SCORNED EX WIFE Queen Of Ashes (Camille and Stefan)

Chapter 89

Alexander Pierce's car slid to a stop outside the modest apartment building in Brooklyn. He checked the address on his phone again, confirming this was indeed where Stefan Rodriguez now lived. The fall from overlooking Central Park to this brick walkup with peeling paint.

"Wait here," he told his driver, stepping out into the brisk afternoon air.

The security buzzer was broken.

Alexander pushed through the lobby door, grimacing at the smell of old cooking oil and cigarettes that hung in the narrow hallway. Apartment 3B was at the end of the third- floor corridor, its door as shabby as the rest of the building

Alexander straightened his tie, a habit from childhood wher facing difficult situations, and knocked.

Footsteps approached from inside, followed by the click of locks. The door swung open to reveal Stefan Rodriguez, unshaven and bleary-

eyed in wrinkled clothes. Recognition dawned slowly on his face, followed by confusion."

"Pierce? What the hell are you doing here?

Alexander kept his face neutral. "We need to talk."

Stefan laughed, the sound hollow and bitter. "About what? How your girlfriend destroyed my family's company? Or maybe you want the recipe for rock bottom. I've perfected it lately."

"About Camille," Alexander said simply. "She needs your help."

Something flickered across Stefan's face, surprise, guilt, curiosity. He stepped back, gesturing Alexander inside with a mocking bow.

"Welcome to my humble new reality. Excuse the mess. Maid service was one of the first luxuries

to go."

The apartment was small but surprisingly clean, despite Stefan's appearance. A laptop sat open on a folding table surrounded by job applications and financial documents. Empty takeout containers clustered ne

"Drink?" Stefan asked, retrieving a half-empty whiskey

bottle from the kitchenette. "It's not the thirty-year-

old Macallan you're probably used to, but it does the job."

"No, thank you." Alexander remained standing, studying the man before him.

"Suit yourself." Stefan poured a generous measure into a water glass. "So what could the mighty Alexander Pierce possibly want from me? Last time I checked, I was fresh out of shipping companies for you to a Alexander cut through the bitterness. "Have you seen the news about Camille?"

Stefan's expression changed, defenses dropping momentarily. "About her supposed mental issues? Yeah. Hard to miss when your ex-

wife is being torn apart on every channel."

"It's all lies," Alexander said flatly. "Fabricated by Rose and someone with significant resources."

"And this concerns me how, exactly?" Stefan took a long drink, but his eyes betrayed interest despite his detached tone.

Alexander stepped closer. "Because you're the only person who can convincingly refute Rose's story."

Stefan snorted. "Me? The ex-

her ister sister That's your

lived with Camille for yours. You know she

know

Alexander with new focus. "Why would I help her? Camille made

wants from you," Alexander replied. "It's about doing the right thing.

The words

turned away, moving to the apartment's single window. He stared out at

finally. "Watching someone you

from the ruins you left them in." He glanced back at Alexander. "Camille with Kane Industries. The Phoenix Grid. Her

isn't about

fully now, something sharp in his gaze. "The great Alexander Pierce, rushing to save Camille. Tell me, are you doing this because it's 'right' or because you're in love with her?" Alexander felt heat rise in his neck, caught off guard by the direct question. "My personal

if you actually care about Alexander's carefully maintained composure cracked. "Of course I care about her. I've watched her rebuild herself from nothing. Seen her fight through pain that

away pretense. Alexander thought of Camille's face the first time she'd truly smiled at him, not as Camille Kane but as herself. How something

it. "Yes, I'm in love with

as if confirming something he'd already known. "At least you're honest about

at that gallery opening, something felt familiar. I couldn't place it. Her face was

not. I was too far gone by then. Too caught up in Rose's web." He took

"You're not the first

manipulated by her," Alexander

one who threw away someone good for her" Stefan's voice roughened. "You want to know if Camille ever showed signs of mental instability? The answer is no. Not once. She was the sanest, m Then say

bitterly. "And who would believe me?

credible source." "You're the only

daily for years," Alexander countered. "Your testimony carries

precisely

defend her. Everyone knows

the blunt assessment.

to spare your feelings," Alexander said. "I'm here because Camille is being destroyed by lies, and you're one of the

Stefan drained his

exactly would I need

a surge of cautious hope. "Hold a press conference. Tomorrow, before the morning shows air that interview with the Lewis parents. Publicly refute every claim Rose has made about Camille's mer "And admit my role in all this," Stefan added. "Admit I betrayed a perfectly

"Yes."

silhouette dark against the gray afternoon light. "You know what the hardest part of losing everything is? It's not the money or the status. It's losing the lies you tell yourself. sleep at

Alexander. "I told myself Camille and I were already broken before Rose. That I fell in love with Rose naturally, not because she orchestrated it. That Camille would be fine without me." His lau Alexander waited, sensing Stefan needed to process this moment in his

continued, "now that I've lost

those lies don't protect me anymore. I see everything clearly. Too clearly." He looked

men studied each other, former rivals now linked by their connection to

you. Or even for Camille, really.

"Why, then?" Alexander asked.

"Because it's true," Stefan

straightened his shoulders. "I'll hold your press conference. Tell the world exactly who Rose Lewis is, and wh Camille really was." Alexander nodded, relief washing through him.

me," Stefan warned. "I'm not doing this to help you win

not why

eyes were knowing, "You love her. You want to protect her.

this, it needs

be." Stefan's voice strengthened with resolve. "I'll contact my uncle's former PR

handle the arrangements,"

firm. "If I'm doing this, I'm