Chapter 130
Chapter 130
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 window, a glass of champagne untouched in her hand, watching the world she was about to change.
The door opened behind her. Alexander’s reflection appeared in the glass, 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 accessed 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 monitoring. By the time the security team arrived, they were 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 surveillance. He doesn’t know we’re onto him.” Alexander took the champagne from her hand, setting both glasses on a nearby table. “We know they recognized our trap, but not before revealing they had the files. They’re in the wind now, but at least 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 the spell.” They fell for our trap, even if they managed to escape.”
Alexander’s hands moved to her shoulders, solid and warm through the thin fabric of her blouse. “You outplayed them, Camille. This was your strategy. Your trap.”
She shook her head, unwilling to take all the credit. “Hannah discovered Walsh. Victoria helped plan 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’ve come 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 architect of her own recovery, her own triumph.
“I never thought this moment would come,” 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 glass. “She never had a chance,” he murmured. “Not against you.”
For a long moment, they stood in silence, watching the city, feeling the weight of their victory settle around them. The Phoenix Grid would launch in two days. Rose and Herod’s sabotage had been discovered and neutralized. Even their backup plan, 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, planning, 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 belief in her had reinforced her ov determination.
“Yes, you could have,” Alexander replied with certainty. “But I’m glad you didn’t have to.”
He reached into his pocket, removing something Successfully 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
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Chapter 130
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 Grid launches. 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 the launch venue. Victoria has her own team of guards. Hannah has implemented extra safeguards on the Grid itself. We’re searching for them, but until they surface again, we have to prepare for anything.”
“And us?” Alexander asked. “What’s our role in all this?”
Camille smiled, a genuine expression that reached her eyes. “We show up. We launch 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 plan our wedding. Then we begin our life together without shadows from the past hanging over us.” Alexander took her hands in his, his thumbs tracing gentle circles on her skin. “I’d marry you tomorrow if you wanted. Or wait years if that’s what 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 her companion for so long. Even now, with victory within reach, that fear lingered at the edges of her mind. Rose had 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 the comfort 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 blanket. 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 over.
“You’re right,” she said slowly. “After the Grid launches, after we’ve neutralized whatever plan 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 begin.
The phoenix ring caught the moonlight once more as she raised her hand to touch Alexander’s face. Tomorrow, they would return to vigilance, to preparation for whatever Rose planned next. But tonight, tonight was theirs alone.
