SCORNED EX WIFE Queen Of Ashes (Camille and Stefan)

Chapter 101

The clock on Camille's office wall

ticked past eleven. Most of Kane Industries had emptied hours ago, but Camille, couldn't rest, not with Victoria's revelations about Herod Preston still echoing in her mind.

A soft knock pulled her from her thoughts.

"Come in," she called.

Hannah Zhao, the Phoenix Grid's chief engineer, entered clutching a stack of rolled blueprints. Her normally neat appearance had frayed, hair escaping its bun, dark circles under her eyes.

"Ms. Kane, I'm sorry to bother you so late, but..." Hannah hesitated.

Camille motioned to the chair across from her desk. "It's fine. What's wrong?"

Hannah sat, placing the blueprints between them. "I've been going over these since the groundbreaking ceremony.

She unrolled the top sheet. "Something feels... off."

"Off how?"

"After finding those modifications to the safety protocols last week, I started comparing

every version of the blueprints."

She pointed to a section showing the Grid's main junction box. "This is what I designed originally," Hannah said, then unrolled a second blueprint. "And this is what's currently on file for construction." To Camille's untrained eye, they looked identical.

"What am I missing?" she asked.

Hannah retrieved a magnifying glass. "Look at the temperature sensors here, here, and here. The specifications are off by tiny increments. Half a millimeter in placement. Two degrees in the trigger threshold. A Camille examined the areas Hannah indicated. "These are very small changes."

"Individually, yes. But collectively? These modifications would allow the junction boxes to overheat without triggering the emergency shutdown protocols. The system would continue operating as if everything we

"How dangerous?"

Hannah met her eyes directly. "Catastrophic failure. Potential explosions at multiple sites. Massive power outages. And the modifications would make it look like design flaws, like Kane Industries had built an inh Camille sat back, the implications hitting her. This wasn't just sabotage, it was

character assassination.

"When did you first notice these discrepancies?" Camille asked.

"I caught some before the groundbreaking, the ones I showed you and Mr. Pierce last week. We fixed those. But these are different. More subtle. It's like someone went through twice, making different kinds of o Or two different people made changes," Camille murmured, thinking of Rose and Herod.

"Maybe." Hannah looked uneasy. "What I can't figure out

how anyone got access. Our system requires multiple authorizations, biometric verification...."

Chapter 101

"Someone on the inside." Camille stood abruptly. "Keep this between us for now. I'm calling Mr. Pierce, and then we're going through every blueprint. Every specification."

"That could take all night," Hannah said.

nodded grimly. "Then we'd better get

****

in the morning, Camille's office had transformed. Blueprints covered every surface,vher desk, the conference table, even sections of the floor. Hannah had sketched diagrams on the glass wall with erasa Alexander had

a focused intensity. He now sat

the floor, comparing

announced, adding another mark to her tally. "All made within the last

added. "Nothing that

wanted it to fail spectacularly.

rubbed her eyes. "After people started

"They focus on the intersection points,

connects to the city's existing power grid. That's where

Alexander said. "Maximum

to identify who made these changes. Every modification should have

smart enough to access the system..." "They were smart enough to cover

Camille joined Alexander, examining the circuit diagrams. Their shoulders touched as they leaned over the

of this technical material?"

likely. But Herod might.

Camille realized. "Someone on the construction crew. Someone with access and technical

interrupted. "The system logs show blueprint access from authorized terminals, but at odd hours. When the primary users weren't

turned her

timestamps 2:14 AM. 3:47 AM. No one from

was here."

"Stolen credentials," Alexander suggested.

biometric scan registered as Louis Brown, one of our senior electricians. At 4: 30 AM on a

Chapter 101

system uses multiple validation points, fingerprint, retinal scan,

look. "So either Louis is involved, or someone forced him to provide access." "Either way, we need to find him." Alexander pulled out

he is

them," Alexander finished. "But we also can't let

blueprints remain in

"I can create a new set of blueprints

correct specifications. Upload them

than flagging the

work?" Camille

"It's standard procedure

one would question it."

keep the modified versions for

"We need to watch Walsh without alerting him. If he's their

to Rose

agree. But we also need to check every other system. If they compromised

work of someone with both technical knowledge and acces By three in the morning, Hannah had uploaded corrected blueprints. Alexander had arranged

to avoid potential

at the glass wall covered

to destroy the Grid, she'd tried to destroy Camille's reputation, her future, possibly her freedom if the failures had

Hannah left, Camille collapsed onto her office sofa. The weight of

that someone inside Kane Industries had betrayed them,

her, taking her hand. "We caught it

time," Camille said. "But Rose and