CAMILLE''S POINT OF VIEW


    The nightmare grabbed me by the throat, dragging me under before I could fight back.


    I was standing in the rain outside a restaurant, my face pregard against cold ss, watching Rose and Stefant inside. They sat at a candlelit table, champagne sses raised in a toast. Stefan wore the tie I''d gi Their


    "Did you see her face?" Rose''s voice echoed unnaturally lour "When she found the divorce papers? Like a stupid. puppy being abandoned at the shelter."


    Stefan chuckled, pouring more champagne. "And when she realized it was you? God, I almost felt sorry for her."


    "Almost," Rose agreed, her smile shark-


    like. “But not quite. She made it too easy, Stef. Always so desperate to be loved. So willing to believe the lies."


    They clinked sses again. The sound transformed into breaking ss, shattering windows, car metal crumpling


    The scene shifted. I was in my car, rain hammering the windshield, wipers fighting a losing battle against the downpour. My cheeks were wet- tears or rain, I couldn''t tell anymore.


    Headlights appeared behind me, too bright, too fast. Gaining.


    I gripped the steering wheel tighter, foot pressing the elerator. The headlights grew closer, lighting up my rearview mirror until I was blind.


    A bump. Metal against metal. My car swerved.


    Then I was flying, the world spinning as my car broke through the bridge railing. That weightless moment of suspension before gravity remembered me.


    The water rushed up.


    I screamed, the sound ending in a gurgle as icy water filled my lungs. As I sank, I saw them standing on the bridge. Rose Stefan. My parents. All watching impassively as I drowned. Rose waved goodbye, her smile triumphant.


    "Should we call someone?" my mother asked, not particrly concerned.


    "Why bother?" my father replied. "She was always such a disappointment."


    The water closed over my head, and darkness pulled me down, down, down...


    I woke gasping, sheets


    tangled around my legs like grasping hands. For terrifying seconds, I couldn''t remember where I was. The ceiling above me was unfamiliar, painted cherubs, golden trim, luxury I hadn''t earned Victoria. The adoption. My new life.


    Reality settled back, but the terror remained, clinging to my skin like river mad. I pushed myself upright, ignoring the protest from any healing ribs, Sweat stered by nightgown to my body, and my heart hamm


    ChaMer


    The digital clock on the bedside table glowed 1:17 AM. Too early to be awake, toote to hope for peac swung my legs over the side of the bed, needing to move, to prove to myself I wasn''t drowning deep. I The marble floor was cold against my bare feet as I padded to the bathroom, flipping on lights as I went. The woman in the mirror was a stranger—


    hollow eyes, skin pale as paper, hair wild from thrashing in my sleep.


    I sshed cold water on my face, Trying to wash away the nightmare''s residue. But when I closed my eyes, I saw them again. Laughing Toasting Celebrating my destruction


    A sound escaped me, something between augh and a sol The absurdity suddenly hit me -


    I was standing in a bathroom worth more than my old car, in a mansion owned by one of the world''s wealthiest women, who wanted to adopt me because I looked like her dead daughter.


    Theugh bubbled up again, louder this time, edged with brysteria. I pressed my hand against my mouth, trying to hold it in, but it was toote. The dam had broken.


    I slid down the bathroom wall until I hit the floor,ughter transforming to sobs that tore through my chest. Every breath hurt my bruised ribs, but I couldn''t stop. Years of swallowed tears demanded release.


    I cried for the little girl who''d never been enough. For the college dreams crushed by Rose''s lies. For three years of marriage to a man who''d never truly seen me. For the weak, trusting fool I''d been, giving char My hands curled into fists, nails digging half-


    moons into my palms. The physical pain was almost a relief, something solid to focus on instead of the gaping emptiness inside.


    "Enough."


    The voice cut through my breakdown like a knife. Victoria stood in the doorway, silver hair loose around her shoulders, wrapped in a ck silk robe. Her face gave nothing away, but her eyes were sharp, assess Shame burned through me. She''d offered me strength, power, a chance at revenge, and here I was, dissolving on her bathroom floor at three in the morning. Proving everyone right about weak, emotional Camille.


    I tried to stand, to salvage some dignity, but


    my legs wouldn''t cooperate. "I''m sorry," I managed, voice raw


    from crying. "The nightmare..."


    "Tell me." Not a request. Amand.


    I hesitated, then described the dream in halting sentences. The restaurant. The bridge. The water. Their faces as they watched me drown.


    Victoria listened without interruption, without pitying murmurs orforting titudes. When I finished, she simply nodded.


    "Get up."


    I stared at her. "What?"


    "Get up," the repeated, extending one hand. "This floor is no ce for a Kane."


    Her words hit like a ssh of cold water. This floor was no ce for a Kane. And that''s who I was now, or who I was bing Not weak Camille Lewis, but Camille Kane Heir. Survivor. Avenger.


    I took her hand, letting her pull me to my feet. Her grip was surprisingly strong for a woman her age, and dry against my tear damp skin.


    "Follow me," she said, turning without checking if I would obey.


    fingers.cool


    I followed her through darkened hallways, past priceless artwork and antiques that glowed dimly in the shadows. We descended a grand staircase, my bare feet silent on plush carpet, and entered a part of the