SCORNED EX WIFE Queen Of Ashes (Camille and Stefan)

Chapter 45

Camille's point of view

Five screens glowed on the wall of Victoria's private office, each displaying a different fashion blog. The headline on Fashion Insider screamed in bold type: "ROSE LEWIS: FASHION'S FEMME FATALE?" Belov clock on her desk showed 9:07 AM. The story had been live for exactly twelve minutes, and already the view counter showed over three thousand clicks.

"Perfectly timed," Victoria said, satisfaction evident in her voice. "The fashion industry wakes up, checks their morning feeds, and finds their darling, exposed.”

I nodded, a strange mix of emotions washing through me. Satisfaction, yes. The first real blow against Rose's carefully constructed image. But something else too, something I hadn't expected. A hollow feeling Was this really victory? Releasing photos that had been easy to obtain, evidence of sins that seemed almost trivial compared to what she'd

done to me?

"Ms. Kane? Ms. Camille?" My assistant Rebecca knocked before entering, tablet in hand, excitement barely contained. "You wanted updates on the Rose Lewis situation?" Victoria motioned her forward "Report"

"The story's spreading faster than projected. It's hit three major fashion blogs in the last five minutes. Social media engagement is exploding." Rebecca handed Victoria the tablet. "Her publicist has already issue Victoria's lips curved into a rare smile as she scrolled through the data. "And the hashtag we planted?"

"#Rose Thoms is trending in New York and Los Angeles." Rebecca couldn't hide her admiration. "The influencers we prepped are amplifying exactly as planned."

I leaned forward, scanning the social media metrics on the tablet. “Her brand partners?"

"Panicking" Rebecca's smile widened. "Three have already reached out to their legal teams about morality clauses in their contracts."

Victoria handed me the tablet, our eyes meeting; briefly. This moment, the first real strike against Rose, was what we'd been building toward for months.

"I want to see her," I said suddenly. "When she gets the news."

an eyebrow. "Dangerous.

I struggled to explain the hunger inside me. "I need

in Victoria's eyes. "Not enough to

position Ms. Kane near the Lewis boutique. The target has an investor meeting there

Thirty minutes later, I

arrived at 9:50, looking i Then I saw it. The moment her assistant rushed out, phone extended urgently. The slight freeze in Rose's perfect posture. The fractional widening

in her body language. The momentary loss of control as her practiced mask

hand clutched her assistant's arm for balance. Her mouth opened slightly before snapping shut. For ten glorious seconds, I watched genuine panic overtake my sister's face. Then, like the performer

like honey on my

Victoria and I tracked the story's spread through more mainstream media. By noon, three major fashion magazines had picked it up. By two, entertainment news sites were running spe I nodded, scanning the reports. "And

see how

first true strike in my campaign against

of

next phase. "When do we release the

Let this first scandal fully develop before introducing the next. Maximum damage

beginning to recover from one

would have. Now I found comfort in

message. I glanced down, expecting another update from our

updates. Remind me

1 quickly darkened the phone screen. How had he known? We'd

sharp eyes missed

too quickly. "Just a

too long, assessing, calculating, before she returned to the reports. "Tomorrow we'll monitor