SCORNED EX WIFE Queen Of Ashes (Camille and Stefan)

Chapter 183

The evening glow bathed Victoria Kane's sprawling estate in golden light as lanterns illuminated the gardens for the rehearsal dinner. Three months had passed since the trial, and life had settled into a new rhythm for Camille. Tomorrow, she would marry Alexander Pierce and truly begin the next chapter of

her story.

From the edge of the stone terrace, Camille watched the unlikely gathering with quiet wonder, her birth parents chatting with Victoria, Kane Industries executives mingling with Pierce Enterprises innovators. The worlds that had once been separate now blended because of the love between her and Alexander.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Alexander's voice was warm against her ear as his arms encircled her waist.

Camille leaned back against his chest, savoring his strength. "Just taking it all in. Two years ago, I was plotting revenge in Victoria's study. Now..."

"Now you're running Kane Industries and about to become Mrs. Pierce." He kissed her temple, his lips lingering against her skin. "How quickly life changes."

She turned to face him, searching his eyes. "Any second thoughts about tomorrow?"

"About marrying you? Never." His smile reached his eyes, though something flickered behind them, a shadow so brief Camille didn't register its meaning.

Victoria approached them, moving with more strength than she'd shown in weeks. The experimental cancer treatment was working, her latest scans showed another reduction in tumor size. "There you two are. The photographer wants pictures by the fountain before we lose the light."

Camille squeezed Alexander's hand. "We'll be right there."

As Victoria walked away, Alexander's phone buzzed. He pulled it from his pocket, glancing at the screen. A muscle in his jaw tightened, almost imperceptibly.

"Everything okay?" Camille asked casually.

Alexander slid the phone back into his pocket, his smile returning naturally. "Just a supplier issue at Pierce Enterprises. Nothing that can't wait until after the honeymoon." He kissed her hand. "Come on, let's not keep the photographer waiting."

was the perfect fiancé... attentive, charming, raising his glass during toasts with genuine emotion. Yet twice, Camille noticed him check his phone discreetly. Each time, a shadow passed across his face before he returned to the

the garden. "When I found Camille, I thought I was saving her. In truth, she saved me." Victoria raised her glass. "To

excused himself. "I need to make a quick call, that supplier

Alexander returned twenty minutes later, she

she asked as he

taken care of." He kissed her cheek. "Nothing for you to worry

evening continued with dessert and dancing. If Alexander seemed occasionally distracted, no one

*** ****

guests departed, Camille and Alexander walked through the moonlit gardens. Victoria had insisted they spend the night before their wedding

to know something, Camille." His voice had

by his intensity. "Where is this

year has taught me that family, whether born or chosen comes with complications. Histories we don't control.

"Alexander..."

pressed a finger to her lips. "Tomorrow we begin our life together. That's all

** ****

to the guest wing, Alexander slipped out of the house. The drive to Red Hook took forty minutes, giving him time to wrestle with the anonymous message that had arrived

facility loomed against the night sky, a massive block of concrete and steel. Unit 237. The key had been attached to the message,

unit, boxes of evidence surrounded him. Financial statements. Photographs. News clippings. All bearing two names: Kane Industries and

yellowed newspaper headline screamed: MEDITERIAN ENTERPRISES DECLARES BANKRUPTCY, FOUNDER

heavily on a wooden chair, his uncle Richard's silver pocket watch cold in his palm. The truth unfolded before him in merciless detail, how Victoria Kane had systematically destroyed MEDITERIAN Enterprises

documents. The woman who had become Camille's mother, his future

revelation was elegant in its cruelty: unveiling a truth that could tear them apart on the eve of their happiness. Someone clearly wanted to destroy what he and Camille had built, using the

inside: *Some bridges, once burned, illuminate the path forward.* Words his uncle had spoken to him often during