Chapter 386
Chapter 386:
The moment stretched between them, tender and raw. Then Victoria straightened, the brief softness replaced by her usual steely determination. “Now,” she said briskly, “I believe we have a press conference to prepare for. The announcement of my successor has already created quite a stir. This latest decision will send them into a frenzy.”
As they began reviewing the press statements, Camille felt something settle inside her—a certainty she’d been searching for since Victoria’s announcement yesterday. She had spent years learning to be Camille Kane, Victoria’s creation and heir. Now, she would discover who Camille Kane could become when making her own choices.
She glanced at the signed documents on her desk. Not revenge, but restoration.
Not destruction, but possibility.
A path uniquely her own, at last.
The common room of Bellevue’s psychiatric ward smelled of disinfectant and despair. Rose Lewis sat alone in the corner, her back straight despite the shapeless hospital gown that hung from her once-elegant frame. The other inmates gave her space; something in her eyes warned them away, even here among the damaged and dangerous.
“Television time,” a guard announced, switching on the small set mounted on the wall.
Rose barely glanced up until the words “Kane Industries” caught her attention. Her head snapped toward the screen, her body suddenly rigid.
“We’re live at Kane Industries headquarters,” the reporter said, “where Victoria Kane is about to make what sources call a ‘game-changing announcement’ regarding the future of her company.”
Rose leaned forward, her hands gripping the plastic arms of her chair. For weeks, she’d been cut off from news of the outside world, part of her treatment, the doctors said. Part of her punishment, she knew.
The camera panned across a packed press conference. Journalists clutched recorders and notebooks, their faces eager for the story about to break. Behind them, Kane Industries executives stood in a neat row, their expressions carefully neutral.
And then Victoria Kane appeared at the podium.
Rose’s breath caught. Even through the grainy television image, Victoria’s presence commanded attention. Her silver hair gleamed under the lights, her slim figure wrapped in an impeccable white suit that made her look more like an avenging angel than a cancer patient.
“For thirty-five years,” Victoria’s voice rang clear through the television speakers, “I have guided this company from a small investment firm to a global power. Today, that chapter ends.”
An inmate shuffled past, blocking Rose’s view momentarily. She hissed, a sound so feral that the woman hurried away without comment.
“My doctors inform me that my cancer has responded remarkably well to treatment,” Victoria continued. “I have been given the gift of time I did not expect. And I intend to use it.”
Rose’s fingers dug into the chair arms. She had celebrated when news of Victoria’s cancer had leaked to the press months ago. She had smiled at the thought of the formidable woman reduced to weakness, to dependency, to ending.
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