SCORNED EX WIFE Queen Of Ashes (Camille and Stefan)

Chapter 206 Alexander sat in his darkened penthouse office, the blue glow of multiple computer screens painting shadows across his face. Empty coffee cups and takeout containers littered his desk - evidence of days spent planning what he believed would be justice for his uncle's death and the seventeen lives lost in that factory explosion.

His fingers moved across the keyboard, typing another encrypted message to the Guardian. The ssecure communication system they'd used for months, bouncing signals through servers in twelve different countries to hide their conversations from anyone who might try to listen in.

*Status update: Richard Lewis confrontedtoday. He showed false documents claiming my uncle was responsible for the factory deaths. I didn't believe his lies. Ready to proceed with Phase Two as discussed.* Alexander hit send and leaned back in his chair, exhaustion weighing on him like a physical burden. His reflection in the black computer screen showed a man who'd aged years in the past few weeks. Stubble covered his jaw, dark circles ringed his eyes, and his expensive clothes hung loose on a frthat had lost weight from stress and sleepless nights.

The response cback within minutes: *Excellent. Lewis family interference was expected. They will do anything to protect their reputation, even defend a killer. Your uncle would be proud of your dedication to justice. Meeting tonight as planned. Pier 47, midnight.* Alexander stared at the message, feeling the familiar mix of grief and determination that had driven him for months. Every tdoubt crept into his mind, every moment when Camille's face appeared in his thoughts and made him question his choices, the Guardian's words reminded him of what was really at stake.

Seventeen families who'd never received justice. His uncle, who'd died believing the world had abandoned him to protect Victoria Kane's crimes. The truth that needed to be exposed no matter the personal cost.

His phone buzzed with a text from an unknown number: *Your wife is beautiful when she cries. You should see her at the hospital.* Alexander's blood turned cold. Someone was watching Camille. Someone was threatening her.

He typed back frantically: *Who is this? If you hurt her-* *Relax. Just reminding you what happens to people who get in the way of justice. Your wife chose her side. Now she lives with the consequences.* Alexander stared at the phone, his hands shaking with rage and fear. The Guardian had promised that Camille wouldn't be harmed, that their fight was only with Victoria Kane and those actively protecting her. But this message suggested something far more sinister.

He grabbed his laptop and tried to trace the phone number, but it led nowhere - a burner phone, probably already destroyed. Whoever had sent the message knew how to stay hidden.

Twenty miles away, in a small office above a shipping warehouse, Stefan Rodriguez sat surrounded by computer equipment that would have impressed most government agencies. Multiple monitors displayed streaming code, network maps, and communication intercepts. Coffee had long since been replaced by energy drinks as he worked through his third consecutive night tracking digital ghosts.

Stefan's background in international shipping had required him to understand global communication networks, cyber security, and the dark corners of the intewhere criminal organizations operated. Skills he'd never expected to use protecting his ex-wife from her current husband's revenge plot.

"Con," he muttered, watching lines of encrypted data scroll across his screen. "Givesomething." For days, Stefan had been tracking the communication patterns between Alexander and his mysterious contact. The messages bounced through anonymous servers in Russia, China, Eastern Europe - a sophisticated network designed to hide the sender's true location and identity.

But every digital communication left traces. Tiny fragments of data that revealed timing patterns, server preferences, even writing styles that could identify the person behind the encryption.

Stefan had found something interesting in the message timestamps. While the communications appeared to originate from different countries, they all showed subtle timing patterns that suggested the sender was operating from the Eastern United States. Someone who sent messages during American business hours, who took breaks at times consistent with East Coast meal schedules.

More importantly, the technical sophistication of the encryption suggested someone with serious resources. Government-level security tools, military-grade anonymizing software, access to networks that weren't available to ordinary criminals.

His computer chimed with an alert. A new message had just passed through one of the servers he was monitoring.

Stefan's fingers flew across the keyboard, capturing every fragment of data as the encrypted communication bounced from server to server. This message was longer than usual, more complex, with attachment files that suggested detailed planning.

"Gotcha," Stefan whispered as his tracking software identified a partial routing path.

The message had originated from a server in Manhattan. Not the final source, but closer to hthan the international servers it had been designed to imitate. Someone operating from New York, someone with enough technical knowledge to route their communications through global networks but not quite smart enough to completely hide their location.

Stefan immediately began working to narrow down the source. Manhattan had thousands of potential inteconnection points, but the specific server signature suggested someone using commercial office space rather than a residential connection.

His phone rang, interrupting his concentration. Camille's nappeared on the screen.

"Stefan? Are you still working on tracking Alexander's contact?" "Yes. And I think I'm getting close. Someone in Manhattan, probably operating from an office building." Stefan saved his progress before continuing. "How's Victoria?" "Better. Awake and talking. She told us about what really happened with Meridian Technologies." "And?" "It's complicated. Victoria isn't innocent, but she's not the monster Alexander believes her to be either ☐ Camille's voice sounded exhausted.

"Someone has been feeding Alexander just enough truth mixed with lies to make him believe Victoria is a killer." Stefan felt cold dread in his stomach. "Camille, I intercepted something earlier tonight. A message that mentioned you specifically. Someone is watching you." "What do you mean?" "Someone sent Alexander a threatening text about you being at the hospital. They know your movements, and they're using that information to pressure him." The line went quiet for a moment. "Stefan, Alexander is supposed to meet with his contact tonight. At Pier 47 at midnight." Stefan looked at his computer screens, seeing new data streams flowing in real-time. "That's in two hours. If I can track the communications to tonight's meeting, I might be able to identify who's really behind this." "Is that safe? If these people are watching me, they might be watching you too." "I'll be careful. But Camille, this might be our only chance to find out who's been manipulating Alexander. If we can prove he's been deceived, maybe we can stop him before he does something that destroys everyone." "Including himself," Camille said quietly.

Stefan heard the pain in her voice and felt his chest tighten. Despite everything Alexander had done, despite the betrayal and surveillance and corporate sabotage, Camille still cared about the man she'd married.

She still hoped he could be saved from his own rage.

"I'll find them," Stefan promised. "Whoever is pulling Alexander's strings, whoever has been using his grief as a weapon against your family, I'll expose them." "Just be careful. I can't lose anyone else."

After ending the call, Stefan returned to his computers with renewed urgency. The communisatiero m intercepts were showing increased activity, multiple encrypted messages flowing between various parties. Something big was being planned for tonight. His tracking software suddenly lit up with alerts. A new communication had been sent from the Manhattan server, and this tStefan's programs had captured enough data to narrow the location significantly.

The message originated from somewhere in the financial district. A specific building, based on the network signature. Stefan pulled up building records, tenant lists, corporate registrations.

One nstood out among the listings: Meridian Holdings LLC. Stefan's blood turned to ice. om Someone was operating under a ndirectly connected to Richard Pierce's failed company. Someone who wanted to make sure the connection was clear to anyone who dug deep enough to find it. But who had access to use Richard Pierce's company name? Who would have both the technical sophistication to run this operation and the personal motivation to destroy Victoria Kane? Stefan's computer chimed again. Another message, this one carrying a different signature. The encryption was identical, but the source was different. Two people were now communicating through the ssecure network.

One in Manhattan. One in...Stefan's tracking software worked frantically to identify the second location. The signal bounced through international servers before revealing its origin.

Boston. Someone in Boston was coordinating with the Manhattan operation.

Stefan grabbed his phone and started calling Camille back, then stopped. If these people were sophisticated enough to threaten her with surveillance, they might be monitoring her phone calls too.

Instead, he grabbed his keys and headed for his car. Two hours until midnight. Two hours to get to Pier 47 and find out who was really behind the plot to destroy Alexander's marriage and Victoria's company.

As Stefan drove through the dark streets toward the waterfront, his mind raced through possibilities. Someone using Richard Pierce'scompany name. Someone with government-level encryption tools. Someone who knew enough about the Meridian Technologies case to create convincing false evidence.

But most disturbing of all, someone who was willing to threaten Camille to keep Alexander motivated. Someone who saw her not just as collateral damage, but as a tool to be used and discarded.

Stefan checked his phone one more tas he parked near the industrial district. The communication Om intercept's showed Alexander was already moving toward the meeting location, his phone's GPS creating a digital trail that Stefan's equipment could follow. In less than an hour, Stefan would finally see the face of the person who had been manipulating them all. The question was whether he would live long enough to warn Camille about what he discovered.

The pier stretched out into darkness ahead of him, and Stefan realized he was walking into a trap that had been months in the making. But it was too late to turn back now.

Somewhere in the shadows ahead, Alexander was about to learn whether the Guardian he trusted was really an ally or his greatest enemy.