SCORNED EX WIFE Queen Of Ashes (Camille and Stefan)

Rose stood on the rooftop of a building across from the Grand Plaza Hotel, her face lit by the orange glow of flames. The night air carried smoke and screams to her ears, a symphony of destruction that made her heart race. She laughed, the sound bursting from her throat in waves, wild and uncontrolled.

"Look at it burn," she whispered, then laughed again, louder this time. "Look at it all burn!"

From this height, she could see everything, fire trucks with lights flashing, ambulances lined up along the street, police pushing crowds back from danger. The once-beautiful hotel was now a blazing skeleton, its west wing completely collapsed, windows shattered across its face like broken teeth. The ballroom where Camille had stood so proudly just hours before was now a pit of flames and black smoke.

Rose's laughter died suddenly, replaced by a strange, hollow silence. She stepped closer to the edge of the roof, her eyes fixed on the destruction below. All those months of planning. All those careful preparations. All leading to this moment of victory.

So why didn't it feel like enough?

The wind shifted, bringing a stronger smell of smoke. Rose breathed it in deeply, as if trying to consume the disaster she had created. Her fingers gripped the rooftop railing, knuckles white with tension.

"Are you dead, Camille?" she asked the burning building. "Are you finally, truly gone?"

Not knowing the answer gnawed at her. Rose had wanted to see Camille's face when the first bomb went off. Wanted to witness her sister's realization that Rose had beaten her, had destroyed everything she built. Instead, she was forced to watch from a distance, guessing at the outcome.

A helicopter circled overhead, its spotlight sweeping across the chaos. Rose stepped back from the edge, moving into shadow. Getting caught now would ruin everything.

She pulled out her phone, checking news sites for updates. The first reports were already appearing:

"EXPLOSION AT CHARITY GALA"

"MULTIPLE CASUALTIES REPORTED IN HOTEL BOMBING"

"PHOENIX FOUNDATION EVENT TARGETED IN TERRORIST ATTACK"

Rose scrolled rapidly, searching for one name, Camille Kane. No mention yet of whether she had escaped or perished. The uncertainty was maddening.

The phone rang in her hand, startling her. Mikhail's number appeared on the screen.

"Yes?" she answered.

"It is done," Mikhail said, his accent thicker than usual. "All devices detonated."

"I can see that," Rose replied, irritation edging her voice. "What about the targets? Camille Kane? Victoria Kane?"

A pause. "Unknown. Many ambulances. Many injured."

"That's not good enough!" Rose shouted, her calm façade cracking. "I need to know if they're dead!"

When the noise faded, he

cut him off. "Not after everything I've done to make this

bluntly. "You stay, you

in the night air. "They need to know it was

But you won't be there to see if you're in prison." Mikhail's

him. Her attention had returned to the burning hotel, to the chaos spreading across the plaza below. Somewhere in that mess was

decided suddenly. "I

voice rose with alarm. "Too

hide in shadows now. She needed to see the destruction up close, to feel the heat of the flames on her

some disguise. She could blend with the

scene.

eerie shadows on the walls. As Rose descended, her laughter echoed around her, bouncing off concrete, creating a chorus of

in years. Her entire body tingled with energy. Every sense seemed heightened.

were covered in soot, their fancy clothes torn and dirtied. Survivors of her masterpiece. Rose studied their faces, searching for signs of Camille or Victoria among

Nothing.

door and stepped outside, immediately engulfed by chaos. The street wasz jammed with emergency vehicles, their lights painting everything in pulses of red and blue. Police shouted orders. Paramedics rushed past with stretchers. Smoke hung in the air

another person staring at the burning building. Rose pulled the wig from her bag and slipped it

wheel

simple but effective, no one looking

would see her

she pushed closer to the police barriers, Rose caught snatches

conversation around her:

"

saying at

targeted the

"....dozens injured, maybe worse...."

Victoria Kane out

man

saw them take her out on a stretcher," the

rescued her adopted daughter from inside." Rescued. The word hit Rose like a physical blow. Camille had been rescued.

it back, hands clenched so tightly her nails

Camille was alive, then Rose hadn't won yet. The destruction around her, the burning building, the injured guests, the ruined gala, none of it mattered if Camille still

the line of ambulances. Medical personnel rushed between them, carrying the

The color of Camille's gown. Rose moved closer, peering through the open

mask covering her face, paramedics working around her. But it wasn't Camille. Just

circle, trying to see everything at once. Where was Camille? Where was Victoria?