SCORNED EX WIFE Queen Of Ashes (Camille and Stefan)

Chapter 227

Chapter 227

Victoria Kane woke to the sound of water dripping somewhere in the darkness. Her head throbbed from the collision and the sedative, and her wrists burned from the zip ties that bound her to a metal chair. The air around her smelled of rust and dampness, suggesting they were in some kind of warehouse or abandoned

building.

As her vision cleared, Victoria could make out Camille slumped in another chair about ten feet away. Her daughter's head hung forward, blood from the car accident dried on her forehead, her breathing shallow but steady.

"Camille," Victoria called softly, not wanting to alert their captors that they were conscious.

Camille's head lifted slowly, her eyes unfocused and pained. "Victoria? Where are we?"

"I don't know. But we're alive, and that means we still have a chance."

The room around them was large and empty, with high concrete walls and broken windows that let in shafts of dim light. Industrial equipment sat covered in dust and cobwebs, suggesting this place had been abandoned for years. Perfect for someone who needed privacy for what James Whitfield had planned.

Footsteps echoed across the concrete floor, and James emerged from the shadows carrying a laptop computer and a folding chair. He looked different from the polished businessman who had confronted Victoria on the street - his expensive suit was wrinkled, his hair disheveled, and his eyes carried the wild intensity of someone who had finally stopped pretending to be sane.

"Good evening, ladies," James said, setting up his chair directly in front of Victoria. "I hope you're both comfortable. We have a lot to discuss about justice and family loyalty."

"James, whatever you think you're accomplishing here, it won't bring your father back," Victoria said, trying to keep her voice calm despite the fear clawing at her chest.

"My father?" James laughed, but the sound held no humor. "This stopped being about my father the moment you decided to adopt a daughter and build a family empire on the graves of the people you destroyed."

James opened his laptop and angled the screen toward Victoria. The image that appeared made her heart stop - security footage from the hotel parking garage where Camille had been attacked by Rose's hired men two years ago.

"Do you remember this night, Mrs. Kane?" James asked, his voice taking on the tone of a prosecutor presenting evidence. "The night you found your precious daughter bleeding and broken, begging for someone to save her?"

Victoria couldn't look away from the screen as she watched herself discovering Camille's unconscious form. The memory of that night - the terror, the rage, the desperate drive to the hospital - came flooding back with devastating clarity.

"Stop this," Victoria said, her voice breaking.

"Stop what? Showing you the truth about how your family was built on violence and pain?" James clicked to another video file. "Or maybe you'd prefer to see something else."

fifteen years ago. Victoria watched her younger self receiving the phone call from the hospital, watched

her restraints. "Leave her

face as she watched her husband's death played out on the screen. "You see, Mrs. Kane, I've been studying your

had been taken from hospital security cameras, showing her sitting alone

injuries," James continued. "Just like my father died because of accusations from people who walked away

same thing," Victoria said through her tears. "My husband was

was driving home from a business dinner where he had been drinking. The toxicology report

physical blows. "That's not true. David never drank and drove. He was always careful

perfect businessman? About maintaining his reputation?" James pulled out a folder thick with documents. "I have the complete police report, Mrs. Kane. Your husband

her world tilting as James revealed information she had never seen, details that had been kept from her by well-meaning officials who thought a grieving widow didn't need to know every

"You're lying," Victoria whispered.

James leaned forward, his voice dropping to a whisper. "Your perfect husband killed himself through his own poor choices, just like my father did. The difference is that you were allowed to grieve and rebuild your

husband's death. She could see her mother's strength cracking under the weight of learning that the man she had idealized for fifteen years had been flawed in ways

from the concussion she had suffered in the car crash. "He's trying to break you

turned his attention to Camille. "Let

the

But the

up another video file. This one showed Camille and Alexander their wedding day, laughing and dancing at their reception. But footage had been edited to show

reception," James said to Camille. "While you were celebrating what you thought was the happiest day of your life, he was gathering intelligence for what he

watched the evidence of Alexander's deception. Even knowing that he had been manipulated, even having forgiven him for his betrayal, seeing the visual proof of

file. "Security

But the footage had been edited to make it appear as though Camille had been looking for the evidence

investigation. Nothing in your family is genuine, Mrs. Kane. Everything is manipulation

as she saw her own actions twisted into something calculating and false. The young woman who had

Victoria said, her voice carrying all the protective fury of a mother watching her child being tortured. "James, your quarrel is with me. Let Camille go and finish this between

with your entire corrupt family," James replied. "But you're

laptop and stood up, walking to a table where several items had been arranged like surgical instruments. Victoria could see what looked like medical equipment, recording devices, and something that might

weapon.

struggling desperately against her restraints despite her weakness from the concussion. "Please don't hurt her. I'll do anything you