SCORNED EX WIFE Queen Of Ashes (Camille and Stefan)

Chapter 180

Rain tapped against the windows of Camille's office as she reviewed quarterly reports. The sky had darkened early, turning afternoon to evening without her noticing. She rubbed her tired eyes, realizing she'd been staring at the same page for ten minutes.

Her assistant's voice came through the intercom. "Ms. Kane? There's someone here to see you. She doesn't have an appointment."

Camille frowned. "Who is it?"

"A Mrs. Pierce. She says it's personal."

Camille's hand froze. Pierce. Alexander's family name. But he rarely spoke of his parents, and when he did, his voice turned cold in a way that reminded her of Victoria at her most distant.

"Send her in," Camille said, smoothing her skirt as she stood.

The woman who entered moved with quiet grace, her shoulders pulled back despite the obvious tension in her face. She was tall and slim, with silver-streaked dark hair pulled into a neat bun. Her clothes were expensive but understated. But it was her eyes that caught Camille's attention. They were Alexander's eyes exactly, the same deep blue that could shift from warmth to ice in seconds.

"Ms. Kane," the woman said, her voice soft but steady. "Thank you for seeing me without notice. I'm Eleanor Pierce."

Camille gestured to the chair across from her desk. "Please, sit down."

Eleanor perched on the edge of the seat, clutching her handbag like a shield. "I imagine this is quite surprising. Alexander doesn't know I'm here."

"He's never mentioned you would visit," Camille agreed, studying the woman's face. The resemblance was unmistakable now.

"He wouldn't," Eleanor said, pain flashing across her features. "My son hasn't spoken to me or his father in almost seven years. Not even when we begged him to after James died."

The rawness in Eleanor's voice made Camille pause. Alexander had told her fragments of his history, about the car accident, his brother walking away unscathed while Alexander spent months in the hospital. About his family choosing sides. About his brother's death four years ago and his parents' desperate attempts to reconnect that he'd ruthlessly rebuffed.

"Mrs. Pierce, why have you come to me now? After all this time?"

Eleanor's fingers whitened around her bag. "Because I'm running out of hope." Her voice cracked. "Four years of silence. Four years of trying to reach him with no response."

The admission hung in the air between them.

sorry," Camille

a glimpse of him." Her composure fractured.

"When he needed us most, we failed him.

remained silent, letting the woman

always the golden child. When the accident happened, we couldn't believe James would have been driving recklessly. We couldn't face that

James's side,"

was still in the hospital," Eleanor said, eyes overflowing. "While he was fighting to walk again, fighting through surgeries and pain no

raw anguish in Eleanor's voice was impossible

Eleanor continued after composing herself. "We went to his apartment the day after the funeral. He

of envelopes from her bag, held together with a ribbon. "I've written him every month for four years. Birthdays. Christmas. Just ordinary days when I remembered something

Camille asked. "After all these

She extracted a magazine clipping, a photo of Alexander and Camille at a charity event, his head thrown back in genuine laughter. "I haven't seen him laugh

it you want from me?" Camille asked,

tell my son, to his face, that he was right. That we were

his

acknowledge us destroyed what was left." Her voice hardened. "Four years ago, Edward drove to Alexander's building every day for three weeks. Just sat in his car,

a minor stroke. The doctor said it was stress, but I

Eleanor whispered, the word raw with desperation. "I know we don't deserve another chance. But Alexander deserves the truth. He

walked to the window, giving Eleanor a moment. The rain was letting up, patches

"did Alexander know he'd confessed? Did you

to his apartment the day after the funeral. Edward was in shock. I remember standing there, James's

day. It came back unopened. We tried his company, we tried through mutual friends, Alexander had

hospital, during his final surgery. He looked at us with such emptiness. He said, 'You've chosen. So have I.' He hasn't spoken to us

now? If I somehow convinced him to

That I was wrong. That I've lived with that wrong choice every day." Eleanor's voice strengthened with conviction. "That a mother is supposed to protect her child, and I failed at the most fundamental duty. That I've missed him with a pain so physical I sometimes can't breathe

"That I'm proud of the man he's become, despite us, not because of us. That I understand if he can never forgive us, but I needed him to know that we finally faced

"And his father?"

speak about Alexander without breaking down," Eleanor said quietly. "He keeps a file of every news article. He follows all of Alexander's companies, buys stock in each one." She gave a broken laugh. "He has this absurd idea that somehow, if Alexander ever checked his

Eleanor continued, "it gave us hope. That perhaps Alexander could forgive, could rebuild after betrayal. The way

"You've

you we could." Her face softened. "And what we learned gave us hope. You've overcome betrayal. You've reconciled with those who hurt you. You understand the possibility of redemption." Camille thought of her own journey, of Victoria who had taught her the power of strategic thinking but was only now learning the strength in vulnerability. Of