SCORNED EX WIFE Queen Of Ashes (Camille and Stefan)

Chapter 204 Richard Lewis sat in his private study at three in the morning, surrounded by documents that painted a picture of calculated betrayal. The mahogany desk his grandfather had built was covered with financial reports, digital surveillance evidence, and communication records that told a story no father should ever have to read.

His daughter's husband had been systematically destroying Kane Industries. The man Camille had trusted with her heart, her future, her most vulnerable moments, had been photographing Victoria at their wedding and stealing security plans during their honeymoon.

Richard's hands trembled as he read through the final piece of evidence: an advance copy of a press release scheduled to go live in six hours. The headline made his blood run cold: "Kane Industries CEO Victoria Kane Linked to Cover-Up of Factory Deaths - Exclusive Investigation Reveals Decades of Corporate Murder." The release contained detailed allegations about a factory explosion fifteen years ago, claiming Victoria had bribed safety inspectors and destroyed evidence to protect her company's reputation. It painted her as a cold- blooded killer who valued profits over human lives.

Richard knew the release was scheduled to hit every major financial news outlet simultaneously. By the tmarkets opened, Kane Industries would be facing not just stock manipulation but criminal allegations that would destroy the company completely.

He picked up his phone and began making calls.

"Tom, it's Richard Lewis... I need an emergency favor... There's a fraudulent press release about to go live targeting my daughter's company... Yes, I know it's late, but this can't wait until morning..." One call becten. Ten bectwenty. Richard worked through his contact list with methodical precision, calling in favors accumulated over thirty years of business relationships. Newspaper editors who owed him for charitable donations. Television producers whose careers he'd supported. Digital platform executives whose companies had benefited from Lewis family investments.

By five AM, the press release had been blocked from every major outlet. Legal injunctions had been filed. Criminal complaints about securities fraud were being prepared.

But blocking the attack wasn't enough. Richard needed to confront the man who had violated his daughter's trust so completely.

At seven AM, Richard Lewis stood outside Alexander Pierce's penthouse building. The doorman recognized him immediately - the Lewis family ncarried weight in every corner of Manhattan society.

"Mr. Lewis? Is everything all right?" "I need to see Alexander Pierce. Tell him it's urgent." The elevator ride to the penthouse felt endless. Richard's anger had been building for hours, fueled by every document he'd read, every piece of evidence that showed how thoroughly Alexander had deceived Camille. Alexander answered the door looking haggard and exhausted. His expensive shirt was wrinkled, his hair uncombed, his eyes bloodshot from sleepless nights. When he saw Richard, his face went white.

"Mr. Lewis? I wasn't expecting..." "We need to talk." Richard pushed past Alexander into the penthouse without invitation.

The apartment was a mess. Empty bottles on the kitchen counter. Takeout containers scattered across expensive furniture. The remnants of a life that had fallen apart when the lies bectoo heavy to carry.

"Sit down," Richard commanded.

Alexander remained standing, his jaw set in stubborn lines. "If you're here about Camille..." "I'm here about Kane Industries. I'm here about the stock manipulation, the stolen security plans, the surveillance photos of Victoria." Richard's voice was deadly quiet. "I'm here about the press release you scheduled to destroy my daughter's company this morning." Alexander's face crumpled. "How did you..." "How did I find out? You mean besides the fact that you've been sloppy enough to leave digital fingerprints all over your crimes?" Richard pulled out a folder thick with evidence. "I have documentation of every illegal access to Kane Industries systems. Every stolen document. Every manipulated stock trade." "You don't understand. Victoria Kane is..." "Victoria Kane is what? A killer? A criminal? A monster?" Richard's voice rose for the first time. "Or is she the woman who saved my daughter's life when everyone else abandoned her?" Alexander stared at the floor, unable to meet Richard's eyes.

"Look atwhen I'm talking to you." Richard's command was sharp enough to cut glass. "Look atand explain how you justify using my daughter's love as a weapon against her family." Alexander's head snapped up, his eyes blazing with desperate anger. "She covered up seventeen deaths! She destroyed my uncle's company and drove him to suicide!" "According to who? Anonymous documents delivered at convenient times? Evidence that appeared exactly when you needed motivation to betray your wife?" "The evidence is real..." "The evidence is manufactured." Richard slammed the folder down on Alexander's coffee table. "I've had forensic accountants and digital investigators working all night. Your proof has been edited, doctored, and enhanced to support a narrative that doesn't match the actual court records." Alexander went very still. "That's impossible." "Is it? When did you last independently verify the claims against Victoria? When did you speak to any of the victim's families? When did you review the original safety reports that supposedly show her guilt?" "I... the person who gavethe evidence...." "Used your grief to turn you into a weapon against my daughter." Richard's voice was full of cold fury. "Someone fed I you exactly what you needed to believe to do exactly what they wanted you to do." Alexander sank into a chair, his face pale with dawning horror. "But the factory explosion really happened. People really died." "Yes, they did. And the court records show your uncle's company was responsible for faulty equipment installation. The safety violations were real, but they were committed by Meridian Technologies, not Kane Industries." "You're lying." "I'm showing you documentation you should have examined before you destroyed your marriage." Richard opened the folder and spread official court documents across the table. "These are the actual legal proceedings. The real safety reports. The testimony of workers who tried to warn your uncle about the dangerous shortcuts he was taking." Alexander stared at the documents, his face hardening with stubborn resistance. "This is fake." "Your uncle made choices that killed seventeen people. When the families sued, he blamed Kane Industries to deflect responsibility from his own failures. Victoria Kane defended her company against false accusations, not covered up her own crimes." "You're lying to protect Victoria." Alexander's voice grew heated. "These documents have been altered just like you claim mine were." "Were real. Your uncle was consumed by guilt over the deaths he caused. He couldn't live with the responsibility for those seventeen lives, he tried to blsomeone else. When that failed, when the courts found Meridian Technologies liable, he took his own life rather than face the consequences." Alexander pushed the court documents away without reading them carefully. "You think I'm stupid? You think I'll just accept your version of events because you wave spapers in my face?" "I'm not destroying my uncle's memory based on lies from Victoria Kane's protector," he said bitterly. "You haven't destroyed anything yet. Victoria Kane is still walking free after murdering seventeen innocent people." Alexander's eyes blazed with unshaken conviction. "You can wave all the fake documents you want, but I know what she did." "Someone who benefits from Kane Industries' collapse. Someone who saw your grief as a tool to be used." Richard's voice softened slightly with frustration. "Someone who is probably planning to continue their attacks even now that you've been exposed." "Good. Victoria Kane deserves everything that's coming to her." Alexander stood up, his posture defiant. "And if you try to protect her, you're complicit in covering up mass murder." "You have to stay away from my daughter." Richard's voice turned ice-cold again. "And you have to stop this insane vendetta against Victoria." "Never." Alexander's voice was firm with resolution. "Victoria Kane will pay for what she did to my uncle and those seventeen families. If you want to protect a killer, that's your choice. But I won't stop seeking justice." "Justice?" Richard laughed bitterly. "You surveilled her private conversations. You used her wedding day as cover for photographing Victoria. You spent your honeymoon planning how to destroy her family's company. That's not justice, Alexander. That's obsession with revenge." Alexander's face twisted with pain and anger. "My uncle died because of Victoria Kane. Seventeen people died because of her greed. I won't let her escape consequences just because she has powerful friends protecting her." "I know what I have to do," Alexander said firmly. "And I won't be stopped by threats or fake evidence." "Then you're beyond help." Richard moved closer, his presence intimidating despite his smaller stature. "But hear this clearly - if you continue attacking my daughter's company, if you hurt Camille any more than you already have, I will destroy you personally." "Destroyfor seeking justice? For honoring my uncle's memory?" Alexander's voice was bitter. "At least I'll know I stood up to corruption instead of enabling it." "You're not seeking justice. You're seeking revenge based on lies." Richard gathered up the documents. "But you're too blinded by hate to see the truth even when it's put in front of you." "I won't stop fighting for justice just because you threaten me." Alexander's jaw was set in stubborn determination. "My uncle deserves better than being forgotten so Victoria Kane can continue living in luxury." "Then you give that information to the FBI, not to me." Richard's voice was grim with finality. "And you stay away from Camille while you destroy yourself with this pointless crusade." Alexander's shoulders straightened with renewed resolve. "I know exactly what I need to do. And tonight, I'm going to take the next step in making Victoria Kane pay for her crimes." "When is your next contact with this Guardian person?" "Tonight. And I'm going to tell him yes. Victoria Kane and anyone protecting her needs to face consequences." Alexander met Richard's eyes with cold determination.

Richard went very still. "You're planning to attack my family?" "I'm planning to remove the obstacles preventing justice. If the Lewis family wants to protect a killer, then you're part of the problem." "And what did you tell this Guardian?" "I'm going to tell him tonight that I'm ready to do whatever it takes." Alexander's voice was cold with resolution. "Victoria Kane has hidden behind wealth and power for too long." "You're making a terrible mistake, Alexander." "The only mistake I made was not acting sooner." Alexander moved toward the door, clearly wanting Richard to leave. "My uncle and seventeen innocent people deserve justice, and they're going to get it." "You wantto leave so you can continue planning attacks on my family?" "I want you to understand that nothing will stopfrom exposing Victoria Kane's crimes. Not threats not fake evidence, not family

loyalty. Alexander's eyes burned "Tonight, the Guardian and tare going bring down to plan how to bring down everyone who's been protecting a mass murderer." with unwavering convict Durned.

Richard stared at Alexander with a mixture of anger and disbelief. "You're beyond reasoning with." "I'm committed to justice. Something you wouldn't understand since you're more concerned with protecting your daughter's feelings than exposing the truth." "And if I try to stop you?" "Then you'll be choosing to protect a killer over innocent victims. But you can't stop justice, Mr. Lewis. Victoria Kane's crimes will be exposed, with or without your cooperation." Richard moved toward the door, his face grim with determination. "We'll see about that." "Yes, we will." Alexander's voice followed him. "And when the truth comes out, when everyone sees what Victoria Kane really is, you'll know you chose the wrong side."

As Richard walked toward the elevator, he could feel Alexander's defiant stare burning into his back. ve The young man was lost to reason, consumed by a need for revenge that had becmore important to him than truth, love, or basic humanity. Richard didn't turn around when Alexander called after him: "Tell Camille I'm sorry she chose to protect a murderer. But my uncle and those seventeen families deserve better."

The elevator doors closed on Alexander's unrepentant face Jeaving Richard alone with the crushing weight of what he'd learned. His daughter had married a man who was willing to destroy innocent people in pursuit of what he believed was justice. The attacks on Kane Industries weren't just continuing - they were about to escalate to include the entire Lewis family.

Alexander Pierce was no longer just Camille's betrayed husband. He had beca true enemy, willing to sacrifice anyone and everyone in his way.

Richard pulled out his phone as the elevator descended. It was tto call Senator Alvarez and prepare for a battle that was about to becmuch more dangerous than any of them had anticipated.