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

Camille noticed something unusual about the team, their easy camaraderie absence of the typical deference shown to billionaire

at his technical questions.

on this

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

a woman

crazy for three years, sleeping in the

calculations

the

Alexander explained how the

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

system optimized routes based

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

"But the cost must be astronomical. How

eyes sparkled with something that looked like mischief. "They won't have to.... we'll do

"What do you mean?"

a

cost to the companies, in exchange for a small percentage of their increased profits for five years. After that, the technology belon

that's not how business

it should be."

to be held hostage

earnings reports."

had assisted her revenge, not the powerful CEO, but someone who had taken his own pain and "You're not who I

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

felt almost too bright, too revealing.

his eyes.

her discomfort. "There's one more thing I want to show

small cabin tucked away from

framed photograph. Camille recognized Alexander, several years younger, standing

developed the original flexible solar technology we're using. She died of cancer three

her favorite childhood book."

BY

ship that sails to

before she died, she made me promise that when this ship finally sailed profit or prestige,

tears

that why you were so determined to help me?

it was right?"

Alexander considered this, then

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

did it become about?" Camille's

of answering directly, Alexander opened

during the development process.

to Camille. "Page

Camille carefully opened

the marked page, where

in what we

in hours that took centuries to grow. But creation? Creation is the real magic.

trembled slightly as she closed the journal.

stand at a crossroads." 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 promised. But now comes

"What's that?"

to be when you're not defined by what was done to you." He took the journal and returned it to the drawer. "Ruth taught me that our greatest

creating

the cabin's small window,

water. Victoria would say you're trying to manipulate

"Victoria transformed your