Camille''s point of view


    I stood in Victoria''s darkened office, staring at the files spread across her massive desk. The penthouse windows behind me reflected my silhouette against Manhattan''s nighttime skyline, a solitary figure surrou I''d never suspected.


    Victoria was in Tokyo closing the Moretti Global acquisition, leaving me alone with ess to her private servers, supposedly to prepare for my new role heading Kane Industries'' fashion division. Instead, I''d stur Now my world was tilting on its axis.


    The first document had seemed innocent enough, a standard background report on Alexander Pierce and his business holdings. But the next had stopped my breath in my lungs: detailed ounts of Alexander the-


    scenes maniption of markets to prevent Rose''spany from securing emergency financingst month.


    And it didn''t stop there.


    Email exchanges between Alexander''s chief of security and private investigators tracking down Rose''s former lovers in London. Financial records showing how Alexander''s shellpanies had purchased cont For more than a year, Alexander Pierce had been secretly advancing our revenge n, removing obstacles, closing escape routes, ensuring that Rose and Stefan''s destruction was absolute and inescapable.. All without ever telling me.


    My hands


    trembled as I picked up the most damning document of all, a detailed memo from Alexander to his chief financial officer, dated three weeks after I''d first appeared publicly as Camille Kane.


    "Proceed with liquidation of all Rodriguez Shipping stock," it read. "Strategically release holdings to drive share price down. Coordinate timing with Kane Industries'' debt acquisition n. Maintain maximum deni I sank into Victoria''s chair, mind spinning with implications. Had Alexander been using me? Had his apparent interest been just another maniption, another way to advance his own agenda? Or was there som My fingers hovered over my phone, torn between fury at his deception and a strange, growing warmth at the thought of what his covert assistance might truly mean.


    Before I could decide how to respond, the office door swung open.


    "I see you found my Alexander file."


    Victoria stood in the doorway, coat still on, clearly just returned from the airport. Her face revealed nothing as she moved into the room, setting her bag on a side table with deliberate calm. "You''re supposed


    to be in Los Angeles," I said, not bothering to hide the evidence spread across her desk.


    "The Moretti signing finished early. I took thepany jet back." She


    poured herself a scotch from the bar cart without offering me one. "So. Now you know."


    "Know what exactly? That Alexander Pierce has been secretly helping destroy Rose and Stefan? That he was the mysterious benefactor closing financial doors and buying up their business connections? That h alongside us this entire time without either of you telling me?"


    Victoria sipped her drink, studying me over the rim of her ss. "All of that, yes. The question is what you n to do with this information"


    I stood, gathering the documents into a neat pile. "I don''t know yet. Depends on why everyone''s been lying to me."


    "Not lying," Victoria corrected. "Selectively withholding."


    "Exin the difference," I challenged, anger finally breaking through my shock.


    Victoria moved to the windows, looking out at the city spread beneath us. "When I proposed our n to destroy Rose and Stefan, you agreed under one condition, that it would be strategic, not emotional. Busin


    "I remember."


    "Alexander Pierceplicated that clean narrative."


    Victoria turned back to face me. "His involvement wasn''t part of our original strategy. His assistance, while valuable, introduced variables I couldn''t fully control."


    "So when he suddenly appeared at that charity g..."


    "It wasn''t sudden at all," Victoria finished for me. "He''d been monitoring your progress for months. Watching Rose and Stefan''s destruction


    from a distance. Helping elerate it in ways I couldn''t track until recently."


    I sank back into the chair, trying to process this new reality. "Why? What does he get out of this?" Victoria''s expression softened almost imperceptibly. "That''s a question better asked directly to Alexander." "Did y Victoria shook her head. "Not until three months ago. His security is remarkably thorough, but my people are better. Once I discovered his assistance in our project, I confronted him directly." "And?"


    "And we came to an understanding " Victoria finished her scotch. "His help was valuable. His resources extended our reach. His motivation, while personal, didn''t interfere with our objectives." "His motivation," I repeated. "Which was?"


    "As I said, that''s his story to tell." Victoria moved toward the door. "I''ve arranged for James to drive you to Pierce Tower tomorrow evening at eight. Whether you go is your choice."


    She paused, hand on the doorknob. "For what it''s worth, Camille, Alexander Pierce is perhaps the only person I''ve ever met whose strategic thinking matches my own. But his actions regarding our n, regard "Which is?"


    "Genuine." Victoria''s mouth curved into a brief, almost sad smile. "Now that is truly valuable. Far more than revenge."


    She left me alone in her office, surrounded by evidence of Alexander''s secret assistance, a partnership that had beer advancing my goals without my knowledge or consen


    My phone buzzed. Alexander,


    as if summoned by my discovery: "Dinner tomorrow? I have news about our Rose situation


    Our Rose situation. As if we''d been partners all along. As if he hadn''t been secretly orchestrating her downfall without ever mentioning his involvement.


    I stared at the message, tom between the sense of betrayal at being manipted yet again and the undeniable truth that Alexander hadmitted extraordinary resources to advancing my revenge against Ros I typed back: We need to talk. I know everything."


    His reply came immediately: *1 expected you would, eventually. Would you like to hear my side of the story?"


    *Tomorrow. Spm. Your ce.


    As I gathered the documents into Victoria''s confidential file box, one thought kept circling in my mind: Why would Alexander Pierce, one of the world''s wealthiest and roost powerful men, secretly dedicate a year Tomorrow night, I would finally get my answers.