Chapter 163

Chapter 163:

“I will,” Camille promised. “As long as you need me.”

She sat with Victoria as her breathing deepened into sleep, watching the steady rise and fall of her chest. Through the window, sunlight had begun to break through the clouds, casting a warm glow across the bed.

After some time, Camille wasn’t sure how long, a quiet knock sounded at the door. Alexander entered, carrying two cups of fresh coffee.

“How is she?” he asked, handing Camille one of the cups.

“Sleeping now,” Camille replied. “But she woke briefly. She knew me. Asked about the company, of course.”

Alexander smiled. “Some things never change.”

“Did you tell her?” he asked after a moment.

Camille nodded, her eyes still on Victoria’s sleeping face. “Yes. And she…” She paused, remembering the shine of tears in Victoria’s eyes, the simple acknowledgment that had meant everything. “She already knew.”

Alexander pulled a chair beside Camille’s, sitting close enough that their shoulders touched. “What happens now?”

Camille took a sip of her coffee, organizing her thoughts. “Victoria will need time to recover, then begin immunotherapy. We keep running Kane Industries according to her directives. And we prepare for whatever Rose and Herod are planning.”

She turned to him, a new fire lighting her eyes. “But we don’t just defend anymore. We attack.”

Alexander studied her face. “You’re different today.”

“Yes.”

He gestured toward Victoria. “Yesterday, you were terrified of losing her. Of being left to face everything alone. Today…”

“Today I know she’ll live,” Camille finished. “And that changes everything.”

She stood, moving to the window to look out at the city sprawled below them. Somewhere out there, Rose and Herod were plotting, believing Victoria Kane was simply suffering from exhaustion, unaware that Camille now stood ready to protect everything Victoria had built.

“We need to identify their next move,” she said. “The stock purchases, the technical probes—those are just the beginning. Herod wants Kane Industries. Rose wants to destroy me. They won’t stop until they get what they want.”

“Or until we stop them,” Alexander added, coming to stand beside her.

Camille nodded, her reflection in the glass showing a woman transformed, no longer just Victoria’s creation, but something new. Someone who had found her own strength, her own purpose. “I’ll need your help,” she said quietly.

Alexander’s hand found hers, their fingers intertwining. “You have it. Always.”

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