Chapter 322
Chapter 322:
No, this time she would strike at the heart. At the two people who gave Camille the strength to withstand everything Rose had done so far.
“The mother and the lover,” Rose murmured, circling the words she had written. “Take them away, and what’s left of the mighty Camille Kane?”
She knew the answer: nothing. Just a shell, empty and broken, like Rose herself had been after being forced from the Lewis family, after watching Camille take everything that should have been hers.
The television switched to footage of the hospital where Victoria was being treated. Security guards stood at every entrance. Reporters clustered nearby, hoping for updates on the powerful woman’s condition.
Rose studied the building’s layout, noting the ambulance entrance, the service doors, the helicopter pad on the roof. So many ways in, if you were clever enough. So many vulnerabilities, if you looked with the right eyes.
But first, she needed to change her appearance again. The black hair wasn’t enough. She opened her bag and pulled out the items she’d purchased at a discount store that morning: scissors, colored contact lenses, makeup designed to alter facial structure, and clothes nothing like her usual style. As she began cutting her hair shorter, Rose’s mind raced with possibilities. Victoria Kane was already weakened by cancer, made more vulnerable by the bombing. One well-placed push might be enough to finish what the smoke inhalation had started.
And Alexander Pierce. So devoted to Camille, so determined to protect her. His very devotion made him predictable. Made him a target.
Take them both away, and Camille would shatter completely. No foundation to rebuild. No strength to rise again. Just emptiness, grief, and the knowledge that she had failed to protect the people she loved most.
“Perfect,” Rose whispered, examining her newly cropped hair in the bathroom mirror. With the right makeup, the colored contacts, and the change in hairstyle, she would be unrecognizable to anyone not looking very carefully.
She returned to the main room, unmuting the television just as they switched to a press conference. FBI Agent Diana Chen stood at a podium, flanked by other serious-faced agents.
“We have reason to believe the suspect remains in the greater New York area,” Agent Chen was saying. “We’re asking the public to remain vigilant and report any sightings immediately. Ms. Lewis is considered extremely dangerous and should not be approached.”
Rose smiled at the screen. They thought they knew where she was. They thought they were closing in. Little did they understand that Rose Lewis had spent her entire life hiding in plain sight, pretending to be someone she wasn’t. This manhunt was just another role to play, another mask to wear.
Her phone vibrated with a news alert. She opened it to find a new story: “Bombing Suspect’s History of Deception.” The article detailed Rose’s past, including interviews with former associates who described her manipulative behavior. Stefan Rodriguez was quoted saying he “deeply regretted” his relationship with Rose and called her “dangerously obsessed” with destroying her sister.
Rose threw the phone across the room, satisfaction flaring when it hit the wall with a crack. Stefan, too, had betrayed her. Added his voice to the chorus condemning her. Another name for her list. Another target for later, after she finished with Victoria and Alexander.
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