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

but something warmer, more vital. This was creation, not destruction. Building, not

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,"

degree in engineering most people don't know about. This project was too important to delegate

woman with steel-gray

"He means he drove us crazy for three

our calculations

toured the vessel

Alexander explained

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

navigation system optimized routes based on weather

as they stood at the ship's bow,

the cost must be astronomical. How will shipping companies

mischief. "They won't have to.... we'll

"What do you mean?"

a

cargo ships to solar at no cost to the companies, in exchange for a small percentage of their

stared at him. "That's... that's not how business usually

should be."

to face her fully. "Some innovations are too important to be held hostage by traditional profit models. Climate change won't wait

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 you were,"

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

bright, too revealing. Camille

his eyes.

"There's

her to a small

photograph. Camille recognized

using. She died of cancer three years ago, before she could see her work implemented. Her last request was that we name the first vessel

her favorite childhood book."

BY ANNYPEN"

that sails to

the world and beyond." 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

tears

blinked them away. "Is that why you

it was right?"

Alexander considered this, then

owed you a debt. But somewhere along the way, it became about more

did it become about?" Camille's heart

directly, Alexander opened a

a worn leather journal. “Ruth kept this during the development

it to Camille.

Camille carefully opened

where a single paragraph

we take from others, but

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

hand trembled slightly as she closed the

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

"What's that?"

want to be when you're not defined by what was done to you." He took the

enemies, but in creating something they could

cabin's small

water. Victoria would say you're trying to

"Victoria transformed your