SCORNED EX WIFE Queen Of Ashes (Camille and Stefan)

Victoria Kane sat in the back seat of her black sedan, watching the familiar streets of Manhattan blur past the tinted windows. The follow-up appointment at Mount Sinai Hospital had gone well - her cancer markers were stable, her blood pressure had normalized, and her doctor had finally cleared her for full activity. After weeks of forced rest and medical monitoring, she felt ready to reclaim control of her life and her company.

The afternoon sun cast long shadows across the city as her driver navigated through midtown traffic. Victoria used the quiet time to review reports on her phone, catching up on business decisions that had been made during her recovery. Kane Industries had weathered James's virus attack on the Phoenix Grid, thanks to Hannah's technical expertise and the coordinated response from Camille and Alexander.

Reading about her daughter's effective crisis management filled Victoria with pride. Camille had grown into the leader Victoria always knew she could be, handling the media storm and regulatory pressures with grace and intelligence. The fact that she and Alexander were working together again gave Victoria hope that their marriage might survive the damage James had inflicted.

Victoria's driver slowed to a stop at a red light on Park Avenue. The usual sounds of the city filtered through the car's soundproofing - car horns, construction noise, the distant hum of millions of people going about their daily lives. Everything felt normal, peaceful even, after the chaos of recent weeks.

That's when she saw him.

James Whitfield stood on the sidewalk beside her car, close enough to touch the window if he wanted to. He wore an expensive gray suit that made him look like any other businessman walking through Manhattan, but Victoria recognized his face from the surveillance photos her security team had shown her.

Her blood turned to ice as James smiled and tapped gently on the window.

"Mrs. Kane," he said, his voice muffled by the glass but clearly audible. "We need to talk."

Victoria's hand moved toward the panic button that would summon her security team, but James shook his head slowly.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. Not when your daughter's safety depends on how this conversation goes."

The words hit Victoria like a physical blow. She pressed the button to lower the window slightly, just enough to hear James clearly without giving him access to the car's interior.

"What do you want?" Victoria asked, her voice steady despite the fear clawing at her chest.

"I want you to understand the situation you're in," James replied. "Twenty years ago, you destroyed my father's business and sent him to die in federal prison. Now I'm going to return the favor."

"Your father was a criminal who endangered people's lives with substandard construction materials," Victoria said firmly. "Richard Pierce and I reported his crimes to protect innocent workers and families."

James's smile widened, but there was no warmth in it. "Such righteous words from someone who's about to lose everything she cares about."

Victoria felt her heart racing as she realized the full extent of James's threat. This wasn't just about business revenge anymore. This was personal, targeting the people she loved most.

"James, whatever you think my father and Richard did to your family, Camille had nothing to do with it. She was a child when those events happened. She's innocent in all of this."

"Innocent?" James laughed coldly. "Your precious daughter has been helping Alexander investigate my activities. She's been working to expose my identity and stop my plans for justice. That makes her just as guilty as you are."

Victoria's protective instincts flared like fire in her chest. Every maternal feeling she had developed for Camille over the past two years crystallized into fierce determination to shield her daughter from this madman's revenge.

"Leave Camille out of this," Victoria said, her voice carrying the authority that had built Kane Industries from nothing. "Your quarrel is with me. Deal with me directly."

"Oh, I intend to deal with you directly," James said, leaning closer to the window. "But first, I want you to suffer the way my father suffered. I want you to watch everything you've built crumble around you. I want you to feel helpless and abandoned before I finish what I started."

Victoria's driver kept his eyes straight ahead, but she could see his tension in the rigid line of his shoulders. The traffic light was still red, trapping them in this moment of confrontation with a man who had already proven willing to commit murder.

"The virus attack on the Phoenix Grid was just the beginning," James continued. "A small demonstration of what I can do to your company's infrastructure. But that was nothing compared to what comes next."

"What are you planning?" Victoria asked, dreading the answer.

"I'm planning to take everything from you, piece by piece. Your company, your reputation, your freedom, your health." James's voice dropped to a whisper that somehow felt more threatening than shouting. "And then I'm going to take your daughter."

Victoria felt her world shift around her at those words. The threat to her business, her reputation, even her own life - she could handle all of that. But the threat to Camille touched something primal and fierce in her heart.

"If you hurt her-"

"You'll what?" James interrupted. "You'll call the police? You'll hire more security? You'll try to hide her away somewhere safe?" He shook his head mockingly. "Mrs. Kane, I've been planning this campaign for fifteen years. I know where Camille lives, where she works, where she shops, where she goes for her morning coffee. I know her routines, her habits, her weaknesses."noveldrama

Victoria's hands clenched into fists as she fought to control her rising panic. "What do you want from me?"

"I want you to suffer. I want you to live with the fear that at any moment, someone you love might disappear forever. I want you to experience the helplessness my father felt when your accusations destroyed his life."

The traffic light turned green, and Victoria's driver began to accelerate. But James walked alongside the car, matching its speed as it moved through the intersection.

"This isn't over, Mrs. Kane," James called through the window. "In fact, it's just beginning. By the time I'm finished with you, you'll wish you had never interfered with the Smith family business."

Victoria watched James fall behind as the car picked up speed, but his final words.echoed in her mind like a death sentence. The casual way he had mentioned taking Camille, the detailed knowledge of her daughter's daily life, the calm

certainty that he could strike

whenever he chose.

"Drive faster," Victoria told her driver, her voice shaking for the first time.

"Yes, ma'am. Should I contact security?"

"Yes. Full protection detail for Camille immediately. I want her surrounded by guards every moment of every day until James Whitfield is in custody or dead." Victoria pulled out her phone with trembling fingers and speed-dialed Camille's number. Each ring felt like an eternity as she prayed her daughter would answer, that she was safe, that James hadn't already acted on his threats. "Victoria?" Camille's voice came through the phone, sounding tired but alive. "Camille, where are you right now?" Victoria asked, trying to keep the panic out of her voice.

"I'm at Kane Industries with Alexander. We're reviewing the damage reports from the virus attack. Why? You sound strange."

Victoria closed her eyes with relief. Camille was safe, surrounded by security at the office building. But for how long?

"I need you to stay exactly where you are until I get there. Don't leave the building, don't go anywhere alone, don't trust anyone you don't know personally."

"Victoria, what's wrong? What happened?"

Victoria looked out the rear window of the car, half expecting to see James following them. The street behind her looked normal, but she knew that didn't mean anything. A man who had spent fifteen years planning revenge would know how to stay invisible when he wanted to.

"James confronted me," Victoria said quietly. "He threatened you directly. Camille, he knows your routines, your habits, where you go every day. He's been watching you."

The silence on the other end of the phone lasted so long that Victoria wondered if the call had dropped.

"Camille? Are you there?"

"I'm here," Camille replied, her voice small and frightened. "Victoria, I'm scared."

The admission broke Victoria's heart. For two years, she had watched Camille grow from a

broken woman fleeing her sister et

betrayal into a strong leader capable of running a major corporation. But underneath all that strength, Camille was still someone who had been hurt too many times by people she trusted.

"I know you're scared. I'm scared too," Victoria admitted. "But we're going to get through this together. I'm implementing full security protocols immediately. You'll have protection everywhere you go until James is stopped."

"What about Alexander? What about Stefan and Hannah? James knows about all

of us."

Victoria felt her protective instincts

expand to include the entire group of

people who had become her extended family. Alexander, despite his mistakes, was Camille's husband and deserved protection. Stefan had risked his life to save Camille from Rose. Hannah had just saved the city from James's cyberattack.

"Everyone gets protection," Victoria decided. "I'm not letting James hurt anyone

else I care about."

As Victoria's car pulled up to Kane Industries, she could see security guards already taking positions around the building. Her head of security had acted quickly on her instructions, implementing protocols designed to protect against exactly this kind of threat.

But as Victoria looked up at the tower that housed her life's work, she realized that no amount of security could completely protect the people she loved from a man who had spent fifteen years learning how to destroy them.

James Whitfield wasn't just seeking revenge anymore. He had declared war on

Victoria's entire family, and he had made it clear that he would use any means necessary to win that war.

The question was whether Victoria could stop him before he carried out his threats against the daughter she loved more than her own life.

As Victoria rode the elevator up to Kane Industries' executive floors, she made a silent vow. James Whitfield had made the mistake of threatening her child. Now

he was about to learn what happened when someone tried to harm the one

person Victoria Kane would kill to protect.

The war James had started twenty years ago was finally going to end. One way or

another.