Chapter 145
Rose paced the tiny motel room, her expensive boots wearing a path in the cheap carpet. The walls closed in on her, yellow from decades of cigarette smoke, spotted with water stains. How had if come to this? She, Rose Lewis, hiding in this filthy place while her sister lived in luxury
The TV blared the noon news. Rose turned up the volume when she heard the words “Kane Industries.”
“The annual Phoenix Foundation charity gala will proceed as planned this Friday night, despite recent security concerns,” the reporter announced “Camille Kane released a statement today confirming that the event, which raises funds for the Children’s Hospital, will not be postponed.”
The camera cut to Camille standing at a podium, looking confident and polished. “We refuse to let fear dictate our actions,” she said, her voice strong. “The children who benefit from this gala need our support now more than ever.”
Rose hurled her coffee mug at the TV screen. It shattered, coffee splashing across Camille’s face on the screen.
“Liar” Rose screamed. “Fake! Thief!”
Her whole body shook with rage. Once again, Camille was playing the hero, the perfect daughter, the generous benefactor. The role that should have belonged to Rose.
She kicked the dresser, pain shooting through her foot only fueling her anger. Everything had fallen apart. Herod was in the hospital, probably talking to the FBI right now. Her name and face were all over the news. She’d had to dye her hair black and wear colored contacts just to check into this dump without being recognized.
All her careful plans, destroyed. The Grid still functioned. Kane Industries still thrived. Camille still stood tall beside Victoria
Kane.
Rose grabbed the remote and switched off the TV before she smashed it completely. She couldn’t afford to draw attention. Not with every cop in the city looking for her.
She sank onto the bed, pressing her palms against her eyes. The headache that had started three days ago, when she’d shot Herod, pounded behind her temples. She hadn’t slept more than two hours at a stretch since then. Every siren made her jump. Every knock on a nearby door sent her heart racing.
This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. She was supposed to win.
Rose reached for her bag, pulling out the newspaper she’d bought that morning. The front page showed a picture of Herod being wheeled into the hospital on a stretcher. The headline read: “BOMBING SUSPECT CRITICALLY WOUNDED, POLICE SEEK FEMALE ACCOMPLICE.”
Accomplice. The word burned in her mind. After everything she’d planned, everything she’d sacrificed, she was reduced to Herod’s “accomplice.” Not even the mastermind. Not even worth her own headline.
Her gaze moved to the smaller article in the bottom corner: “PHOENIX FOUNDATION GALA EXPECTED TO DRAW CITY’S ELITE.” Below it, details about the event. Friday night. Eight o’clock. The Grand Plaza Hotel. Security would be tight, the article noted, but the guest list remained impressive. Business leaders. Politicians. Celebrities.
Rose read the article three times, her mind racing.
Everyone who mattered would be there. Victoria Kane. Alexander Pierce. And of course, Camille. They would dress in their finest. Drink champagne. Congratulate themselves on their generosity.
While Rose hid in this rat hole, eating vending machine food and jumping at shadows.
The unfairness of it all hit her like a physical blow. She’d been the one with the real plans, the real vision. She’d been the one willing to do whatever it took to win. And yet Camille, sweet, simple Camille who had never had to fight for anything in her life, still came out on top.
“Not this time,” Rose whispered, her fingers tightening on the newspaper until it tore. “Not this time.”
She stood abruptly, a new energy flooding her body. The charity gala was the answer. One last strike, bigger than anything she’d attempted before. A final chance to destroy everything Camille had built.
Rose pulled her burner phone from her bag and dialed a number from memory. It rang three times before a gruff male voice answered.
“Who is this?”
“It’s Lewis,” Rose said quietly. “I need to speak to Anton
A long pause. “Anton’s not talking to anyone righ
Successfully unlocked!
ne the FBI is hunting.”
“Tell him I have money. A lot of it. And I need his services.”
“Lady, you’re bad news. Everyone’s looking for you.”
“Just put him on the phone,” Rose snapped. “Tell him it’s about finishing the Kane job, once and for all.”
1/2
Chapter 145
Another pause, longer this time. Then the sound of the phone changing hands.
“Rose Lewis,” said a heavily accented voice. “You have caused me much trouble”
“I can make it worth your while, Anton,” Rose said, forcing her voice to remain calm “I need help with one last job”
“The police watch all my businesses now, thanks to you. My men are questioned daily.”
“I’ll pay double your usual rate,” Rose offered. “Triple, if you can get me what I need by tomorrow.”
The line went quiet for so long Rose feared he’d hung up. Finally, Anton spoke again, “What exactly do you need?”
Rose smiled, the first real smile in days. “Something that will make a statement. Something big enough that they can’t ignore it. And I need it delivered to the Grand Plaza Hotel
“For the charity gala,” Anton said, not a question. “You know security will be impossible to penetrate.”
“Not for the right people with the right tools.” Rose sat down at the small desk in the corner of the room, pulling out a pen and notepad. “Here’s what I need…”
For the next twenty minutes, she detailed her requirements. Anton listened without interruption. When she finished, he named a price that would have made most people gasp. Rose didn’t even flinch.
“Half now, half when you deliver,” she said.
“Cash only. And I’ll need the first payment today.”
“I’ll have it within the hour.”
After ending the call, Rose tore the pages from the notepad and burned them in the bathroom sink, watching the ashes swirl down the drain. No evidence. No trail. Nothing that could be tied back to her.
She gazed at her reflection in the spotted mirror. Dark circles shadowed her eyes. Her newly dyed black hair hung limply around her pale face. She barely recognized herself.
But soon, everyone would know her name. Not as Herod’s accomplice. Not as Camille’s sister. But as Rose Lewis, the woman who brought down Kane Industries and everyone connected to it.
Rose splashed water on her face, the cool liquid washing away some of the exhaustion. She had preparations to make. Money to gather. Plans to finalize.
The charity gala was only three days away. Camille and Victoria thought they were untouchable in their tower of glass and steel. They thought their money and their security teams would keep them safe.
They were wrong.
Rose dried her face and began packing her few belongings. She couldn’t stay here anymore. She needed a new hiding place, somewhere closer to the Grand Plaza Hotel. Somewhere she could watch the chaos unfold.
As she zipped her bag closed, Rose felt calmer than she had in days. The path forward was clear now. One final strike. One last chance at the revenge she deserved.
Camille had taken everything from her, her future, her reputation, her freedom. Now Rose would take everything from Camille, starting with the precious charity gala she refused to cancel.
The Phoenix Foundation. How fitting that it would all end in flames.
Rose checked the room one last time, making sure she’d left nothing behind. Then she slipped out the back door, pulling a baseball cap low over her face.
Three days until the gala. Three days to prepare for the biggest night of her life.
Three days until Camille Kane learned what true loss felt like.
