SCORNED EX WIFE Queen Of Ashes (Camille and Stefan)

Chapter 130

Moonlight streamed through the floor-to-

ceiling windows of Camille's penthouse, casting long silver shadows across the living room. The city sparkled below, millions of lights that would soon be powered by the Phoenix Grid. Camille stood by the wind

The door opened behind her. Alexander's reflection appeared in the glass, his tie lessened, jacket discarded. He moved toward her with quiet steps, his eyes never leaving her face.

"Hannah just called," he said, his voice low in the stillness of the room. "They found trackers in the files they fed to Walsh. Herod accessed them three hours ago."

Camille turned, a smile spreading across her face. "So they took the bait."

"Completely." Alexander closed the distance between them, taking her free hand in his. "The trackers activated and showed them at Herod's penthouse, but only briefly. They must have discovered the monitorin gone without a trace."

Satisfaction warmed Camille's chest. For months, Rose and Herod had been one step ahead, forcing her to react, to defend. Now, finally, the tables had turned.

"And Walsh?" she asked.

"Under surveillance. He doesn't know we're onto him." Alexander took the champagne from her hand, setting both glasses on a nearby table. "We know they recognized our trap, but not before revealing they ha we know our suspicions were correct."

Camille felt something

loosen inside her, a tension she had carried for so long she had almost forgotten what it felt like to be without it. "We caught them," she whispered, almost afraid to say the words too loudly, as if that might break managed to escape."

Alexander's hands moved to her shoulders, solid and warm through the thin

fabric of her blouse. "You outplayed them, Camille. This was your strategy. Your trap."

She shook her head, unwilling to take all the credit. "Hannah discovered Walsh. Victoria helped plan the false information. You provided extra security. It was a team effort."

"A team you led." Alexander's eyes held hers, filled with an admiration that still caught her off guard sometimes. "Do you realize how far you've come in

twenty five months? From that night in the parking garage to now, it's remarkable."

Camille felt her throat tighten with unexpected emotion. She had been so focused on the next challenge, the next battle with Rose, that she rarely stopped to consider the journey. From broken victim to the arch "I never thought this moment would come,” she admitted, turning back to the window, the vast cityscape spread out before them. "There

thought Rose would win. That no matter what I did, she'd find a

rested on her shoulder, their reflections merging in the window glass. "She never had a chance," he murmured.

long moment, they stood in silence, watching the city, feeling the weight of their victory settle around them. The Phoenix Grid would launch in two days. Rose and Herod's sabotage had been discovered a

now fully

waiting," Camille

Rose to reveal some new attack we haven't anticipated." Alexander's reflection smiled. "That's

arms tightened around her, "... tonight, just for a few hours, let yourself enjoy

up to

stubble under her fingertips grounded her in the reality of this moment, this

this without you," she said. The words felt inadequate for what she wanted to express, how his ~*eady presence had anchored her through the stormy months of battling Rose, how his beli "Yes, you could have," Alexander replied with certainty. "But I'm glad you didn't

removing something Successfully unlocked! light.

recognized the phoenix ring, the one she had temporarily removed to tell Vic.oria about

you might want to wear this again," he said, holding it between them. "Now that the trap has

as he slid the ring onto her finger once more. The diamond captured

tiny rainbows across their skin. The phoenix wings seemed to move in

days," she said, looking from the ring to his face. "Two days until the Grid launches. Until we end this once

his expression turning more serious.

now. Desperate.

are."

doubled at the launch venue. Victoria has her own team

"What's our role in

show up. We launch the Grid. We refuse to let them

away from the window,

city lights creating a backdrop of glittering

are dealt with, when the Grid is fully operational, then we

voice, the patience and understanding, it filled Camille with a warmth that pushed back against the cold fear that had been her

with Alexander, had haunted Camille's darker

"I want a

ceremony," she found herself saying, allowing the future to take shape in her mind for perhaps the first time. "Just close friends. Victoria, of course. Hannah. My parents." Alexander nodded, encouraging her

back.

a church or a hotel ballroom. Somewhere outdoors, perhaps. With flowers and simple

suggested, joining her in