Chapter 190

Chapter 190

Alexander stood on their villa's balcony, watching the Italian sunset paint the sky

in shades of orange and purple. Behind him, Camille slept deeply, exhausted from their day exploring Capri's winding streets and hidden coves. Her soft breathing carried through the open door, a steady rhythm that should have brought him

peace.

Instead, his mind wandered back to New York, to a day that had changed everything. Two days before his engagement party. Two days before he'd committed to building a life with Camille.

The memory hit him with physical force, as vivid now as it had been then.

*** ***

Rain had pounded the windows of his Manhattan penthouse. Alexander had been reviewing contracts when his doorman called up.

"Package for you, Mr. Pierce. No delivery service, just left at the desk."

The plain manila envelope sat on his kitchen counter for an hour before he opened it. No markings, no return address. Just his name typed on a white label.

When he finally slit it open, several documents slid out onto the marble surface. The top sheet, a typed note, said only: *The truth about your uncle's death and the woman who caused it.*

His first instinct had been to trash it. Crackpot conspiracy theories about his family weren't uncommon when you had Pierce's money and profile. But something made him look at the second page.

An internal Kane Industries memo with Victoria's signature. Subject line: *Meridian Technologies - Pierce Vulnerability Assessment.*

Alexander's coffee had gone cold beside him as he read through each page. Internal psychological profiles of his uncle. Strategy documents outlining how to exploit Richard Pierce's financial weaknesses and "known emotional instability." A systematic plan to isolate him from business allies and financial lifelines.

Meeting minutes with Victoria's handwritten notes in the margins: *"R.P. showing signs of extreme stress. Push harder."*

The final document had been a photocopy of his uncle's suicide note, with a section highlighted: *"Victoria Kane has taken everything. There's nothing left."* Alexander remembered dropping into a chair, room spinning around him. Each breath had felt like drowning. The coffee cup had slipped from his hand, shattering on the floor, the sound barely registering.

Victoria Kane. The woman who had saved Camille from death. The woman who had rebuilt her. The woman whose company he was meant to celebrate with in two days at his engagement party.

Alexander had gathered the papers with shaking hands, placing them back in the envelope. He'd walked to his office safe and locked them away. Then he'd called the only person who might know if they were real.

Whitfield, his uncle's former business

voice tight with emotion when Alexander described

Are

trying to prove what she did for years. After Richard's death, she buried everything. Paid people off.

gripped the phone so hard his fingers ached. "Why send them to me?

really dealing

planning. Hundreds of guests. And Camille, beautiful, trusting Camille, who loved Victoria like

you do when you

I had. She buried me, just like she buried Richard. Made sure I couldn't work in

looked out his window at the rain-soaked city. "I need

destroys anyone who threatens what she values. And she values her relationship with Camille

next day, Alexander had used resources only a Pierce could access, calling in favors from investigators who could breach Kane Industries' security without leaving traces. By midnight, he'd had confirmation, the documents were genuine. Victoria Kane had deliberately targeted his uncle,

stepped off a chair in his home office, where Twenty- one-year-old Alexander

*** ****

the glass door. Behind him, Camille stirred in their bed,

he had stood in front of his bathroom mirror making

destroyed for what

He would dismantle everything she had built, piece by piece. He would make her feel the

Close enough

He'd thanked Victoria for her heartfelt toast. He'd kissed Camille

burning inside him as Victoria embraced him,

the months since. Something unexpected and dangerous. He had fallen truly, deeply in love with Camille. Not part

own life. Each new piece of evidence his

door opened. Camille stepped onto the

him from behind. "I

to face her. "Just planning our day tomorrow." She studied his face with those perceptive eyes that missed

telling her everything. Showing her the digital copies of the documents he kept in his encrypted phone. Explaining why he sometimes woke drenched in sweat, the

The moment passed.

he lied, kissing her forehead. "Just missing home a little." "We can go back

"These weeks with you have

digging through Kane Industries' past, despite the constant fear of discovery-these moments with Camille

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