SCORNED EX WIFE Queen Of Ashes (Camille and Stefan)

Chapter 202

Chapter 202

Camille sat in the hospital cafeteria, staring at a cup of coffee that had gone cold hours ago. She hadn't left the hospital since Victoria's collapse two days earlier. The doctors said Victoria's condition was stable but critical. The sedation would continue for at least another day while her body fought to recover from the stress- induced complications.

The cafeteria smelled like disinfectant and overcooked vegetables. Fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, casting everything in harsh white light that made everyone look sick. Camille felt sick too, but not from the lighting. She felt sick from the weight of everything falling apart around her.

Kane Industries was bleeding money. Stock prices had dropped another fifteen percent since Victoria's hospitalization. Major investors were pulling out, citing concerns about leadership stability. The board was demanding emergency meetings that Camille wasn't prepared to handle alone.

And Alexander kept calling.

She'd blocked his number after the fifth call, but he found ways around it. Messages through his assistant. Emails to her work account. Even a handwritten letter delivered to the hospital. All saying the same thing: he was sorry, he wanted to explain, he needed her to understand.

Camille didn't want to understand. Understanding would mean acknowledging that part of her still loved him. That part of her wanted to believe his feelings had been real, even if everything else was a lie.

"Camille?"

She looked up to see Stefan Rodriguez standing beside her table. He looked tired, older than his years, wearing a simple black sweater instead of his usual expensive suits. His left shoulder was still stiff from the bullet he'd taken saving her from Rose.

"Stefan? What are you doing here?"

"I came to see how Victoria is doing. And to see how you're holding up."

Camille laughed, but it sounded more like a sob. "I'm not holding up. I'm drowning."

Stefan sat down across from her without being invited. "I know the feeling." They sat in uncomfortable silence for a moment. Stefan was the last person Camille had expected to see. Their relationship had been complicated since he'd saved her life. She'd forgiven him for the affair with Rose, but forgiveness didn't erase history. It didn't make their conversations easy.

"I heard about you and Alexander," Stefan said quietly.

"Did you?" Camille's voice was bitter. "What exactly did you hear?"

"That he's been investigating Victoria. That he believes she's responsible for his uncle's death." Stefan paused. "That your marriage is over."

Camille's throat tightened. Hearing the words out loud made them more real. "It was never a real marriage to begin with."

"That's not true."

"How would you know?"

Stefan met her eyes. "Because I know what it looks like when someone loves you genuinely, and I know what it looks like when someone is using you. I did both to you."

The honesty in his voice caught Camille off guard. "Stefan—"

"Alexander loved you first. Before he knew about Victoria, before anyone told him about his uncle. I saw it at your engagement party. The way he looked at you wasn't calculated. It was real."

"It doesn't matter now."

"Doesn't it? If someone manipulated him into believing Victoria was guilty, if someone used his grief to turn him against you, doesn't that change things?"

Camille stared at her cold coffee. "He still chose revenge over our marriage. He still lied to me for months. He still used our wedding as cover for surveillance."

But the question is whether he was acting on real

"Why do you care?"

like to lose you because of my own mistakes.

owe me anything. You saved my life. We're

not." Stefan leaned forward. "You gave me a second chance when you had every right to hate me forever. You let me help with the Phoenix Foundation. You let me prove I could be better than

genuine regret in his eyes. The same regret

"What are you saying?"

Let me help you

would you want to do

deserves to have her name cleared. And if Alexander was manipulated, you deserve to know the truth about what destroyed your

Stefan. I can't discover that

telling the truth or if Alexander was.

like this. I

documents. "I've been looking into Alexander's uncle already. Victoria asked me to

the phone. "Victoria

to know if Alexander might be involved." Stefan's expression was grim. "She was right to be

"Show me."

his phone. "These are the official court records from

were clear. The worker complaints that Richard Pierce had ignored. The shortcuts his

Alexander

did Alexander

Pierce's journal. It painted Victoria as the

nodded grimly. "I'd like to see that

And even if he would, I

we'll have to

Kane Industries' chief engineer looked exhausted, her usually perfect appearance rumpled

I've been looking for you." Hannah sat down

gestured to Stefan. "Hannah, this is Stefan Rodriguez.

widened slightly. "The Stefan Rodriguez?

winced. "That's me. Though I'd prefer to be

help investigate the allegations against Victoria," Camille explained. "He thinks someone might have

interested. "What kind

destroyed Richard

Hannah said immediately. "I've worked with Victoria for five years. She's obsessive about safety protocols. She'd rather lose

Camille said. "But the documents Alexander has seem real. His uncle's journal entries, official-looking

expression sharpened. "Can I see

share

them another way." Hannah pulled out her laptop. "I can analyze digital documents for signs of manipulation. Altered timestamps, inconsistent formatting, metadata that

Camille exchanged glances. "You

do more than that. If someone created fake evidence to frame Victoria,

editing leaves traces that

we still need access to Alexander's

Kane Industries systems for months as part of the Phoenix Grid project.

the documents are on

system..."

can access them