SCORNED EX WIFE Queen Of Ashes (Camille and Stefan)

Chapter 165

Cold. That was the first thing Camille felt. Cold and a deep, throbbing pain in her head.

She tried to move, but her arms wouldn't respond. Slowly, her eyes opened to a dimly lit room with wooden walls. Her vision swam, the effects of whatever drug Rose had given her still lingering in her system.

Looking down, Camille saw thick rope binding her to a heavy wooden chair. Each wrist tied separately to the armrests, ankles secured to the chair legs. Whoever had tied these knots knew what they were doing.

A wave of fear washed over her, threatening to drown her reason. She forced it down, focusing instead on her surroundings. Wooden walls. A stone fireplace. Large windows showing dense forest outside. And something else, something familiar.

Recognition dawned slowly. She knew this place. Or rather, she knew what it had once been.

The old Lewis family cabin. Where they had spent summers when they were younger. Where they had once been sisters before everything changed.

But this wasn't exactly the cabin she remembered. That had been smaller, older. This was a new structure built on the same spot, incorporating elements of the original, the stone fireplace, the position of the windows, but larger, more modern.

"Finally awake, sleeping beauty?" Rose's voice came from behind her.

Camille tensed but kept her breathing steady, refusing to show fear as Rose walked around to face her. Her sister looked different than she had at the roadside. She'd washed out the black hair dye, returning to her natural color. Dressed not in the tactical gear from the ambush but in casual clothes, jeans and a sweater that reminded Camille of what they used to wear during those summer vacations.

"Do you like what I've done with the place?" Rose asked, gesturing around them. "I rebuilt it exactly as I remembered, with a few modern touches. Dad sold it after everything fell apart. After they thought that you died."

Camille worked moisture into her dry mouth. "Why am I here, Rose?"

"So impatient," Rose chided, pulling up a chair to sit facing Camille. "No appreciation for symmetry. For perfect endings." She leaned forward, eyes glittering with excitement. "Don't you see? This is where we were happiest together. Before you turned everyone against me."

"I didn't turn anyone against you," Camille said quietly. "You did that yourself when you tried to kill me."

Rose's face hardened. "Is that what you tell yourself? That I'm the villain in this story?" She stood abruptly. "They abandoned me. Our parents. Stefan. Everyone chose you and threw me away."

She paced the room, agitation making her movements sharp and jerky. "But that doesn't matter anymore. What matters is that we've come full circle. Back to where we were once happy. Back to where everything changed."

Camille tested the ropes binding her wrists. No give at all. Rose noticed and smiled.

"Don't bother. My men are professionals. Former military. They know how to keep someone secure."

"Where are they now?" Camille asked, looking around the empty cabin main

room.

"Around," Rose said vaguely. "Keeping watch. Making sure your boyfriend and his security teams don't interrupt our sister time." She sat down again, leaning uncomfortably close. "We have so much catching up to do."

Despite the pounding in her head and the fear churning in her stomach, Camille met Rose's gaze steadily. "They'll find me, Rose. Alexander, Victoria, the FBI, they're looking for me right now."

"I'm counting on it. But they

define 'save.' Will they find you alive? Probably.

kept her expression neutral. Victoria had taught her well, never show weakness

to plan. Weeks

a laptop sat open. "The point? Oh, sister dear, the point is to take everything from you. Just as you took everything from me." She tapped a few keys on the laptop. "But

feeds. Camille recognized

watching all of them," Rose explained, her voice

"Rose,

everything I should have had. Alexander Pierce loves you, protects you,

face inches from Camille's. "And now they'll pay for that choice. One by one. While you

fought to keep her breathing steady, to not show the terror gripping her heart. "Why

to live, Camille. Live knowing everyone you love died because of you. Live with that pain eating away at you every day,

burned in Camille's eyes. "You're wrong, Rose. So wrong about everything. They loved you. I loved

to understand that everything I did was because of how they treated me. Always comparing me to perfect

had once been, the adopted girl who never felt secure in her place,

pointed to the screens. "Victoria first, I think. The

her throat. "Please,

know," Rose said coldly.

target. So vulnerable in that

team. She smiled over her shoulder at Camille. "I've been studying the layout, the routines, the weaknesses

the wooden floor as she fought against her

with mild interest. "You took everything from me. My family. My place. My future. Now I'm taking everything

you!" Camille shouted, abandoning her attempt to stay calm.

The truth is that I was never good enough. The truth is that from the moment they adopted me, I was just

away."

heaved

clenched at her sides.

what it's like? To

always be afraid

send you back? To watch them love their real daughter unconditionally

a flicker of pity for her sister. "Rose, that wasn't real. It was all in your mind. They loved you. We all

grabbed a vase from a nearby table and hurled it against the wall. It shattered, pieces scattering

years of perceived rejection. This wasn't just

spat. "You never did." She turned

Rose studied the surveillance feeds, her finger tracing Victoria's image on the screen. "Tomorrow I start with Victoria. Such a shame

hurt her. Hurt me instead. I'm the one you

you," she said quietly. "More than if I used knives or fists. I'm taking away

set. Soon Victoria Kane will suffer a tragic setback. Such a shame, after she seemed

face now, unchecked. "Rose, please. It's not too late

late months ago," Rose replied, standing up. "Too late when they chose you over me. Too late when they abandoned me for trying