SCORNED EX WIFE Queen Of Ashes (Camille and Stefan)

Chapter 23

Chapter 23

CAMILLE'S POINT OF VIEW

The scream ripped from my throat before I was fully awake, my body jackknifing upright in bed. Sweat soaked through my silk nightgown, heart hammering against my ribs like it might break through. For a mom

Rose's face,

smiling as I drowned. Stefan watching from the shore, doing nothing. Their fingers intertwined as they witnessed my death, as casual as if they were watching a sunset.

"Ms. Kane?" A knock at my bedroom door. "Do you need assistance?"

The night guard. New guy. Torres or Torrez. I couldn't remember his name. Victoria rotated security personnel regularly, another layer of protection in her perfectly orchestrated world.

"I'm fine." I called back, voice steadier than I felt. "Just a dream."

"Yes, ma'am. Dr. Reed has been notified as per protocol."

Of course she had. Everything in Victoria's mansion was monitored, measured, reported. Privacy was a luxury I'd surrendered along with my old identity. I checked the clock 3:17 AM. Another night ruined by memories that refused to stay buried.

Six months of training. Six months of becoming someone new. Six months of Victoria's relentless program to transform me from victim to avenger. And still, my subconscious betrayed me, dragging me back into My phone lit up with a text: My office. 15 minutes. -Dr. Reed*

No sympathy. No option to reschedule. Just a command thinly disguised as a message. Typical of Victoria's handpicked psychologist.

I shuffled to my bathroom, splashing cold water on my face. The woman in the mirror had changed dramatically since Victoria had found me, cheekbones sharper from the surgical refinements, hair styled in an eyes harder from months of combat training. But in the hours after a nightmare, I still saw traces of the old. Camille beneath the carefully crafted exterior. Vulnerable. Afraid. Weak.

Dr. Reed would not approve.

Hero

two leather chairs facing each other across a glass table. No couch. No friendly

she asked,

in a severe bun, eyes sharp as they assessed

of someone half her age and

into the leather chair, the cool surface a stark contrast to my overheated skin. "I'm in the car, Water rising Pose and Stefan watching from the bridge, smiling the door's jammed. I scream for help, bu "Any variations

detail had twisted like a knife in my gut, even

months of nightmares. Who told you stopping them

what therapy is

receiving conventional therapy, Camille. You're receiving specialized psychological conditioning designed for

"Which are?"

you control it instead of letting it control you. Do you think Victoria became who she is by processing her grief in healthy ways? By moving on The bluntness hit me like

but the best in Victoria's

for immersion therapy. Time to control

trembled as I took

to relive drowning? Voluntarily?"

night. You wake up at the

real, the car interior, the rising water, Rose and Stefan watching from above. Initially, panic seized me, the memory of that night too vivid, too raw. But something shifted inside me through my

to recede. In my mind, I pushed against the car door. It opened. Not possible in reality, not with water

river like an avenging angel, dressed in a tailored power suit, hair perfectly styled, makeup

"Please!" Dream-

she fell, reaching toward me.

they plunged into

toward the shore, abandoning Rose to save himself. Typical.

did it feel?" Dr. Reed asked when I removed the headset,

satisfaction warring inside

are

my cheek, surprised to find it wet. "Because the person who enjoyed that isn't who I

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