Chapter 359
Chapter 359:
A tense silence filled the room. Finally, Alexander spoke. “Fine. You go in with the water team. But you follow orders precisely, or I’ll have you removed. Understood?”
Stefan nodded, relief and fear battling within him.
Margaret approached Stefan, pressing something into his hand. It was a small wooden fishing lure, weathered with age. “Camille made this at the cabin when she was ten,” she whispered. “Give it to her. Tell her we’re waiting for her to come home.”
The next two hours passed in a blur of preparation. Tactical gear was distributed. Communications tested. Weapons checked and loaded.
“Remember,” Alexander told the assembled team, “Rose is mentally unstable but extremely intelligent. She’ll have contingency plans. Our priority is Camille’s extraction. Rose’s capture is secondary.”
“And if she resists?” asked one of the tactical officers.
Alexander’s expression darkened. “Then you do what’s necessary to protect Camille.”
As the teams prepared to move out, Stefan found himself standing next to Victoria. The formidable woman who had helped Camille transform from victim to phoenix looked unexpectedly fragile, but her eyes burned with fierce determination.
“I failed her,” Stefan said quietly.
Victoria didn’t look at him. “Yes. You did.”
“I won’t fail her again.”
Now Victoria turned, studying his face. “Do you know why she chose you in the first place, before Rose’s manipulation?”
Stefan shook his head.
“Because she saw something in you worth loving. Something beyond the surface.” Victoria’s voice was cold but not cruel. “Prove her right. For once.”
The loading bay doors opened. Outside, rain had begun to fall, the droplets catching in the harsh light of the security floodlights.
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Alexander stood at the threshold, checking his tactical vest one last time. His face no longer showed the polished businessman Camille had come to love, but a hunter focused only on his prey.
“Vehicles move out in five minutes,” he announced. “Water team, thirty minutes to launch point. Road team, we’ll position at the perimeter in forty-five minutes and wait for the signal.”
Victoria touched Alexander’s arm. “Bring her home.”
“I will.” He glanced at the storm clouds gathering overhead. “Whatever it takes.”
As they moved toward the waiting vehicles, Stefan felt a strange calm settle over him. For the first time since his betrayal of Camille, he knew exactly what he had to do. Not for forgiveness—he’d long stopped hoping for that—but for redemption.
Rain lashed against the black waters of Cedar Lake as Alexander and Stefan crouched in the underbrush. The storm above rumbled ominously, with lightning flashing in the distance. Through his night-vision goggles, Alexander scanned the cabin that held Camille.
.
.
.