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

her revenge, but something warmer, more vital.

them. As Alexander made introductions, Camille noticed something unusual

at his technical questions.

worked on this personally," she realized

a degree in engineering most people don't know

a woman with steel-gray

snorted. "He means he drove us crazy for three years,

calculations at

the vessel

stern. Alexander explained how the

that covered the deck could capture energy even in cloudy conditions, how the hydrogen fuel cells stored

navigation system optimized routes based on weather patterns to

stood at the ship's bow,

them. "But the cost must be astronomical. How will shipping companies afford to convert their

that looked like mischief. "They won't have to.... we'll do it

"What do you mean?"

created a separate

to the companies, in exchange for a

that's not how

it should

to face her fully. "Some innovations are too important to be held hostage by traditional profit models.

earnings reports."

helper who had assisted her revenge, not the

that saved a stranger on a dark road. Camille Kane has the power to reshape industries. I'm interested in the

felt almost too bright, too revealing.

his eyes.

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

small

held a computer and a framed photograph. Camille recognized Alexander, several years younger, standing beside a

She died of cancer three years ago, before she could see

her favorite childhood book."

WIFE BY

ship that sails to

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

tears pricking

"Is that why you were so determined

it was right?"

Alexander considered this, then

head. "No. I helped you because I owed you a debt. But somewhere along the way, it

it become about?" Camille's heart hammered in

answering directly, Alexander

removed a worn leather journal. “Ruth kept this during the development process. Her technical notes,

to Camille. "Page

Camille carefully opened

to the marked page, where a single

power isn't in what we take from others,

easy, a match can burn down a forest in hours that took centuries to grow. But creation? Creation is the real magic. It requires faith

she closed the journal. "Why are you showing me

complete. Rose and Stefan are destroyed. Your parents are cut from your life. Victoria has given you everything she promised. But now comes

"What's that?"

you." He took the journal and returned it to the drawer.

in creating something they could

the cabin's

water. Victoria would say you're

"Victoria transformed your