquets sat an arrangement of white lilies. The card read simply: "Welchome. -V." Alexander stared at those lilies longer than the others, something cold settling in his stomach as he touched a single white petal with his fingertip.

"She called twice while we were unpacking," Camille said, coming up behind him and slipping her arms around his waist. "Victoria can barely wait to see us. She's arranged dinner tomorrow night." Alexander turned in her embrace, burying his face in her hair to hide his expression. "I've missed her too," he lied, his voice steady despite the acid taste of the words.

**** Their first week back passed in a whirlwind of meetings and business dinners. Camille threw herself into work at Kane Industries with the spassion she brought to everything. Alexander watched her transformation from relaxed honeymoon wife to fierce CEO with a mixture of pride and sadness. Each morning she left their bed earlier, returned each night later, her mind increasingly consumed by Victoria's empire.

Ten days after their return, Alexander sat in their dining room, reading documents on his tablet while eating breakfast alone. Camille had left before dawn for an emergency board meeting. His phone chimed with a news alert: KANE INDUSTRIES ANNOUNCES PHOENIX GRID EXPANSION TO THREE NEW CITIES He clicked through to the press release. There was Camille, standing at a podium, Victoria slightly behind her right shoulder. Both women radiated confidence, power, triumph. The photo caption read: "Camille Kane Pierce announces ambitious Phoenix Grid expansion with mentor Victoria Kane." Alexander enlarged the image, studying Victoria's face. To the world, she was a cancer survivor, a brilliant businesswoman, a mentor to her adopted daughter. No one saw what he saw: the calculating eyes, the hands stained with his uncle's blood, the architect of Richard Pierce's destruction.

His phone buzzed with a text from Camille: *Sorry about the early meeting. Big announcement went well! Will explain everything tonight. Love you.* Alexander typed back a congratulatory response filled with pride and support. The perfect husband applauding his wife's success.

A second later, his secure phone, the one Camille knew nothing about, vibrated in his pocket. A message from "Guardian": *Press release opened new avenues. Three Kane employees from Meridian era reaching out with information. Meeting one tonight. Expect breakthrough.* Alexander deleted the message immediately, his heart quickening. The expansion announcement had rattled people, former employees who remembered what Victoria had done to competitors fifteen years ago. People willing to talk now.

He stood abruptly from the table, appetite gone. The walls of their perfect penthouse suddenly felt like a prison of lies.

**** "I'm thinking we should throw a dinner party," Camille said that evening as they dressed for an event. "Celebrate the expansion announcement properly." Alexander adjusted his tie, watching her in the mirror as she fastened diamond earrings, Victoria's wedding gift to her. She looked breathtaking in deep blue silk, her skin still golden from Italian sun.

"Whatever you want," he replied. "Just tellwhen." "That's it? No questions about cost or guest list?" Camille laughed, moving behind him to straighten his collar. "Marriage has made you agreeable." "I trust your judgment." He turned to face her, his hands settling on her waist. "Besides, you've earned a celebration. The Phoenix Grid expansion is incredible." Pride shone in her eyes. "It's going to change everything, Alex. Sustainable power for millions. Victoria says it might be the most important project Kane Industries has ever undertaken." Victoria says. Always Victoria's opinion, Victoria's approval, Victoria's wisdom. The woman had shaped everything about Camille, molded her in her own image. The thought sickened him even as he smiled.

"I've never been more proud," he said, kissing her forehead. "But I need to cancel tonight's event. My parents called. They want to see me." Concern immediately replaced Camille's joy. "Your parents? Are you ready for that?" "I think so." Alexander moved away, suddenly unable to maintain the closeness. "After our last meeting, this feels like the right tto move forward." Camille's face softened. "Do you wantto cwith you?" "No." The answer ctoo quickly. Alexander gentled his voice. "No, it's better if I do this alone first. Family matters, you know?" She nodded, understanding without truly understanding. "I'll go to the charity event alone, then catch up with Hannah about the technical specs for Chicago's grid implementation." "Perfect." Alexander kissed her again, relieved by how easily she accepted his excuse. "I might be late. Don't wait up." **** His parents' Upper East Side apartment looked exactly as he remembered, tasteful, expensive, cold. Like them. His mother opened the door herself, something she would never have done when he was younger. Cancer had changed Victoria Kane; age had changed Eleanor Pierce.

"Alexander." His mother's voice wavered. "Thank you for coming." "You invited me." He stepped inside, allowing a brief, awkward embrace.

His father waited in the living room, rising stiffly when Alexander entered. Edward Pierce had more gray at his temples, more lines around his eyes, but the srigid posture that had intimidated Alexander throughout childhood.

"Son." A single word, loaded with years of absence.

Alexander nodded in acknowledgment, taking the offered drink but not sitting. "I can't stay long." "We understand," his mother said, perching on the sofa edge. "We're just grateful you cat all." An uncomfortable silence stretched between them. Alexander sipped his scotch, feeling the weight of unspoken words filling the elegant room His parents had chosen his brother James over him. Had refused to believe Alexander when it mattered most. Had stood silently by when he packed his bags and left their home.

"Your marriage seems to agree with you," his father commented, breaking the silence. "Pierce Enterprises stock is up fifteen points since the wedding." Of course he would focus on business, on appearances. Edward Pierce had always valued success above all else, including his sons' wellbeing. "Camille is extraordinary," Alexander replied neutrally. "And yes, the partnership between our companies has been beneficial." "We've followed your press," his mother added, too eagerly. "The merger with Kane Industries tech division for the clean energy initiative is brilliant." Alexander watched them grasp for safe topics, for ways to connect without addressing the past. Part of him wanted to force the conversation into uncomfortable territory, to demand acknowledgment of their failures. But that wasn't why he had come.

"I didn't cto discuss business," he said, setting down his glass. "I cbecause it's tto move forward." His mother's eyes widened slightly. His father's posture stiffened further.

"Not to forget," Alexander clarified. "Never that. But to acknowledge that we all made mistakes. That what happened belongs to the past." "Alexander..." His mother's voice broke on his name.

"I'm not offering forgiveness," he continued, the words measured, controlled. "I'm offering peace. A chance to build something new, if you're willing." His father cleared his throat, clearly struggling with emotion he'd rarely displayed. "We would like that very much." They talked for another hour, careful conversation that skirted dangerous topics. No mention of his uncle. No discussion of James's death. Just tentative bridges built across the chasm of estrangement.

When Alexander left, his mother hugged him again. This time, he returned the embrace briefly. His father offered a handshake that turned awkwardly into a half- hug, both men unpracticed in displaying affection.

"We'd like to have you and Camille for dinner," his mother said at the door. "When you're ready." Alexander nodded. "I'll talk to her. Small steps." As he drove away, Alexander felt a weight lift from his shoulders, not removed entirely, but redistributed. Making peace with his parents didn't change his plans for Victoria Kane. If anything, it freed him to focus more completely on his ultimate goal.

They had carefully avoided any mention of Richard Pierce throughout the evening. His uncle remained the ghost at the feast, the nno one dared speak. All the more reason to bring the truth to light, to force acknowledgment of the man who had been more father to Alexander than Edward Pierce had ever been.

***** The cemetery gates should have been locked at this hour, but money opened many doors in New York. The security guard merely nodded as Alexander drove through, following the familiar path to the family plot.

Richard Pierce's grave stood slightly apart from the other Pierce headstones. Even in death, the family had distanced themselves from the "failed" brother, the one who had taken his own life rather than face defeat.

Alexander knelt on the damp grass, placing his wedding boutonniere-preserved from his suit pocket-atop the cold marble.

"I married her, Uncle Richard," he said quietly to the stone. "Victoria Kane's daughter. The ultimate insider position." Night birds called in the distance. The city hummed beyond the cemetery walls.

"I made peace with them tonight," Alexander continued, arranging the boutonniere carefully against the headstone. Mom and Dad. Not for their sake, but for mine. To close that chapter so I can focus on what matters." His throat tightened with anger, with grief long suppressed. "I'm close, Uncle. So close to exposing what Victoria did to you. The documents, the testimonies, it's all coming together." The white gardenia of his boutonniere looked stark against the dark stone. A symbol of his wedding day, now repurposed as an offering to the dead.

"I will make her admit what she did.

Make her face every person she hurt with her ruthless games. Make the world see her for what she truly is." His voice hardened with each word. "I promise you, Uncle Richard I will expose the truth about what Victoria did to you. She will lose everything, just as you did."

Alexander stood, his knees damp from the grass, his heart heavy with purpose. The path ahead was clear, if difficult Evidence gathering. Witness testimonies. A case built methodically, irrefutably, against the woman who had caused his uncle's death.

The woman whose daughter now shared Alexander's bed, his name, his life.

As he walked back to his car, phone vibrating with messages from both "Guardian" and Camille, Alexanden felt the weight of his double life pressing down. Each day brought him closer to his goal, and closer to the inevitable moment when he would have to choose between revenge and love. For now, he walked the razor's edge between them, blood seeping from wounds he could share with no one.

Alexander started his car, checking both messages before driving away.

"Guardian" had secured a meeting with a former Kane Industries executive. Camille was heading hearly, missing him.

Two lives. Two pulls on his heart. Two impossible choices.

He put the car in drive, leaving his uncle's grave behind as he headed toward the next step in his quest for justice, a quest that would either destroy Victoria Kane or destroy his marriage.

Perhaps both.

Chapter 191 Tip: You can use left, right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.