SCORNED EX WIFE Queen Of Ashes (Camille and Stefan)

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

CAMILLE'S POINT OF VIEW

The black car moved through morning fog, tires humming gainst wet roads. I stared out the window, watching trees blur into gray mist. Victoria sat beside me, her face a mask of calm, but her fingers tapped a n

"Where are we going?" I asked, breaking the silence that had stretched between us since we left the mansion Thirty

minutes ago. The papers making me

officially Camille Kane had been signed at dawn, the ink barely dry. Victoria's eyes stayed fixed on the passing landscape. "To meet someone important."

The car turned onto a narrow road lined with tall iron gates and stone walls. A cemetery. My stomach tightened. "Sophia?" I whispered.

Victoria nodded once, sharp and quick, like admitting pain "Today marks ten years since I lost her."

The cemetery was empty of visitors, kept private by security guards who nodded respectfully as our car passed. Ancient trees created a natural cathedral over graves that dated back centuries. This was no ordi

Our driver stopped at the end of a curving path. "We walk from here," Victoria said, gathering her bag and stepping out without waiting for help.

I followed her along a stone path that wound uphill toward secluded corner overlooking the city. The grass here was greener, the flowers fresher. Clearly tended with special care.

We stopped before a white marble headstone, simple yet elegant. Quality that whispered rather than shouted.

SOPHIA ELIZABETH KANE

BELOVED DAUGHTER

TAKEN TOO SOON

1990-2013

Below those words, a single line of poetry: "Some souls are too bright for this world."

Victoria placed white lilies by the stone, her movements practiced yet tender. I hung back, feeling like an intruder on this private grief.

"Come," she said, not looking at me. "She would want to meet you."

I stepped forward,

uneasy. What do you say to a grave of someone you never knew? Someone whose death made your

new life possible?

Victoria knelt despite her expensive sult, uncaring about grass stains or dirt. "Hello, my darling," she said, touching the carved letters of Sophia's name. "I've brought someone to meet you." just cold.

The wind picked up, sanding, fallen leaves dancing around 1 zipped my jacket higher, shivering from more than

"Tell me about her," I said. "The real story, not the public rsion."

Victoria was

quiet so long I thought she wouldn't answer. When she spoke, her voien

Chapter 10

to teach her." A bitter smile crossed her lips. "That she learned

Oliver Preston. Old money, old connections. Handsome, charming, seemed perfect. His family owned shipping companies that competed

good enough. The Kanes

everything. They came from generations of wealth, of 'proper breeding. They thought

them."

in my chest. Always being measured

though part of me already

Car crash on a mountain road. Brake lines cut."

free to marry the 'right' background.

someone from

her eyes made me shiver again. This wasn't griel anymore, but something harder.

companies failed. Stock prices crashed. Ships lost at sea. Mysterious audits. Computer systems failing. Nothing that

Victoria's smile

jumped from his penthouse. Left a note confessing he'd known about

homes sold. Their treasures auctioned. The

patience. About being smarter. About taking what matters most to those who hurt you," She opened her bag, removing a small wooden chest. Beautifully carved, with silver hinges and lock. About the size of

us to why we're

box to me. I took it,

"What is it?"

were steady

dawned slowly. "You want me

of your old life. Everything that was Camille

my hands, suddenly unsteady on

to be while clinging to who you were," Victoria continued. "The woman they hurt, they used, they discarded, she must die here

carved wood. "And

now. You go back

and I help you start somewhere new,

shame in that choice.

the moment pressed down on me. Step forward or back. Choose power or peace. Become

I opened the box.

was lined with dark blue velvet. Empty, waiting. Like the future stretching before

my purse. Inside was all I had left of my old life. The few things I'd grabbed before leaving the house that day, plus what Victoria's people had collected from

carats, princess cut. "Not your style, dear, but it's what a Rodriguez wife should wear." I stared at it, remembering the day Stefan had slid

the ring into the box. The sound it made hitting the

charm bracelet my parents had given me for my sixteenth birthday. Each charm representing some

family," Victoria said.

bracelet joined the

of photos came next.

Me at my wedding, smiling so hopefully. A family Christmas, all

noted. "The stories you told yourself

photos fluttered into the

Inside, my driver's license, credit cards, social security card. The official

Victoria whispered. "Who

too went into the chest.

strange lightness spreading through

key. "Are you certain? Once locked, this chest will be buried here, beside

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