SCORNED EX WIFE Queen Of Ashes (Camille and Stefan)

Chapter 67

Stefan Rodriguez stared into his whiskey glass, watching the amber liquid catch the dim

bar light. This was his fourth drink of the night, or maybe his fifth. He'd lost count somewhere between the endless news alerts about Rose's scandal and the memories that wouldn't stop haunting him. The bar was nearly empty on this rainy Tuesday night. Just him, the tired-

looking bartender who had stopped trying to make conversation hours ago, and a couple in the far corner who seemed too wrapped up in each other to notice anything else. Perfect. The last thing Stefan wante letting the burn travel down his throat. The television above the bar played footage of Rose leaving her apartment building, surrounded by reporters shouting questions about her affairs, her stolen designs, her denials, her careful performance of wronged innocence.

"Turn that off," he muttered to the bartender, who glanced up at the screen and reached for the remote without

comment

The sudden silence felt heavier somehow. Without the distraction of Rose's public disgrace, Stefan was left alone with thoughts that had been circling his mind for days. How had he been so blind? So easily ma The bartender set another whiskey in front of him without being asked. "On the house," he said, his eyes reflecting something that might have been understanding. You look like you need it." Stefan nodded his thanks, too exhausted for words. The past week had hollowed him out. First the collapse of his family's shipping empire, then the discovery of Rose's deception, and now this public spectacle deep weariness that no amount of alcohol seemed to touch.

His phone buzzed on the bar top. His father, again. The third call tonight. Stefan silenced it without answering. What could he possibly say to the man whose legacy he had failed to protect? Whose family name The small Rodriguez Shipping operation in Seattle was still functioning, but barely. The employees who had remained loyal deserved better than a broken man drowning his failures in whiskey. They deserved a Stefan ran a hand through his disheveled hair, remembering when he had been that man. When he had believed himself worthy of the Rodriguez name. When he had thought himself in love with a woman who No, not a stranger. A predator.

The emails the investigator had uncovered had

revealed the truth with brutal clarity. Rose wasn't a kind

and good wornan. She had been plotting, manipulating, calculating for years. The calls from London. The "chance" encounters when she returned to New York. The perfectly timed comfort offered when his mar All deliberate. All strategic. All focused on achieving what she wanted, regardless of who suffered in the process. Including Camille.

Stefan closed his eyes as memories of his wife flooded back Camille, with her gentle smile and quiet determination Camille, who had loved him despite his flaws, despite his family's cold welcome, desnit

Charter K

distance he had placed between them as Rose's influence grew.

Camille, whose car had gone off that bridge two nights after he had asked for a divorce. The night after he had chosen Rose.

The guilt was a physical pain in his chest, sharper than any business failure, any public humiliation. The knowledge that he had thrown away something genuine for a carefully crafted illusion felt like swallowing

"You

asked, pausing in his task of

eyes, surprised to find his vision blurred. "Fine," he managed.

not

felt more like a grimace.

bartender nodded knowingly. "Those are the ones worth

simple wisdom hit harder than it should have.

thoughts, not about his failing marriage, not about Rose's convenienttiming, not about the business decisions

dismissed every instinct

he should ignore it, spare himself whatever fresh humiliation the media had uncovered about Rose

DEEPENS: FORMER CLASSMATE PROVIDES EVIDENCE

been her breakthrough design, a design that, according to the article, had been stolen from a fe Stefan scrolled through the story, a strange numbness spreading through him. Every new revelation about

for the flashier, more calculated attention of her sister? When had ambition and appearance begun to matter

and truth?

questions burned through the alcohol haze,

to

bartender hesitated, clearly weighing his professional responsibility against the desperation in

firmly, pouring a smaller measure than before.

argue. He had lost the right to make good decisions for himself somewhere between signing divorce papers on his anniversary and watching Kane Industries systematically dismantle his family con Kane Industries. The name triggered something in his fog mind. A connection

no previous interest in Rodriguez Shipping assets. Yet her company had moved with surgical precision to acquire their debt,

recovery.

had prompted

heiress who

The woman whose dark eyes had seemed almost familiar

there, some connection he couldn't quite grasp through the whiskey fog. Some explanation for why bane Industries

now, the couple in the corner long gone, the night pressing dark against the windows. "What time is it?"

And you've had