Moonlight streamed through the floor-to-


    ceiling windows of Camille''s penthouse, casting long silver shadows across the living room. The city sparkled below, millions of lights that would soon be powered by the Phoenix Grid. Camille stood by the wind


    The door opened behind her. Alexander''s reflection appeared in the ss, his tie lessened, jacket discarded. He moved toward her with quiet steps, his eyes never leaving her face.


    "Hannah just called," he said, his voice low in the stillness of the room. "They found trackers in the files they fed to Walsh. Herod essed them three hours ago."


    Camille turned, a smile spreading across her face. "So they took the bait."


    "Completely." Alexander closed the distance between them, taking her free hand in his. "The trackers activated and showed them at Herod''s penthouse, but only briefly. They must have discovered the monitorin gone without a trace."


    Satisfaction warmed Camille''s chest. For months, Rose and Herod had been one step ahead, forcing her to react, to defend. Now, finally, the tables had turned.


    "And Walsh?" she asked.


    "Under surveince. He doesn''t know we''re onto him." Alexander took the champagne from her hand, setting both sses on a nearby table. "We know they recognized our trap, but not before revealing they ha we know our suspicions were correct."


    Camille felt something


    loosen inside her, a tension she had carried for so long she had almost forgotten what it felt like to be without it. "We caught them," she whispered, almost afraid to say the words too loudly, as if that might break managed to escape."


    Alexander''s hands moved to her shoulders, solid and warm through the thin


    fabric of her blouse. "You outyed them, Camille. This was your strategy. Your trap."


    She shook her head, unwilling to take all the credit. "Hannah discovered Walsh. Victoria helped n the false information. You provided extra security. It was a team effort."


    "A team you led." Alexander''s eyes held hers, filled with an admiration that still caught her off guard sometimes. "Do you realize how far you''vee in


    twenty five months? From that night in the parking garage to now, it''s remarkable."


    Camille felt her throat tighten with unexpected emotion. She had been so focused on the next challenge, the next battle with Rose, that she rarely stopped to consider the journey. From broken victim to the arch "I never thought this moment woulde,” she admitted, turning back to the window, the vast cityscape spread out before them. "There


    were times I thought Rose would win. That no matter what I did, she''d find a way to destroy everything I built." Alexander''s


    arms encircled her from behind, pulling her against the solid warmth of his chest. His chin rested on her shoulder, their reflections merging in the window ss. "She never had a chance," he murmured. "Not ag


    For a long moment, they stood in silence, watching the city, feeling the weight of their victory settle around them. The Phoenix Grid wouldunch in two days. Rose and Herod''s sabotage had been discovered a their backup n, whatever it might be, would face


    a security team now fully alert and prepared.


    "I keep waiting," Camille said


    softly, "for the other shoe to drop. For Rose to reveal some new attack we haven''t anticipated." Alexander''s reflection smiled. "That''s what


    makes you so effective. You never stop anticipating, nning, preparing. But tonight..." his arms tightened around her, "... tonight, just for a few hours, let yourself enjoy this moment. This triumph."


    Camille turned in his arms, reaching up to touch his face. The rough


    texture of evening stubble under her fingertips grounded her in the reality of this moment, this victory they shared.


    "I couldn''t have done this without you," she said. The words felt inadequate for what she wanted to express, how his ~*eady presence had anchored her through the stormy months of battling Rose, how his beli "Yes, you could have," Alexander replied with certainty. "But I''m d you didn''t have to."


    He reached into his pocket, removing something Sessfully unlocked! light. Camille felt her


    breath catch as she recognized the phoenix ring, the one she had temporarily removed to tell Vic.oria about their engagement.


    "I thought you might want to wear this again," he said, holding it between them. "Now that the trap has been sprung, now that we know they took the bait."


    Camille extended her hand, watching as he slid the ring onto her finger once more. The diamond captured moonlight and


    transformed it, scattering tiny rainbows across their skin. The phoenix wings seemed to move in the shifting light, a reminder of her journey from ashes to rebirth.


    "Two more days," she said, looking from the ring to his face. "Two days until the Gridunches. Until we end this once and for all."


    Alexander nodded, his expression turning more serious. "They''ll


    be dangerous now. Desperate. Cornered adversaries often


    are."


    "I know." Camille had considered this from every angle. "Security has been doubled at theunch venue. Victoria has her own team of guards. Hannah has implemented extra safeguards on the Grid itself. We''r


    "And us?" Alexander asked. "What''s our role in all this?"


    Camille smiled, a genuine expression that reached her eyes. "We show up. Weunch the Grid. We refuse to let them steal even one more moment of our future."


    She moved away from the window, pulling him


    toward.the sofa. They sat close together, the city lights creating a backdrop of glittering stars behind them.


    "When this is over," she said, her voice soft but steady, "when Rose and Herod are dealt with, when the Grid is fully operational, then we n our wedding. Then we begin our life together without shadows from what t you needed. The timing doesn''t matter to me. Only that it happens."


    The certainty in his voice, the patience and understanding, it filled Camille with a warmth that pushed back against the cold fear that had been herpanion for so long. Even now, with victory within reach, tha taken so much from her. The possibility that she might somehow take


    this too, this chance at happiness with Alexander, had haunted Camille''s darker moments.


    "I want a


    small ceremony," she found herself saying, allowing the future to take shape in her mind for perhaps the first time. "Just close friends. Victoria, of course. Hannah. My parents." Alexander nodded, encouraging her to continue this rare moment of looking forward rather than


    back.


    "Somewhere peaceful," she went on. "Not a church or a hotel ballroom. Somewhere outdoors, perhaps. With flowers and simple decorations."


    "Spring?" he suggested, joining her in this careful construction of possibilities.


    "Spring would


    be perfect. New beginnings." She gazed down at the phoenix ring, symbol of


    her rebirth. "I''ll wear white, I think. Traditional in some ways, unexpected in others."


    Alexander smiled. "You''ll be beautiful no matter what you wear."


    Camille leaned against him, allowing herself to sink into thefort of his presence, the solid reality of him beside her. For so long, her life had been


    defined by struggle, first against Rose and Stefan''s betrayal, then against Rose''s attempts to destroy her new life. The


    possibility of peace, of happiness without looking over her shoulder, seemed almost unreal. "Do you think it''s really almost over?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "After


    all this time, all the attacks and counterattacks, could it really end in two days?”


    Alexander was quiet for a moment, considering her question with the seriousness it deserved. "I think," he said finally, "that your battle with Rose will end when you


    choose to end it. When you


    decide that your future matters more than her past actions."


    His words settled over her like a gentle nket. She had never thought of it that way, that continuing to fight Rose was, in some ways, a choice. That she had the power to determine when the war was truly ove "You''re right," she said slowly. "After


    the Gridunches, after we''ve neutralized whatever n they''ve made for the ceremony, that''s when I choose to end it. To focus on us, on the future, not on Rose and what she tried to take from me."


    Alexander kissed her temple, his lips warm against her skin. "Then that''s when it ends."


    Outside, the city continued its nighttime rhythm, unaware of the private moment of


    victory unfolding in the penthouse above. Camille closed her eyes, memorizing this feeling, this rare sense


    of triumph untainted by the next looming threat.


    In two days, the Phoenix Grid would power those city lights. In two days, Rose and Herod would make their final move, and Camille would be ready. In two days, one chapter would close, and another would be The phoenix ring caught the moonlight once more as she raised her hand to


    touch Alexander''s face. Tomorrow, they would return to vignce, to preparation for whatever Rose nned next. But tonight, tonight was theirs alone.