SCORNED EX WIFE Queen Of Ashes (Camille and Stefan)

Chapter 160

Dr. Sharma knocked twice before entering Victoria's hospital room, her face unreadable as she carried a folder of

test results. Camille sat up straighter in her chair, her heart speeding up. Two weeks had passed since Rose's

threatening message. Two weeks of heightened security, constant fear, and waiting for Victoria's latest test

results.

"Good morning," Dr. Sharma said, her voice giving away nothing. "How are you feeling today, Ms. Kane?"

Victoria, sitting up in bed for the first tin days, nodded slightly. "Better than yesterday. Less pain."

Camille studied her mother's face, hardly daring to believe the small

improvements she'd noticed over the past few days. The color returning to Victoria's cheeks. The clarity in her

eyes. The way she'd begun asking about Kane Industries again, as if planning for a future she might actually see.

Dr. Sharma pulled up the bedside chair and sat down, opening the folder on her lap. "I have your latest scan

results."

Camille reached for Victoria's hand, bracing for bad news. They'd been through this routine before, brief

improvements followed by crushing setbacks. Hope was a luxury she could barely afford.

"The treatment is working," Dr. Sharma said, her professional mask finally breaking into a genuine smile. "The

tumors have shrunk by nearly thirty percent." The words hung in the air. Camille stared at the doctor, afraid

she'd misheard. "Thirty percent?" Victoria repeated, her voice steadier than it had been in weeks. "Yes. Your body

is responding remarkably well to the combined therapy approach." Dr. Sharma turned the folder, showing them

the scan images. "Here's the primary tumor from three weeks ago. And here it is now."

Even to Camille's untrained eye, the difference was clear. The dark mass that had been stealing Victoria's life

was noticeably smaller.

"What does this mean?" Camille asked, afraid to voice the real question burning in her heart: *Is she going to

live?*

"It means the treatment is working better than we expected," Dr. Sharma explained. "Your mother's body is

fighting back with surprising strength."

Victoria's hand tightened around Camille's. "Give us the full picture, Doctor. No sugar-coating."

Dr. Sharma nodded, respecting Victoria's directness. "The cancer is still serious. But this response changes your

prognosis significantly. With continued treatment and your current response rate, we could be looking at years of

good quality life rather than months."

Years. The word echoed in Camille's mind like a bell, clear and bright and almost too beautiful to believe.

"And the smoke damage to her lungs?" Camille pressed, needing to understand the complete situation.

"Also improving faster than expected. Your mother has remarkable resilience, Ms. Kane." Dr. Sharma closed the

folder. "I believe we can start discussing discharge plans within the next week, with continued outpatient

treatment, of course.”

After the doctor left, promising to return with more details that afternoon, silence filled the room. Camille stared

at Victoria, tears building behind her eyes but not falling.

"Don't look so shocked," Victoria said finally, a hint of her old dryness returning. "I told you | wasn't finished yet."

The simple statement broke the dam. Camille's tears flowed freely now, her body shaking with sobs that were

half laughter, half pure relief.

"Camille," Victoria said, her voice softening. "Chere."

Camille moved from the chair to the edge of the bed. Victoria reached up, wiping tears from her daughter's

cheeks with a gentleness few people had ever seen from the formidable businesswoman.

"I'm not going anywhere," Victoria promised. "Not for a long time."

"I was so afraid," Camille admitted, the words barely audible. "Every day, watching you get weaker. | thought..."

"I know what you thought." Victoria's hand moved to cover Camille's. "I thought it too, at first. But it seems we're

both too stubborn to give up so easily."

Camille laughed through her tears. "Stubborn enough to beat cancer and survive a bombing in the smonth."

"Exactly." Victoria's eyes, clearer now than they had been in weeks, held Camille's. "Now, helpsit up

properly. | need to make scalls."

"Calls? You just got good news. You should rest."

"I've been resting for weeks," Victoria countered. "It's tto start living again."

Something in those words reached deep inside Camille, touching a place that had been frozen with fear since

Rose's threat. *Tto start living again.* Not just surviving. Not just waiting for the next attack. But living,

despite the dangers still lurking.

Camille adjusted Victoria's pillows, helping her sit more upright. "Alexander will want to know about the test

results. He's been worried too."

"Of course he has," Victoria said. "That young man loves you more than his own life. It makes him both valuable

and extremely vulnerable."

The blunt assessment brought Camille up short. Even recovering from cancer, even celebrating good news,

Victoria's mind remained sharp, tactical, always evaluating weaknesses and strengths.

"Rose is still out there," Victoria continued, reading Camille's thoughts with her usual accuracy. "My recovery

doesn't change that. If anything, it makesa more tempting target."

"The FBI is closing in," Camille reminded her. "Every day they find new leads. It's only a matter of time."

"Perhaps. But Rose has always been patient when it suited her."

Camille stood, moving to the window where armed guards were visible patrolling the hospital grounds. "I can't

live like this forever. None of us can. Looking over our shoulders. Jumping at shadows."

"No," Victoria agreed. "Which is why we need to be proactive, not reactive."

Camille turned back, studying Victoria's face. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that Rose expects us to hide. To cower. To wait for her to strike." Victoria straightened, looking more

like herself than she had in? weeks. "What she doesn't expect is for us to move forward with our lives. To rebuild

what she destroyed. To grow stronger while she weakens."

The idea settled over Camille slowly, like a warm blanket on a cold night. Victoria was right. Rose wanted them

paralyzed with fear. Wanted them isolated, separated, vulnerable. Every day they spent simply waiting for her

next attack was

a small victory for Rose.

"The Phoenix Foundation," Camille said, the words coming unbidden to her lips. "We should restart it. Rebuild it."

Victoria smiled, pride evident in her eyes. "Exactly. Not just the foundation. Everything. Kane Industries

initiatives. Your wedding plans with Alexander. Your life, Camille. The one Rose tried to destroy."

For the first tin weeks, something other than fear fluttered in Camille's chest. Something that felt

dangerously like hope.

A knock at the door interrupted them. Alexander entered, his face lighting up when

he saw Victoria sitting up, looking stronger than she had since the bombing.

"You look better," he said, moving to Camille's side.

"lI am better," Victoria confirmed. "Dr. Sharma just gave us the test results. The treatment is working better than

expected."

Alexander's arm slipped around Camille's waist, offering silent support. "That's the best news I've heard in

weeks."

"We were just discussing next steps," Victoria said, her business tone returning. "Specifically, how to move

forward instead of simply waiting for Rose's next attack."

Alexander glanced at Camille, curiosity in his eyes. "And what did you decide?" "That we rebuild," Camille said,

the words feeling right as they left her mouth. "Everything. The foundation. Our lives. All of it."

"While maintaining security precautions," Victoria added pragmatically. Alexander's expression grew thoughtful.

"It's risky. Rose is still out there, still dangerous."

"Life is risky," Victoria countered. "Especially for people like us. That never stoppedbefore, and it won't stop