SCORNED EX WIFE Queen Of Ashes (Camille and Stefan)

Chapter 19

CAMILLE'S

'S POINT OF VIEW

Four months into my new life as Camille Kane, I finally had a day to myself. No combat training with Jason. No business lessons. No public appearances or meetings with Victoria's corporate associates. Just tw four hours of unscheduled time stretching before me like an unexpected gift.

I'd almost forgotten what freedom felt like.

The morning sun streamed through my bedroom windows as I lingered over breakfast on my private balcony. Below, gardeners tended the immaculate grounds of Victoria's estate, a sprawling property that occ But not today.

I dressed casually in jeans and a sweater, clothes I rarely wore now that my wardrobe consisted primarily of designer business attire and

formal wear. My reflection in the mirror still startled me sometimes, the sharper cheekbones, the more refined nose, the elegant bob that had replaced my once-

long hair. A woman designed for power rather than pleasing others.

Victoria had left at dawn for a business trip to Tokyo, taking James and her usual security detail with her. The mansion felt different without her commanding presence, quieter, less intense, almost peaceful. "Ms. Kane?" A soft knock accompanied the housekeeper's voice. "Will you be needing anything before I leave for my sister's wedding?"

Mrs. Chen, the only staff member who lived off-

premises, had mentioned the family event weeks ago. "No, thank you, Mrs. Chen. Enjoy the wedding."

food prepared in the

me truly alone in the massive house for the first time since

Perfect

the mansion in my

to change

its carved banister cool beneath my palm. Second floor, then third. The hallway branched in four directions, cach leading to a different

about security and access points. Not a keypad or electronic lock,

the kind barely seen in homes of

fashioned. Deliberately personal.

place to start. I made my way back down to the main floor, to

surprise given her usual caution, but then, she likely never expected

its surface bare except for a la I hesitated at the threshold. This felt different from my curiosity about the locked wing. This was a deliberate invasion of Victoria's private space, a breach of the trust she'd placed in me. But wasn't she invading Decision made, I crossed to the desk, immediately drawn to the framed photo. It showed a younger Victoria with her arm around a smiling young woman who could only be Sophia, tall, confident, with eyes that Happy. They

exactly as I'd found it, and began my search. The desk drawers yielded nothing of interest, business papers, correspondence, a spare pair of reading glasses. No

glasses. The paintings, all originals by renowned I was about to give

hidden behind leather -

seemed out of place among the

heavy in my palm. It looked exactly like what would fit the lock to the east

At the locked door, I hesitated again, knowing I was crossing a boundary that might change my relationship with Victoria forever. But I'd come too far to turn back. I inserted the key, feeling the mechanism shift

fumbled for a light switch, finding one just inside the doorway. Soft lighting revealed a hallway lined w Sophia as a toddler in a frilly dress. Sophia in a cap and gown, proudly holding a diploma. Sophia laughing on a sailboat, wind catching her hair. In each image, her resemblance to me was undeniable, despite t No wonder Victoria had been drawn to me

opened into a small

like a museum exhibit. Magazines from ten years ago lay on