The Kane Industries private meeting room felt too small for the four people inside it. Camille sat at the head of the polished table, Victoria to her right, Alexander to her left. Stefan Rodriguez stood awkwardly ne to step further in or keep his escape route close.


    "Sit, Mr. Rodriguez," Victoria said, her voice cold as winter steel. "You requested this meeting. Let''s not waste time."


    Stefan lowered himself into a chair at the far end of the table. His once-


    confident posture had vanished, shoulders curving


    inward like a man carrying an invisible weight.


    "Thank you for seeing me," he said, his voice rougher


    than Camille remembered. "I know I''m thest person you want to hear from."


    "Second tost," Victoria corrected. "Your former lover ranks below you.''


    Stefan flinched. "That''s why I''m here. I want to help stop Rose. And Preston."


    Alexander''s jaw tightened. His hand moved slightly closer


    to Camille''s on the table." And why would we need your help?"


    "Because I know Rose. I know how she thinks." Stefan looked


    directly at Camille. "I lived with her lies. I watched


    her manipte everyone. And now that I see her clearly, I can tell you things that might


    help protect the Grid. Protect you."


    Camille felt Alexander stiffen beside her. The slight shift in his posture, the almost imperceptible narrowing of his eyes- signs of jealousy only she would recognize.


    "We''re already aware of the Grid sabotage," Camille said, keeping her voice


    neutral. " Our engineers are correcting it."


    "It''s more than that." Stefan leaned forward. "Rose doesn''t just


    want to damage the Grid. She wants to destroy you, Camille. Completely. And she has... patterns. -


    Weaknesses in how she thinks."


    Victoria''s nails tapped against the tabletop. "Such as?"


    "She needs to witness her victories," Stefan said quickly. "It''s never enough for Rose to know she''s hurt someone. She has to see it happen. Watch their face when they realize they''ve lost." Camille felt a chill race down her spine. Stefan was


    right. She remembered Rose''s eyes on her the day she''d discovered the divorce papers. The hungry gleam in them as she watched Camille''s world copse.


    "Go on," Camille said quietly.


    Alexander shifted, his shoulder brushing against hers. His posture remained


    protective, but something in his expression had changed. A reluctant recognition of


    the truth in Stefan''s words.


    "Rose has a fixation with control," Stefan continued. "She needs to believe she''s the smartest person in the room. When something happens that she didn''t n, she panics. Overreacts." He rubbed his jaw. "Sometimes violently."


    "That matches our observations," Alexander admitted grudgingly.


    "There''s


    more. Rose surrounds herself with people she can manipte. People like..." He swallowed. "People like me. But


    Herod Preston isn''t someone she can


    control. He has his own agenda, his own resources. That partnership is unstable."


    Victoria''s expression remained skeptical. "And why are you suddenly so eager to betray Rose''s confidences? To help Camille, whom you betrayed so thoroughly?"


    The question hung in the air, heavy with usation.


    "Because I have to


    live with what I did," Stefan said, his voice dropping. "Every day. Because I watched Rose celebrate


    when everyone thought Camille was dead. Because I finally understand what kind


    of person she really is."


    Alexander studied Stefan, his initial jealousy


    visibly giving way to assessment. Camille recognized the


    shift, the businessman evaluating an asset, weighing risk against potential value.


    "What specifically do you think they''re nning?" Alexander asked, his tone slightly less hostile.


    "I don''t


    know details," Stefan admitted. "But after meeting Rose yesterday, I''m certain they''re nning something for the Gridunch itself. Something beyond the technical sabotage."


    "Theunch ceremony," Camille said. Three hundred people will be there. City officials.


    Press."


    "Perfect audience for Rose''s theater of destruction," Stéfan agreed. "And perfect timing for Preston''s


    revenge against Victoria."


    Victoria''s face remained impassive, but Camille noticed the slight whitening of her knuckles, the only sign that Stefan''s words had affected her.


    "What else can you tell us about Rose''s vulnerabilities?" Alexander pressed.


    Stefan took a deep breath. "She has three main weak points. First, she needs to witness suffering. Second, unexpected developments throw her off bnce. And third..." He hesitated, looking


    directly at Camille. "She isn''t motivated by what most people think."


    "Exin," Camille said.


    "Everyone assumes Rose wants what you have, your husband, your


    family''s love, your sess, Stefan''s voice softened. "But that''s not it. What Rose really wants is to be you."


    216


    The wordsnded like stones in still water. All those years of


    sabotage, of undermining,


    of


    stealing what mattered to her, it hadn''t been simple jealousy. It had been something deeper. Rose hadn''t wanted Camille''s things. She had wanted Camille''s identity.


    "That''s why nothing is ever enough for her," Stefan continued. "No


    matter what she takes from you, she still wakes up as Rose, not Camille. And now that her true nature has been exposed..." "She wants to make sure I don''t have it either," Camille finished quietly.


    "Exactly. It''s not just revenge anymore. It''s erasure."


    Alexander''s expression had transformed. The jealousy had faded, reced by reluctant recognition. He believed Stefan. More importantly, he recognized genuine


    remorse.


    "How do we know this isn''t some borate plot?" Victoria asked. "You betrayed Camille once. Why should we


    believe you won''t do it again?"


    Stefan met her gaze directly. "You shouldn''t. Trust has to be earned, and I haven''t earned


    yours. But I''m not asking you to trust me. I''m just offering information."


    "If you''re sincere," Alexander said, "what else can you


    provide? Beyond psychological insights."


    “I know Rose''s habits. Her favorite ces. The people she still trusts.” Stefan straightened slightly. “I could help your security team track her movements, identify meeting ces with Preston."


    Alexander


    nodded slowly, calcting the value against the risks. His protective stance rxed slightly.


    Victoria remained unmoved. "While you''re


    being so helpful, perhaps you could exin why we should believe you''re not still working for her interests."


    "I can''t prove a negative. All I can tell you


    is that Rose pped me hard enough to leave a mark when I confronted her


    yesterday." He touched his cheek, where a faint bruise


    was visible. "She''s made it clear I''m her enemy too."


    Camille watched him, searching for the deception she''d missed years ago. The smooth charm, the practiced sincerity. She found neither. The man before her seemed hollowed out, stripped of pretense.


    "I''d like to speak with Stefan alone," she said suddenly.


    Victoria''s head snapped toward her. "Camille...”


    "Just for a few minutes," Camille insisted. "I think I''ve earned that right."


    A silentmunication passed between them. Finally, Victoria


    nodded once, sharply.


    "Five minutes," she said, rising. "Not a second more."


    Alexander hesitated, torn between respecting Camille''s wishes


    and his instinct to shield her. His eyes searched hers.


    "It''s okay," Camille assured him.


    With reluctance, Alexander stood. As he passed Stefan, he paused. "If this is some kind of game," he said, voice low, "if you hurt her again, what Victoria does to you will seem mercifulpared to my response."


    When the door closed, a heavy silence filled the room. Camille studied her former husband across the table. So familiar once. Now a stranger. "Why are you really here, Stefan?" she asked quietly.


    "I told you-"


    "The truth," Camille cut him off. "Not what sounds noble. The truth."


    Stefan''s shoulders sagged. "Because I can''t live with myself otherwise," he whispered. " Because I wake


    up every night seeing your face when you found those divorce papers. Because when I thought


    you were dead, I realized what I''d done. Who I''d be."


    Camille absorbed his words without


    expression. "And now? What do you want from this?"


    "Nothing from


    you," Stefan said, meeting her eyes. "I don''t expect forgiveness. I just want


    to do one right thing. To help stop Rose before she hurts more people."


    "If we use


    your information, I need to know you won''t waver. That you won''t change your mind if Rose reaches out again."


    "I won''t," Stefan said firmly. "I''ve seen


    who she really is now. There''s no going back."


    Victoria and Alexander returned precisely five minutester. Alexander''s


    eyes immediately sought Camille''s, checking for signs of distress.


    "We''ll ept your assistance," Camille announced. "You''ll work with Alexander''s security team, not


    directly with us. Every piece of information will be verified. Every move watched."


    "I understand," Stefan said, relief washing over his face.


    "If this is some kind of trap," Victoria added icily, "understand that I will personally ensure you regret it."


    For the next hour, they extracted


    every detail Stefan could offer about Rose, her habits, her thought patterns, the ces she


    might go, the people she still trusted. Alexander recorded everything, his initial jealousy forgotten as he focused on the tactical value


    of Stefan''s information.


    Victoria remained cool and distant, her skepticism


    evident in every question. But even she couldn''t deny the


    yalue of what Stefan provided.


    When they finished, Stefan stood to leave. At the door, he paused.


    "For what it''s worth," he said quietly, "I am sorry. For everything."


    Camille nodded once, neither epting nor rejecting his apology. She watched him walk away, the ghost of the man she had married.


    When the door closed, Victoria turned to Camille. "Do you believe him?"


    "I believe he wants to help," Camille said carefully. "Whether he has the


    strength to follow through... that''s another question."


    "His insights about Rose match what we''ve observed," Alexander admitted. "And his remorse seemed genuine."


    "People can fake remorse," Victoria reminded them.


    "True." Alexander''s eyes met Camille''s. "But I think Stefan Rodriguez has finally


    seen himself clearly. And he doesn''t like what he sees."


    Victoria remained unconvinced. "We''ll use


    his information, but carefully. Trust, but verify."


    Camille moved to the window to stare out at the city. Three days until the Gridunch. Three days until whatever Rose and


    Herod had nned would unfold.


    "If Stefan is right about Rose needing to witness suffering," she said, "then she''ll be at theunch


    ceremony. She and Preston both."


    "Which gives us an opportunity," Alexander finished her thought. "We can prepare for them."


    Camille turned back to face


    them, a new resolve forming inside her. For too long, she had been


    reacting to Rose''s moves. Perhaps it was time to change the game.


    "Rose thinks she knows me," Camille said quietly. "She


    thinks she knows exactly how I'' Il respond. What I''ll do. Who I''ll trust." A small


    smile touched her


    lips. "Let''s show her how wrong she is."


    As they began nning, Camille caught Alexander watching her


    with an expression she hadn''t seen before, pride mixed with something


    deeper. The jealousy that had flickered when Stefan first spoke had transformed into quiet admiration of


    her strength.


    And Camille realized something as


    she watched him back. Stefan''s presence had rified something important: the difference between the man who had betrayed her and the man


    who now stood beside her. Between a love built on convenience and a bond forged through fire.


    Three days until they faced Rose and Herod.


    Three days to prepare for whatever came next.


    Three days to turn a desperate n for sabotage into a trap for its creators.