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Chapter 28
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2025-04-13 09:58:52
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SCORNED EX WIFE : Queen Of Ashes Chapter 29
Chapter 29CAMILLE'S POINT OF VIEWThe engagement party filled the screen before me, bright lights and beautiful people swirling in celebration. I sat motionless in Victoria's guest suite, hands folded in my lap, breathing measured despite the storm in my chest. Three cameras captured the event from different angles, ensuring not a single moment of joy would go undocumented.Joy for them. Torture for me.The Rodriguez family estate had been transformed into a fairytale setting, white roses everywhere, crystal chandeliers hanging from pavilions, string quartet playing softly. Two hundred guests in designer formal wear, champagne flowing freely, laughter rising into the night air.And at the center of it all, Rose and Stefan. My sister and my ex-husband."The engagement of the year," the entertainment reporter gushed. "Stefan Rodriguez, heir to the Rodriguez shipping fortune, and renowned fashion designer Rose Lewis have finally made their relationship official after a respectful period
Last Updated : 2025-04-13SCORNED EX WIFE : Queen Of Ashes Chapter 30
CAMILLE'S POINT OF VIEW"Five minutes until your entrance, Ms. Kane."I nodded to James, Victoria's head of security who now shadowed me at all public events. My heartbeat quickened, but my face revealed nothing. One year of training had perfected my mask, the serene, confident expression of a woman born to wealth and power rather than thrust into it by circumstance and revenge.From my position in the private antechamber above the grand ballroom, I could observe without being seen. The Kane Industries Annual Charity Ball spread below me in a glittering panorama of wealth, influence, and carefully cultivated social connections. Three hundred of New York's elite in designer formal wear, diamonds catching light from crystal chandeliers, champagne flowing as freely as the gossip.All of them waiting for their first real glimpse of Victoria Kane's mysterious adopted daughter. The woman who had appeared seemingly from nowhere, who had closed the TechVault acquisition that business publicat
Last Updated : 2025-04-14SCORNED EX WIFE : Queen Of Ashes Chapter 31
Chapter 31Camille's point of view "Ms. Kane." A deep voice interrupted my thoughts. "Andrew Hargrove, Meridian Investments. I've been hoping to speak with you about your approach to the TechVault integration."I turned to find a middle-aged executive with expensive dental work and even more expensive cufflinks. One of many who had dismissed me during my first attempt at the MicroLink negotiation, now eager to discuss strategy with Victoria Kane's heir."Mr. Hargrove," I replied, extending my hand. "I believe we met briefly at the Barrett negotiations last year."His expression flickered with confusion, then embarrassment as he failed to recall our previous encounter. "Did we? I apologize for not remembering.""No apology necessary," I assured him, satisfaction warming my chest. "I was observing rather than participating at that point in my training."Training. As if I'd been Victoria's protégée all along, not a broken woman she'd rescued and transformed for mutual benefit."Of cours
Last Updated : 2025-04-14SCORNED EX WIFE : Queen Of Ashes Chapter 32
CAMILLE'S POINT OF VIEWHis words hung in the air between us, dangerous and sharp. "Welcome back to the land of the living, Ms. Kane. Or should I use your previous name?"I kept my face still, fighting the storm that raged inside my chest. Years of practice hiding emotions from Rose. Months of Victoria's merciless training. Everything in me focused on not revealing the bolt of fear that shot through my body."I'm afraid you've mistaken me for someone else," I said, withdrawing my hand from his grasp. My voice stayed perfectly steady, cool and distant. "I don't have a previous name."Alexander Pierce studied me with those unnerving gray eyes, a slight smile playing at the corners of his mouth. Too knowing. Too certain."Is that so?" He tilted his head slightly, examining me as one might examine an interesting puzzle. "My mistake, then."But his tone made it clear he believed no such thing. He wasn't backing down, merely shifting tactics."First public appearance?" he asked, smoothly ch
Last Updated : 2025-04-14SCORNED EX WIFE : Queen Of Ashes Chapter 33
Camille's point of view Everyone else saw what I wanted them to see. What Victoria had crafted me to show. Alexander Pierce had somehow looked past all of that to the woman beneath, the woman I thought was safely buried.I showered, letting hot water wash away the last traces of tonight's performance, then changed into silk pajamas and moved to the sitting area of my suite. Sleep would be impossible with my mind in such turmoil. Instead, I poured a small glass of bourbon from the decanter on my side table, a habit adopted from Victoria, and curled into the window seat overlooking the grounds.The estate spread below me, perfectly manicured gardens now shadowed in moonlight, security lights marking the perimeter in the distance. Beyond the gates, the city glowed against the night sky, millions of lives unfolding in patterns I would never know.*"I suspect we'll be seeing more of each other, Ms. Kane."*His words played in my mind, the confidence in them suggesting he'd already decided
Last Updated : 2025-04-14SCORNED EX WIFE : Queen Of Ashes Chapter 34
Chapter 34 "You'll attend the Bellamy Gallery auction in my place tonight," Victoria said, not looking up from the documents spread across her desk. The statement carried the weight of command rather than request. Camille paused by the doorway of Victoria's home office. "The Bellamy auction? Isn't that where..." "Yes," Victoria confirmed, finally glancing up with calculating eyes. "According to my sources, both Rose and Stefan will be in attendance. Rose has been desperately trying to secure a meeting with Kane Industries' investment team for weeks. This presents an... opportunity." Camille's heart quickened. "To see them?" "To observe their dynamics in a neutral setting. To understand exactly what you're up against." Victoria rose from her chair, moving to stand before Camille with critical assessment. "The question is whether you're ready." "I've spent months preparing," Camille replied, steadying her voice. "I've changed everything about myself. They won't recognize me." Vict
Last Updated : 2025-04-15SCORNED EX WIFE : Queen Of Ashes Chapter 35
ALEXANDER POINT OF VIEW The soft hum of my car's engine fills the silence as I watch the gallery entrance. Rain taps against the windows, turning the city lights into blurred stars. My thoughts keep returning to her - to the moment she collided with me outside that powder room, to the brief flash of raw emotion in her eyes before her careful mask slipped back into place.Camille. Even her name feels different on my tongue now.My security team thinks I'm obsessed. Maybe they're right. I've spent a year tracking her transformation, gathering every scrap of information about who she was before Victoria Kane molded her into this new creation. The photos tell a story Victoria doesn't understand, a story of survival, not victimhood.I pull up an old photo on my phone. Camille Lewis at her engagement party, standing slightly behind Rose while Stefan's attention clearly drifted toward her sister. Even then, something in her eyes spoke of quiet strength. They never saw it. Never recognized w
Last Updated : 2025-04-15SCORNED EX WIFE : Queen Of Ashes Chapter 36
Chapter 36 Camille's point of view There's a particular satisfaction in watching something fall apart from a distance, in witnessing the precise moment when confidence shatters and reality crashes down. Victoria had taught me that. "True power isn't in the destruction itself," she'd told me once, "but in knowing you orchestrated it while they never saw you coming." As I sat at the head of the conference table in Kane industries' executive boardroom, I savored that lesson, watching the faces of Pacific Maritime's leadership crumble under the weight of their impending ruin. I watched the numbers change on my tablet as Pacific Maritime's stock price plummeted. Each drop represented another piece of Stefan's empire crumbling. The company's board members sat across from me in Kane Industries' main conference room, their faces growing paler by the minute. "Your company lost forty percent of its value in the last hour," I said, my voice carrying through the silent room. "In fifteen minut
Last Updated : 2025-04-15
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SCORNED EX WIFE : Queen Of Ashes Chapter 140
Chapter 140Herod's phone rang at 3:17 AM. The cheap motel room was dark except for the blue light of his burner phone cutting through the blackness. He squinted at the screen. Unknown number. His finger hovered over the decline button, but something made him answer."Hello?""They found everything." The voice on the other end was hushed, stressed. Derek Martinez, his contact at the FBI. "Your business card in the wreckage. Your fingerprints on the detonator parts. Plans for the bombings in your apartment."Herod sat up, suddenly wide awake. "What plans? I never kept anything in the apartment.""Well, someone did. Blueprints of the substations. Notebooks with blast calculations. A journal talking about your hatred for Victoria Kane.""That's impossible. I never wrote any journal." Herod's mouth went dry. "What else?""Your emails. Detailing everything. The FBI has enough to lock you away forever." Martinez paused. "I'm risking everything telling you this. My career, my freedom.""I ap
SCORNED EX WIFE : Queen Of Ashes Chapter 139
Chapter 139Special Agent Diana Chen ducked under the yellow tape surrounding what remained of Substation 12. The smell of burnt metal and melted plastic filled her nose. Five days after the explosion, the site still smoldered in places. FBI evidence techs in white suits moved through the wreckage, marking and collecting anything that might help identify who had done this."What do we have so far?" her partner, Agent Trent Morgan, asked as he joined her, notebook in hand.Chen pointed to a corner where three techs huddled around something. "They found pieces of the detonator. Military grade, just like at Substation 8.""So we're looking at the same person for both bombings," Morgan said, scribbling in his notebook."It gets better." Chen led him toward a table where collected evidence sat in clear plastic bags. She picked up one containing a twisted piece of metal. "Look at this."Morgan squinted at the bag. "Is that a business card?""What's left of one." Chen nodded. "Fire damaged i
SCORNED EX WIFE : Queen Of Ashes Chapter 138
Chapter 138Rain pounded against the windows of Pierce Tower as Alexander pored over security reports. Three days had passed since the Phoenix Grid attacks, and the constant worry had etched new lines around his eyes. His phone buzzed. Unknown number. He almost ignored it."Pierce.""I need to see you." A male voice, quiet but urgent. "It's about Camille. And Rose."Alexander stiffened. "Who is this?""Stefan Rodriguez."The name sent a surge of anger through Alexander. His grip tightened on the phone. "You have nothing I want to hear.""Please," Stefan's voice cracked. "Rose has contacted people, dangerous people. Camille is in danger."Alexander checked his watch. "The Plaza Hotel. Thirty minutes. Come alone."He ended the call, his thoughts churning. Stefan Rodriguez, the man who had broken Camille's heart, who had chosen Rose over her. His instinct screamed to ignore him. But if there was even a tiny chance Camille was in danger...Alexander made another call. "Double security on
SCORNED EX WIFE : Queen Of Ashes Chapter 137
Chapter 137Camille stared at the wall of screens in Kane Industries' crisis management room. Each one showed a different news channel, all broadcasting the same images: smoke pouring from the damaged substations, firefighters battling flames, and worried faces of New York citizens wondering if their power would fail next. Three hours had passed since the second explosion. The sun would rise soon, bringing with it questions they needed answers for."The press is gathering downstairs," Hannah said, placing a tablet in front of Camille. "Over forty reporters. All major networks."Camille nodded, her eyes never leaving the screens. The headline crawling across the bottom of Channel 7's broadcast made her stomach clench: "PHOENIX GRID FAILURE? KANE INDUSTRIES FACES QUESTIONS AFTER TWIN EXPLOSIONS.""Stock futures are dropping," Alexander added quietly from behind her. "Down twelve percent already."Victoria, still pale from her recent surgery but standing straight-backed and defiant, turn
SCORNED EX WIFE : Queen Of Ashes Chapter 136
Chapter 136Rose stared at the television screen, her eyes bright with a feverish glow as breaking news footage showed smoke billowing from Substation 12. The explosion had done exactly what she wanted. Chaos. Fear. The perfect beginning to Camille's downfall."It's beautiful," she whispered, running her fingertips over the screen as if caressing a lover. "Look at them scramble."Herod stood behind her, his face ashen as he watched emergency vehicles rushing to the scene. This wasn't what he had signed up for. Sabotage was one thing. Corporate espionage, stock manipulation, those were the weapons of business warfare he understood. But this... this was terrorism."We've made our point," he said, his voice tight. "The market will respond. Kane Industries stock will plummet. We can...""Point?" Rose spun around, her eyes wild. "We haven't even started." She crossed to the hotel room's small table where she'd spread out maps of the Phoenix Grid's infrastructure. The maps were covered in r
SCORNED EX WIFE : Queen Of Ashes Chapter 135
Chapter 135A thunderous boom shook the early morning quiet. Orange flame shot into the dark sky as Substation 12 of the Phoenix Grid exploded. Pieces of metal and concrete flew in all directions. The night security guard, having stepped outside for a cigarette moments earlier, stared in shock from the parking lot.Three blocks away, Rose watched from the passenger seat of a stolen van, her face lit by the distant flames. A small smile played on her lips as smoke rose into the night sky."Beautiful," she whispered. "Just like I planned."Beside her, Herod gripped the steering wheel, his face tight. "Drive now, admire later," he said, shifting the van into gear. "Security cameras might have caught us."As they sped away, emergency sirens began to wail in the distance. Fire trucks and police cars raced toward the burning substation."Phase one complete," Rose said, her voice filled with satisfaction. "Now we wait for phase two, the system collapse."Herod kept his eyes on the road, his
SCORNED EX WIFE : Queen Of Ashes Chapter 134
Chapter 134Camille's penthouse glowed with warm light against the evening sky. Floor-to-ceiling windows displayed the city below, where thousands of lights now powered by the Phoenix Grid sparkled like earthbound stars. The dining table, set for twelve, gleamed with crystal and silver.Hannah arrived first, bringing a bottle of champagne and a shy smile. She looked different outside the control room—softer somehow in a simple blue dress, her usual ponytail replaced by loose waves."It's strange to celebrate," she said as Camille welcomed her. "Part of me is still waiting for another crisis."Camille squeezed her hand. "Tonight, we just enjoy our success."The others arrived in quick succession, Mike from Hannah's team, board members who had supported the Grid from the beginning, Alexander's chief engineer who had helped design the power relays. Each brought congratulations, small gifts, happy exhaustion from the work finally completed.Camille moved among them easily, the perfect hos
SCORNED EX WIFE : Queen Of Ashes Chapter 133
Chapter 133Rose hurled the empty bottle against the wall. It shattered into tiny pieces, much like their plans. On the television, news channels couldn't stop talking about the Phoenix Grid's successful launch. Camille's face appeared on every station, her triumph complete."Turn it off!" she screamed, her voice raw from hours of rage.Herod stood by the window of their shabby motel room, his back to her. They had been forced to hide here after abandoning his penthouse. His finger pressed the remote button, silencing Camille's voice mid-sentence about "transformation" and "rising from the ashes.""All of it," Herod said, his voice hollow with defeat. "All my planning, all my resources, all the time spent cultivating Walsh as our inside man, wasted.""We knew they discovered Walsh," Rose paced the worn carpet, her movements sharp and erratic. "But how did they block the signal jammer too? That was supposed to be foolproof!"Herod turned to face her. His expensive suit looked out of pl
SCORNED EX WIFE : Queen Of Ashes Chapter 132
Chapter 132The sun shone bright over Kane Industries plaza as thousands gathered for the Phoenix Grid launch. News vans lined the streets. Cameras from every major network pointed at the stage. Reporters from six continents spoke into microphones, broadcasting to viewers around the world.Behind the stage, Camille took deep breaths. Her navy suit felt tight against her skin despite its perfect fit. In minutes, she would step out to face not just New York, but the world.Victoria approached, regal in silver gray. "Nervous?""A little," Camille admitted. "It's not just about the Grid anymore. It's about everything we've overcome to get here."Victoria nodded, understanding in her eyes. "Sometimes our greatest achievements come from our hardest battles."Alexander appeared, handsome in his dark suit. "Security reports everything looks clear so far.""That doesn't mean they're not out there," Camille said. Her hand moved to her pocket where she carried the phoenix ring. Once today was ov
