Chapter 314

Chapter 314:

She couldn’t finish the sentence. Couldn’t speak the fear that had haunted her for three days.

Alexander pulled a chair beside her and sat down. “The doctors are doing everything they can.”

“Is it enough?” Camille asked, her eyes never leaving Victoria’s face. “The last update wasn’t promising.”

Alexander didn’t argue. There was no point pretending things weren’t serious. Camille looked down at Victoria’s hand in hers, the skin thin, blue veins visible beneath the surface. This hand had pulled her from darkness. Had shown her how to rebuild her life. Had taught her strength when she believed herself broken beyond repair.

“I can’t lose her,” Camille said, her voice barely audible. “Not like this. Not because of Rose.”

“This isn’t your fault,” Alexander said firmly.

“Isn’t it? Rose targeted the gala because of me. She planted those bombs to destroy what I had built.” Camille’s free hand curled into a fist. “If Victoria dies because of that…”

“She would tell you not to think that way.”

Camille knew he was right. Victoria would never allow such self-pity. She would never permit Camille to shoulder blame that wasn’t hers. But knowing that didn’t ease the crushing weight in her chest.

The monitors beeped, slightly faster than before. Victoria’s eyelids fluttered but didn’t open.

“Should I call the nurse?” Alexander asked, already half-rising from his chair.

Camille shook her head. “It happens sometimes. They said it’s normal.”

Normal. What a strange word to describe any of this. Nothing had been normal since the night of the gala. The bombing had made national news. The Phoenix Foundation’s triumphant launch had become a story of terrorism and tragedy. And Victoria, who had been slowly losing her battle with cancer, now faced a new fight because of the smoke damage to her lungs.

A light knock on the door interrupted Camille’s thoughts. Dr. Patel entered, followed by another doctor Camille hadn’t seen before.

“Ms. Kane,” Dr. Patel said, addressing Camille. “This is Dr. Sharma, our oncology specialist. She’s been reviewing Victoria’s latest test results.”

Camille tensed, preparing for bad news. Alexander’s hand found her shoulder, steadying her.

Dr. Sharma stepped forward, her expression thoughtful rather than grim. “We’ve detected something unexpected in the latest scans.”

“What is it?” Camille asked, her throat tight with fear.

“The cancer appears more contained than we initially believed,” Dr. Sharma explained. “Previous scans suggested spread to multiple organs, but our more detailed imaging shows the disease is primarily still concentrated in the pancreas, with only minor involvement of surrounding tissues.”

Camille stared at her, trying to process what this meant. “So… it’s not as bad as you thought?”

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