SCORNED EX WIFE Queen Of Ashes (Camille and Stefan)

Alexander Pierce stood in his empty penthouse, staring at the financial news ticker scrolling across his wall-mounted screen. Kane Industries stock had not only recovered from its morning crash but was now trading higher than before Victoria's collapse. His carefully orchestrated attack had been completely neutralized in a matter of hours.

His hands trembled with rage as he gripped his phone, watching the numbers climb steadily upward. Months of planning. Months of gathering evidence, building his case, positioning himself for the perfect strike. All of it undone by a few phone calls from powerful men he'd never even considered.

The penthouse felt cavernous around him. Camille's belongings were gone, taken during his brief absence yesterday. Her books, her clothes, her coffee mug from the kitchen counter - every trace of their life together had been erased. The silence pressed against him like a physical weight.

His phone buzzed with an encrypted message: *Meeting tonight. Pier 47. 11 PM.*

Alexander's jaw clenched. The Guardian wanted to meet in person. That only happened when plans required major adjustments or when things had gone catastrophically wrong.

The hours crawled by with agonizing slowness. Alexander paced his apartment, replaying the morning's events over and over. He'd watched the stock price plummet during pre-market trading, felt the satisfaction of seeing Victoria's empire finally cracking under pressure. Then Richard Lewis and Senator Alvarez had appeared like avenging angels, systematically dismantling his attack with surgical precision.

Who was Senator Alvarez to Camille? Alexander had researched every aspect of her life, every relationship, every connection. The revelation that one of the most powerful men in Washington would personally intervene to save Kane Industries felt like discovering a hidden landmine in familiar territory.

By ten-thirty, Alexander was driving through the industrial district toward the waterfront. Pier 47 was abandoned at this hour, nothing but rusted shipping containers and broken streetlights. The kind of place where conversations happened that could never be traced or recorded.

He found the Guardian waiting in the shadows between two storage units, a figure in an expensive coat whose face remained hidden in darkness.

"You failed," the Guardian said without preamble.

"The Lewis family intervened. I had no way of predicting Senator Alvarez would get involved."

"You should have researched deeper. You should have known about every connection, every relationship, every potential threat."

Alexander's hands clenched into fists. "I spent months gathering intelligence on Victoria Kane and Camille. There was no indication that..."

"There was no indication because you were looking at the wrong targets." The Guardian's voice carried cold disappointment. "You focused on Victoria's business relationships and Camille's emotional vulnerabilities. You ignored the most dangerous threat of all."

"Which is?"

"Old money. Old power. The kind of influence that doesn't show up in corporate filings or social media profiles." The Guardian stepped closer, his face still obscured by shadow. "Richard Lewis comes from five generations of New England wealth. His family has been placing senators and judges for over a century. Senator Alvarez owes his entire political career to Lewis family support."

Alexander felt sick. "You knew about this?"

"I suspected. But I thought Victoria's crimes were severe enough that even the Lewis family wouldn't risk their reputation defending her." The Guardian's tone was bitter. "I underestimated their loyalty to Camille."

"So what now? We've lost the element of surprise. They know someone is targeting Kane Industries."

"Now we escalate to ensure justice is served."

Alexander didn't like the sound of that. "What do you mean?"

The Guardian pulled out a tablet and showed Alexander a series of financial documents. "The Lewis family's wealth comes from dozens of investments, holdings, and business partnerships. Real estate developments, technology companies, pharmaceutical research. As long as they can prop up Kane Industries with their connections and capital, Victoria Kane will never face consequences for what she did."

Alexander studied the documents, his stomach growing heavier with each page. "You want to attack Camille's parents?"

"I want to ensure that seventeen innocent people who died in that factory explosion get the justice they deserve. I want to make sure Victoria Kane can't hide behind powerful friends when the truth comes out."

"This isn't about Camille's family. This is about Victoria's crimes."

"Is it?" The Guardian's voice took on a passionate edge. "Think about it, Alexander. Victoria Kane covered up a factory accident that killed seventeen people. She destroyed your uncle's company and drove him to suicide to protect her own reputation. And now she's using her adopted daughter's family connections to escape accountability."

Alexander felt the familiar anger burning in his chest. "The Lewis family is protecting Kane Industries because they love Camille, not because they know about Victoria's crimes."

"Exactly. They're choosing family loyalty over justice for murder victims. They're helping a killer escape consequences because she happens to be their daughter's adoptive mother."

"They don't know what Victoria did."

"Then maybe it's time they learned." The Guardian gestured to the tablet again. "We expose Victoria's crimes publicly. We show the world, including the Lewis family, exactly what kind of woman they're protecting. When they see the evidence of her cover-up, when they understand that seventeen people died because of her greed, they'll withdraw their support."

Alexander stared at the documents detailing Richard and Margaret Lewis's investments. "And if they don't? If they choose to support Victoria even after knowing the truth?"

"Then they become complicit in covering up mass murder. Then they become legitimate targets in our quest for justice."

The words sent a chill down Alexander's spine. "What exactly are you suggesting?"

"I'm suggesting that anyone who knowingly protects a killer deserves to face consequences. The Lewis family built their wealth over generations. If they use that wealth to shield Victoria Kane from justice, then perhaps they should lose it."

"That would destroy Camille too. Everything she inherited, everything her parents built for her."noveldrama

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"Camille made her choice when she chose Victoria over you. She chose the woman who killed your uncle over the man who loved her." The Guardian's voice turned persuasive. "She's already lost to you, Alexander. The question is whether she'll lose while Victoria faces justice, or whether she'll keep everything while seventeen families never get closure for their murdered loved ones."

Alexander felt torn between rage and doubt. "I don't want to hurt Camille."

"You're not hurting her. You're

ensuring that mass murder doesn't go unpunished. You're making sure that your uncle's death means something." The Guardian stepped closer. "Those seventeen people who died in that factory had families, Alexander. They had children who grew up without parents. They had spouses who never got justice. Don't you think they deserve better than watching their killer live in luxury while being protected by political influence?"

"Of course they deserve justice."

"Then help me expose the truth. Help me show the world what Victoria Kane really is. If the Lewis family withdraws their support after learning about the cover- up, then Kane Industries falls naturally. If they choose to protect a killer despite knowing what she did, then they share her guilt."

Alexander stared at the financial documents on the tablet. Every instinct told him this was wrong, that attacking Camille's family was crossing a line he couldn't uncross. But the Guardian's words echoed in his mind: seventeen people dead, families without justice, a killer protected by wealth and influence.

"The evidence against Victoria," Alexander said slowly. "You're certain it's solid?"

"I've shown you the safety reports your uncle tried to file. I've shown you the evidence of Victoria's bribery and intimidation. I've shown you the cover up that followed the factory explosion." The Guardian's voice was unwavering. "Seventeen people died because Victoria Kane chose profits over safety. Your uncle died because he tried to expose her crimes."

"And you believe attacking the Lewis family is the only way to get justice?"

"I believe that justice delayed is justice denied. I believe that letting a killer escape consequences because she has powerful friends is an insult to every victim's

memory."

Alexander closed his eyes, thinking of his uncle's journal entries, the pain and desperation in those final weeks before his suicide. "What would you need me to do?"

"Help me expose Victoria's crimes publicly. Help me show the Lewis family and the world what kind of woman they're protecting. When the truth comes out, when seventeen families finally get the justice they deserve, then your uncle can rest in peace."

"And if the Lewis family still chooses to support Victoria after seeing the evidence?"

"Then they become part of the cover-up. Then they share responsibility for keeping a killer out of prison." The Guardian's voice hardened. "And then we use every legal and financial tool at our disposal to make sure they can't continue protecting her."

Alexander felt the weight of decision pressing down on him. Part of him recoiled at the idea of targeting Camille's family. But another part, the part that had carried grief and anger for months, whispered that maybe this was the only way to honor his uncle's memory.

"I need time to think about this."

"Time is a luxury we don't have. Kane Industries recovered today because of Lewis family intervention. Every day we wait gives them more opportunity to consolidate their defense of Victoria."

"One day. Give me one day to decide."

The Guardian was quiet for a long moment. "Twenty-four hours. But Alexander, remember what's at stake here. This isn't about your marriage or your personal feelings for Camille. This is about seventeen innocent people who deserve justice. This is about making sure your uncle's death meant something." Alexander walked away without responding, his footsteps echoing off the concrete pier. Behind him, the Guardian melted back into the shadows between the shipping containers.

As Alexander drove home through empty streets, his mind churned with conflicting

emotions. The evidence against Victoria seemed solid. The Guardian's passion for justice felt genuine. But something about targeting the Lewis family felt wrong, even if they were protecting a killer.

His uncle really had died believing Victoria Kane was responsible for destroying his life. The factory explosion really had killed seventeen people. The cover-up really had protected Victoria while the victims' families suffered without answers. But Camille was innocent. Her parents were innocent. They didn't know about

Victoria's alleged crimes, didn't understand what kind of woman they were protecting. Alexander pulled into his empty penthouse garage and sat in his car for a long moment. He couldn't undo what he'd done to Camille. He couldn't repair the trust he'd shattered or take back the surveillance photos or erase the months of lies.

But maybe he could ensure that his uncle's death and the deaths of seventeen innocent people finally received the justice they deserved.

Even if it meant destroying the family of the woman he'd already lost forever.

As Alexander rode the elevator to his empty apartment, he realized he was facing the most important decision of his life. Honor his uncle's memory and seek justice for mass murder victims, or protect the family of the woman whose heart he'd

already broken.

Twenty-four hours to choose between justice and mercy. Twenty-four hours to decide whether love was stronger than the need for revenge. Twenty-four hours to determine what kind of man he really was.