SCORNED EX WIFE Queen Of Ashes (Camille and Stefan)

Chapter 81

Camille's phone buzzed on her nightstand, pulling her from a dreamless sleep. The screen glowed with Alexander's name. Not a text message, but an actual call at, she squinted, 5:36 AM. "Hello?” Her voice was rough with sleep.

"Look out your window." Alexander's voice held an energy that made her sit up straight.

"It's not even dawn," she protested, but was already moving to the floor-to-

ceiling glass that showcased the Manhattan skyline.

"East. Toward the water."

Camille pressed her forehead against the cool glass, eyes searching the

horizon where night was reluctantly giving way to morning. "What am I looking for?"

"Wait for it."

As if on cue, the first ray of sunlight broke across the water, igniting the glass towers of

the financial district

in gold and fire. But it wasn't just the buildings that caught the light. An enormous structure floated in the harbor, a ship unlike any

Camille had seen before. Its vast deck gleamed with what appeared to be thousands of mirrored

panels catching the sunrise.

"Is that...."

"RISING EX WIFE. My company's first fully solar-

powered cargo vessel." Pride shimmered in Alexander's voice. "She dropped anchor twenty minutes ago after her maiden voyage from Rotterdam. Zero emissions. Zero fossil fuels."

Camille stared at the vessel, understanding immediately what this meant for their Phoenix Grid project. "You didn't tell me it was ready."

"Some surprises are worth

keeping." A pause. "Get dressed. I'm sending a helicopter to the roof in thirty

minutes. Bring shoes you don't mind getting wet."

Before she could respond, the line went dead.

Victoria would disapprove, Camille thought as she showered quickly. This kind of impulsivity wasn't in the careful script they'd crafted for Camille Kane's public persona. But as warm water cascaded over her sh what Victoria would think. For the first time in two years, she wanted to make

a choice simply because it felt right.

The helicopter touched down exactly thirty minutes later. Alexander waited

inside, dressed in worn jeans and a light sweater, looking

nothing like the billionaire CEO the world knew. The

silver rose pendant she'd returned to her at their dinner

hung around her neck, a small weight against her collarbone.

"You're going to upend the entire shipping industry with this," Camille said as they lifted off, gesturing toward the gleaming vessel growing larger as they approached.

"We're going to upend it," Alexander corrected. “RISING EX WIFE is just the beginning. With the Phoenix Grid providing charging stations in every major port, we'll make dirty shipping obsolete within a decade.' The confidence in his voice stirred something in Camille, not the

determination that had driven her revenge, but something warmer, more

to greet them. As Alexander made introductions, Camille noticed something unusual about the team, their easy camaraderie absence of the typical deference shown to billionaire

at his technical questions.

this personally," she realized

have a degree in engineering most people don't know about. This project

a woman with

"He means he drove us crazy for three years, sleeping in the lab

our calculations

toured the vessel

explained how the

conditions,

based on weather patterns

Camille said as they stood at the ship's bow, the

cost must be astronomical. How will shipping companies

like mischief. "They won't have

"What do you mean?"

a

solar at no cost to the companies, in exchange for a small percentage of their increased profits for five

that's not how

it should

are too important to be held hostage by traditional profit

earnings reports."

the man standing before her. Not the calculated helper who had assisted her revenge, not the

are you." His gaze was steady. "Camille Lewis had compassion that saved a stranger on a dark road. Camille Kane has the power to reshape industries. I'm interested in the woman who combines both The morning sun had

now, bathing them in light that felt almost too bright,

his eyes.

discomfort. "There's one more

to a small cabin tucked

Inside, a simple desk held a computer and a framed photograph. Camille recognized Alexander, several

She died of cancer three years ago, before she could see her work implemented. Her

her favorite childhood book."

EX WIFE BY

that sails to the

Alexander's voice was quiet. "Ruth believed innovation should serve humanity, not just shareholders. The week before she died, she made me promise that when this ship finally sailed profit or prestige, but because it was

tears pricking

them away. "Is that why you were so determined

it was right?"

Alexander considered this, then

I helped you because I owed you a debt.

Camille's heart

directly, Alexander opened

“Ruth kept this during the

handed it to Camille.

Camille carefully opened

the marked page, where a

power isn't in what we take from

But creation? Creation is the real magic.

hand trembled slightly as she closed the journal. "Why are you showing me

Alexander's voice was gentle but firm. "Your revenge is complete. Rose and Stefan are destroyed. Your

"What's that?"

was done to you." He took the

creating something

to the cabin's small window, watching seagulls

would say you're

"Victoria transformed your