SCORNED EX WIFE Queen Of Ashes (Camille and Stefan)

Chapter 226

Chapter 226

Victoria Kane stepped out of Kane Industries at precisely 6:30 PM, flanked by two security guards who had been assigned to protect her after James's direct threat. The late afternoon sun cast long shadows across the sidewalk as her black sedan waited at the curb, engine running, ready to take her to meet Camille for dinner at their favorite restaurant.

Camille emerged from the building seconds later, her own security detail creating a protective barrier around her as she moved toward the car. The past twenty-four hours had been exhausting - coordinating with the FBI about the manhunt for James, visiting Alexander in the hospital, implementing new security protocols for everyone James had threatened.

"Ready?" Victoria asked as Camille approached the sedan.

"More than ready," Camille replied, sliding into the back seat beside Victoria. "I need a normal evening after everything that's happened."

The security guards performed their final check of the vehicle and surrounding area before taking their positions in the escort car that would follow them to the restaurant. Everything appeared routine, professional, secure. Victoria's head of security had assured her that James Whitfield would not be able to get close to them with these precautions in place.

Victoria's sedan pulled away from Kane Industries and merged into the heavy Manhattan traffic. The escort car followed at a discrete distance, maintaining visual contact while avoiding the appearance of an obvious security convoy.

Neither Victoria nor Camille noticed the utility van that had been parked across the street for the past three hours, or the way it smoothly joined the flow of traffic behind the escort car.

"How's Alexander feeling?" Victoria asked as they drove through midtown.

"Better. The doctors say the sedative is almost completely out of his system. He should be discharged tomorrow morning." Camille's voice carried relief mixed with lingering fear. "Victoria, I keep thinking about what would have happened if he hadn't activated that emergency alert."

"Don't think about it," Victoria said firmly. "Alexander survived because he was smart and prepared. That's what matters now."

But even as Victoria spoke reassuring words, she felt tension coiled in her chest like a spring. James Whitfield had already proven willing to commit murder. The fact that he had failed to kill Alexander didn't mean he would give up - it meant he would be more desperate and dangerous than ever.

The sedan turned onto Fifth Avenue, heading toward the Upper East Side restaurant where they had reservations. Traffic was heavy but moving steadily, and Victoria began to relax slightly as they put distance between themselves and the business district where James had last been seen.

That's when everything went wrong.

The utility van accelerated suddenly, swerving around the escort car and ramming into the side of Victoria's sedan with devastating force. The impact sent their car spinning across two lanes of traffic before it slammed into a parked delivery truck.

Victoria felt her world explode into chaos - the screaming of twisted metal, the sharp crack of breaking glass, the acrid smell of leaking fuel and deployed airbags. Her head struck the side window with enough force to leave her dazed and bleeding.

Victoria called out, her voice weak and

daughter slumped

Victoria could see her security guards jumping out of their vehicle, weapons drawn, shouting into their radios for backup. But they were too

tactical gear emerged. They moved with military precision, ignoring the chaos of the traffic accident and the approaching security guards. Two of them carried what looked like riot control weapons, while the third held a device that Victoria recognized

to hide his identity. He wore a bulletproof vest over his expensive suit and carried

his voice carrying clearly over the noise of the accident. "It's time

tried to hold her breath, but it was too late. The chemical filled the car's interior within seconds,

Victoria saw before the sedative took full effect was

Kane. When you wake up, we'll finish what my father

to complete his discharge paperwork, when his phone buzzed with an emergency alert. The message was

Fifth Avenue. Both women were missing. The security escort had been neutralized with riot control gas. No sign

the protests of the nurse who had been monitoring his recovery. He had to get to the scene immediately. He had to find Camille and Victoria before James could carry out whatever

vehicles, FBI agents, and emergency responders. The twisted wreckage of Victoria's sedan sat in the middle of the street like a monument to James's escalation from corporate sabotage to direct

FBI Special Agent Diana Chen coordinating the investigation from a mobile command post that had been set up on

leads?" Alexander asked, his voice hoarse with

have to be honest with you - James Whitfield planned this operation carefully. The utility van was stolen, the license plates were fake, and the route he

his chest tighten with panic. "How long do we

don't know. James's previous pattern

Victoria and Camille to suffer before

man who had spent fifteen years

caller ID showed Richard Lewis - Camille's

the news reports are wrong," Richard's voice was tight with barely controlled panic. "Please tell

can't tell you that," Alexander replied honestly. "James has them both. The

doing everything

voice cracked with

has been planning this for fifteen years. He's not going to make

crying in the background as Richard

York immediately," Richard said. "Eduardo has already chartered a plane. We'll

can do here that the FBI isn't