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."

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 celebration,

Camille, I thought I was saving her. In truth, she saved me." Victoria raised her glass. "To Camille and Alexander, two

guests danced under the stars, Alexander excused himself. "I need to make a quick call, that

by conversation with a board member. When Alexander returned twenty minutes later, she noticed nothing

asked as he rejoined

of." He kissed her cheek. "Nothing

with dessert and dancing. If Alexander seemed occasionally

*** ****

walked through the moonlit gardens. Victoria had insisted they spend the night before their wedding

tree, taking both her hands in his. "I need you to know something, Camille." His voice had a serious edge that made her look up. "No

puzzled by his intensity. "Where is this coming

past year has taught me that family, whether

"Alexander..."

lips. "Tomorrow we begin our life together. That's all

** ****

that night, long after he'd kissed Camille goodnight and retired 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 during dinner: *The woman who will be your mother-in-law tomorrow destroyed your true family before you even met her. Ask Victoria about

key had been attached to the message, left in his jacket pocket somehow,

evidence surrounded him. Financial statements. Photographs. News clippings. All bearing two names: Kane Industries and Mediterian

headline screamed: MEDITERIAN

unfolded before him in merciless detail, how Victoria Kane had systematically destroyed MEDITERIAN Enterprises because of her ruthless business practices. How his uncle, who had taken him in when his parents disowned him, had lost everything because of his silent partnership with

across countless documents. The woman who had become Camille's mother, his future mother-in- law,

cruelty: unveiling a truth that could tear them apart on the eve of their happiness.

inside: *Some bridges, once burned, illuminate the path forward.* Words