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

that had driven her revenge, but something warmer, more vital. This was creation, not destruction. Building, not

group of engineers waited to greet them. As Alexander made introductions, Camille noticed something unusual about the team, their easy camaraderie absence of the

at his technical questions.

this personally," she realized

cheeks flushed slightly. "I have a degree in engineering most people don't know about. This project was too important to delegate

woman with

"He means he drove us crazy

calculations at

toured the vessel

stern. Alexander explained how the flexible

energy even in cloudy conditions, how the hydrogen fuel cells stored power for nighttime

based

revolutionary," Camille said as they stood at the ship's bow, the Manhattan skyline

How will shipping companies afford to convert

something that looked like mischief.

"What do you mean?"

a separate

We'll convert existing cargo ships to solar at no cost to the companies, in exchange

him. "That's... that's not how

it should

innovations are too important to be held hostage by traditional profit models. Climate change won't

earnings reports."

standing before her. Not the calculated helper who had assisted her revenge, not the powerful CEO, but someone who had taken his own pain and "You're not who I thought

are you." His gaze was steady. "Camille Lewis had compassion that saved a stranger on a dark road. Camille Kane has the power

that felt almost too bright, too revealing. Camille turned away, overwhelmed by the

his eyes.

Alexander said, sensing her discomfort. "There's one

her to a small cabin tucked away from

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

original flexible solar technology we're using. She died of cancer three years ago, before she could see her work implemented.

her favorite childhood book."

EX WIFE BY ANNYPEN"

sails to the

should serve humanity, not just shareholders. The week before

tears pricking

unexpected and unwelcome. She blinked them away. "Is that

it was right?"

Alexander considered this, then

because I owed you a debt. But somewhere along the way, it became

about?" Camille's heart hammered

directly, Alexander opened

leather journal. “Ruth kept this during

to Camille.

Camille carefully opened

to the marked page, where a single paragraph had

in what we take from

a forest in hours that took centuries to grow. But creation? Creation is the real magic. It requires faith that what doesn't yet exist can be brought into being through persistence and

as she closed the journal.

Alexander's voice was gentle but firm. "Your revenge is complete. Rose and Stefan are destroyed. Your parents are cut from your life. Victoria has given you everything she

"What's that?"

defined by what was done to you." He took the journal and returned it

enemies, but in creating something they

the cabin's small window,

Victoria would say you're trying to

"Victoria transformed your