SCORNED EX WIFE Queen Of Ashes (Camille and Stefan)

Chapter 53

Sunlight streamed through the tall windows of Camille's private suite, warming the polished wood floors and catching the fire of diamonds still resting on her dressing table. She hadn't returned the necklace to it Her phone lit up with another notification. The fifth news alert in twenty minutes. She reached for it, already knowing what she'd find. Another article. Another photo. Another round of speculation about her and A

This one came from the Business Insider: "WALL STREET ABUZZ: KANE-

PIERCE CONNECTION SENDS MARKETS SOARING." The photograph showed them standing together beneath the museum chandeliers, Alexander's hand resting lightly at the small of her back, her face tur Camille scrolled through the article, noting the financial analysis buried beneath the romantic speculation. Kane Industries stock up seven percent in pre-

market trading. Pierce Technologies up nearly nine percent. Investors apparently enthralled by the possibility of connection between two business empires previously seen as potential rivals.

She set the phone down, gaze returning to the necklace. One hundred million dollars in diamonds, casually placed around her neck by a man who treated the extraordinary amount as if it were nothing more tha Her fingers rose unconsciously to her throat, remembering the moment. The hushed crowd watching. The slight pressure of Alexander's hands at her nape. The warmth of his breath near her ear as he whispere "The phoenix rises. And looks more magnificent with each transformation."

No one had spoken to her that way

since her rebirth as Camille Kane. Most people approached with cautious deference, aware of her wealth and Victoria's protection. Business associates maintained professional distance. Social contacts remain Only Alexander seemed to see beyond the careful facade, beyond Victoria's creation, to something she herself sometimes forgot existed. The real woman beneath the surgical alterations and practiced manneri Her phone buzzed again. A

text this time, not a news alert. Alexander's name appeared on the screen, sending an unwelcome flutter through her chest.

*Good morning, little phoenix. I trust the diamonds made it home safely with you.*

She hesitated, knowing Victoria would disapprove of encouraging further contact. Knowing everything they'd built could be compromised by connection to someone as perceptive as Alexander Pierce. But Victoria wasn't here. And something about Alexander's attention made her feel alive in ways she'd almost forgotten.

She typed a response: *The diamonds

are fine. When should I expect your security to retrieve them?*

His reply came immediately: *Keep them.*

She stared at the two simple words, sure she'd misunderstood. Keep a hundred-

million-dollar necklace? Impossible.

*I can't accept such a gift, she wrote back.

gift. A loan.

be a next meeting sent another flutter through her

when might

abandoning pretense

Victoria would prefer.

The

The systematic revenge against Rose and Stefan. The identity she'd built under Victoria's guidance. All potentially threatened by Before she could respond, another text appeared: *The phoenix looks toward the sun, not back at the ashes it rose from. Remember that when Victoria returns with her warnings about

did he know Victoria was returning early? How did he always seem to know things

shouldn't?

you really after,

typed, needing to understand

he composed a response. Disappeared. Appeared again. Whatever he

*The same thing you are, beneath your quest for revenge. A second chance at living, not just

wanted

Stefan's lives, had she considered what came

threshold, still

you're awake," Victoria

table. "And

Pierce Industries this afternoon.' The direct confrontation was unusual. Victoria typically employed more subtle methods of expressing disapproval, pointed questions, carefully chosen silences, implied disappointment rather than direct accusat "And accepting it has created exactly the kind of attention we've carefully avoided for fifteen months." Victoria moved to the windows, adjusting the blinds to soften the morning light. A small action that asserted "I

turning back

calculated, Camille.

intensity. "Not everything

like Alexander Pierce

her off. "Everything is calculated, Everything serves a purpose. The question is not whether he had reasons for last

chess while others played checkers. Everyone seeing moves ahead

firmly. "Pierce Technologies and Kane Industries have several overlapping interests. An alliance, even one rumored rather

Victoria

dressing table, studying the necklace without touching it. "This was a message. To the

stock prices while giving him