SCORNED EX WIFE Queen Of Ashes (Camille and Stefan)

Chapter 183

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.

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."

perfect fiancé... attentive, charming, raising his glass during toasts with genuine emotion. Yet twice, Camille noticed him check his

hand, his eyes never leaving her face as Victoria's voice carried across the garden. "When I found Camille, I thought I was

under the stars, Alexander excused himself. "I need to make a quick

conversation with a board member. When Alexander returned twenty minutes later, she noticed nothing unusual beyond a certain tension in his shoulders that she attributed to

handled?" she asked as he rejoined

He kissed her cheek. "Nothing for you

and dancing. If Alexander

*** ****

the moonlit gardens. Victoria had insisted they spend the night before their wedding in separate wings

know something, Camille." His voice had a serious edge that made her look up. "No matter what happens, no matter what we learn

puzzled by his intensity. "Where is this coming

but his eyes held something deeper. "The past year has taught me that family, whether born or chosen comes with complications. Histories we don't control. But what we build together is

"Alexander..."

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

** ****

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

been attached to the message, left in his jacket pocket somehow, a calculated attempt to derail

of evidence surrounded him. Financial statements. Photographs. News clippings. All bearing two names: Kane

headline screamed: MEDITERIAN ENTERPRISES DECLARES BANKRUPTCY, FOUNDER COMMITS

systematically destroyed MEDITERIAN Enterprises because of her

written in black and white across countless documents. The woman who had become Camille's mother, his future mother-in- law, had set the events