SCORNED EX WIFE Queen Of Ashes (Camille and Stefan) novel Chapter 176

Chapter 176

The common room of Bellevue's psychiatric ward smelled of disinfectant and despair. Rose Lewis sat alone in the corner, her back straight despite the shapeless hospital gown that hung from her once-elegant frame. The other inmates gave her space, something in her eyes warned them away, even here among the damaged and dangerous.

"Television time," a guard announced, switching on the small set mounted high on the wall.

Rose barely glanced up until the words "Kane Industries" caught her attention. Her head snapped toward the screen, body suddenly rigid.

"We're live at Kane Industries headquarters," the reporter said, "where Victoria Kane is about to make what sources call a 'game-changing announcement' regarding the future of her company."

Rose leaned forward, hands gripping the plastic arms of her chair. For weeks, she'd been cut off from news of the outside world, part of her treatment, the doctors said. Part of her punishment, she knew.

The camera panned across a packed press conference. Journalists clutched recorders and notebooks, their faces eager for the story about to break. Behind them, Kane Industries executives stood in a neat row, their expressions carefully neutral.

And then Victoria Kane appeared at the podium.

Rose's breath caught. Even through the grainy television image, Victoria's presence commanded attention. Her silver hair gleamed under the lights, her slim figure wrapped in an impeccable white suit that made her look more like an avenging angel than a cancer patient.

"For thirty-five years," Victoria's voice rang clear through the television speakers, "I have guided this company from a small investment firm to a global power. Today, that chapter ends."

An inmate shuffled past, blocking Rose's view momentarily. She hissed, a sound so feral the woman hurried away without comment.

"My doctors inform me that my cancer has responded remarkably well to treatment," Victoria continued. "I have been given the gift of time I did not expect. And I intend to use it."

Rose's fingers dug into the chair arms. She had celebrated when news of Victoria's cancer leaked to the press months ago. Had smiled at the thought of the formidable woman reduced to weakness, to dependency. To ending.

Now that victory, like all her others, was being ripped away.

"Effective immediately, I am stepping down as Chief Executive Officer of Kane Industries."

Murmurs rippled through the hospital common room as other patients tuned in to the broadcast. Someone whispered about stock prices. Someone else bet on who would take over. Rose heard none of it, her focus absolute, her entire body tensed like a predator about to strike.

On screen, Victoria raised her hand, commanding silence from the press corps with that simple gesture.

"The board has approved my successor. Someone who understands not just the business of Kane Industries, but its soul. Someone who has faced destruction and chosen to build instead."

Rose's heartbeat quickened. A terrible suspicion formed in her mind.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the new CEO of Kane Industries... Camille Kane."

The world stopped.

Rose didn't breathe, didn't blink, didn't move as the camera shifted and her sister, her victim, her obsession, her prey, walked into frame.

Camille approached the podium with measured steps, her navy suit perfect against her skin, her hair pulled back in a simple knot. Confidence radiated from her, the assurance of a woman who knew exactly where she belonged.

Nothing like the broken, devastated creature who had signed divorce papers from Stefan three years ago. Nothing like the sister Rose had tried to destroy.

"No," Rose whispered, her voice a thread of sound in the suddenly too-loud room. "No, no, no."

But the image didn't change. Camille stood at the podium, her smile composed as she began to speak.

"Thank you, Victoria. And thank you to the board for their confidence."

Rose's hands began to shake. The voice coming from the television belonged to Camille, but not the Camille she knew. This woman was poised, authoritative, commanding. Her words measured and precise as she outlined her vision for Kane Industries.

"Look at her," Rose hissed, too quietly for anyone to hear. "Playing dress-up in Victoria's clothes."

But even as the words left her lips, Rose knew they were false. The woman on screen wasn't playing at anything. This was real. While Rose had rotted in hospital rooms and court hearings, Camille had been rising. Building. Becoming.

"I come to this position with full awareness of what Kane Industries represents," Camille was saying, her voice strong and clear. "Not just assets and revenues, but lives and livelihoods. The responsibility is enormous, and I do not take it lightly."

An older woman shuffling by paused, looking at the screen then at Rose's white-knuckled grip on her chair. "You okay there, honey?"

Rose didn't answer, her eyes never leaving the television.

"She looks important," the woman persisted, nodding toward Camille. "Someone famous?"

"She's nobody," Rose snapped, the words burning her throat. "A fake. A placeholder. Victoria Kane's pet project."

The woman squinted at the screen, then at Rose, taking in her hollow cheeks and burning eyes. Recognition dawned slowly. "Wait, isn't that...."

"Leave me alone," Rose snarled, and something in her face made the woman step back quickly.

On television, Camille continued fielding questions from the press. Someone asked about her background, about her seemingly sudden appearance in business circles.

"Many of you are wondering who I am," Camille acknowledged. "Where I came from. That story is longer than we have time for today."

"Liar!" Rose shouted at the screen, loud enough that heads turned throughout the common room. "Tell them who you really are! Tell them how you stole my life, my future!"

A guard looked over, brow furrowed. Rose forced her face into blankness, years of practice making it second nature, but inside, acid burned through her veins.

"Ms. Lewis," the guard called from across the room. "Everything all right over there?"