Chapter 147
Alexander Pierce stood in the ballroom of the Grand Plaza Hotel, watching his security team transform the elegant space into a fortress. Men in black suits installed hidden cameras in crystal chandeliers. Others tested metal detectors disguised as decorative archways. Every entrance, every window, every air vent was being secured.
“The sniper teams will be positioned here, here, and here,” his head of security explained, pointing to locations on the blueprint spread across a table. “Full view of all approaches. No one gets within a bundred yards without being spotted Alexander nodded, but his mind was elsewhere. Rose Lewis had vanished completely. No sightings. No trails. It was as if she had disappeared into thin air. And that worried him more than if she’d been openly threatening them.
The silent threats were always the deadliest.
His phone buzzed. Stefan Rodriguez’s name flashed on the screen. Alexander stepped away from the security team to take the call.
“What do you have for me?” he asked without preamble.
“My contact at Bessonov’s club just called,” Stefan’s voice was tense, urgent. “Rose met with Anton yesterday. Paid him a large amount of cash.”
Alexander’s grip tightened on the phone. “For what?”
“He wouldn’t say exactly. But it wasn’t just muscle. She asked for something special. Something with ‘impact.”
A cold knot formed in Alexander’s stomach. “Explosives?”
“Maybe. Or worse.” Stefan paused. “You need to check everything that comes into that ballroom. Food deliveries, Flower arrangements. Staff uniforms. Everything.”
“We already are.” Alexander looked across the ballroom, where security personnel were using dogs to sniff every package, every decoration. “What else can you tell me about her tactics? How she thinks?”
Stefan was silent for a moment. “Rose likes to strike where it hurts most. She won’t just go after the building or random guests. She’ll target what matters to Camille personally.”
“The Phoenix Foundation donations.”
“Yes. Or the people Camille cares about. You. Victoria. Maybe even her parents if they’re attending.”
Alexander’s jaw tightened. “They are.”
“Then watch them closely. Rose knows hurting them would destroy Camille in a way that physical harm to Camille herself never could.”
Alexander made a mental note to assign additional security to the Lewis family and Victoria. “Anything else?”
“Yes.” Stefan’s voice dropped lower. “Rose won’t come herself. Not directly. She’ll use someone else. Someone no one would suspect.”
“Like who?”
“Someone desperate for money. Someone who needs a job. A waiter. A valet. A last–minute replacement for a sick staff member.”
Alexander turned toward the hotel manager, who was reviewing staff assignments nearby. “We’ll check every employee. Run background checks on everyone who enters the building.”
“It might not be enough,” Stefan warned. “Rose is… creative. She thinks steps ahead.”
“So do I,” Alexander said firmly. “Keep working your contacts. If you hear anything else, call me immediately.”
“I will.”
After ending the call, Alexander summoned his team leaders. In rapid succession, he ordered additional security measures: background checks on all hotel staff extended to family members and associates; bomb–sniffing dogs to check every guest as they arrived; facial recognition software programmed with Rose’s features to scan the crowd continuously.
“Sir,” one of his team leaders said hesitantly, “some of these measures are quite… intrusive. The guests may object.”
“I don’t care,” Alexander said flatly. “Better uncomfortable guests than dead ones.”
The man nodded and returned to his duties. Alexander checked his watch. Four hours until Camille would arrive to inspect the arrangements. Four hours to make this place impenetrable.
His phone rang again. Camille.
“How’s it going?” she asked, her voice calm but with an undercurrent of tension.
“We’re turning the Grand Plaza into Fort Knox, Alexander assured her. “No one gets in without being thoroughly checked.”
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Chapter 147
“Stefan called,” Camille said. “He told me about Rose meeting with Bessonov.”
“I’m handling it.”
A pause. “I had another nightmare last night.”
Alexander stopped pacing. Camille rarely mentioned her nightmares, though he knew she still had them sometimes.” About the gala?”
“Yes.” Her voice was quieter now. “Everyone was there. Smiling. Celebrating. Then everything went dark. When the lights came back on, people were screaming. There was blood on my dress.”
“It was just a dream,” Alexander said gently, though his own unease deepened. “The security we have in place…”
“I know.” Camille cut him off. “I know it’s just anxiety. But I can’t shake this feeling, Alexander. Like we’re missing something obvious.”
Alexander looked around the ballroom, at the dozens of highly trained security personnel, at the state–of–the–art equipment being installed. What could they possibly be missing?
“I’ll go over everything again,” he promised. “Triple–check every detail.”
“Thank you.” She paused. “I love you, you know.”
The simple statement caught him off guard. “I love you too. Are you okay?”
“Yes. Just… be careful. I’ll see you soon.”
After they hung up, Alexander stood motionless for a moment, Camille’s words echoing in his mind. The fear in her voice had been subtle but unmistakable. Not fear for herself, but for him. For everyone she loved.
With renewed determination, Alexander turned to the hotel’s head of security. “I want to see the complete staff list. Everyone who will be in this building tonight. From the head chef to the parking attendants.”
“Yes, sir. Right away.”
As the man hurried off, Alexander’s phone buzzed with a text from Stefan: “Rose always has a backup plan. Always.”
Alexander texted back: “So do I.”
But even as he returned to reviewing security protocols, a nagging doubt crept into his mind. What if it wasn’t enough? What if Rose had found a way around all their precautions?
What if Camille’s nightmare was a warning?
***
Two hours later, Camille stood in her apartment, staring at the gown laid out on her bed. The deep blue silk seemed to shimmer even in the dim light of her bedroom. A gown fit for the hostess of the most prestigious charity event of the year.
So why did looking at it fill her with dread?
Victoria sat in the armchair by the window, watching Camille with concern. “We can still cancel,” she said quietly. “No one would blame us, given the circumstances.”
“No.” Camille turned away from the dress. “The hospital needs this funding. And I won’t let Rose take this away from us too.”
Victoria didn’t look convinced. “Security reports just came in. Alexander has transformed the Grand Plaza into a military zone. But even he admits there are vulnerabilities. Staff changes. Deliveries. A hundred small details that could be exploited.”
“Stefan is helping,” Camille reminded her. “He knows how Rose thinks. What she might try.”
“Stefan lost to Rose once before,” Victoria pointed out. “When he chose her over you. His judgment isn’t infallible.”
Camille sank onto the edge of the bed, smoothing the silk of the gown with her fingertips. “I had another nightmare last night.”
Victoria’s expression softened. “About the gala?”
“Yes.” Camille looked up, meeting Victoria’s gaze. “It felt so real. So… inevitable. Like watching a movie where you know the ending but can’t change it.”
“Dreams aren’t prophecies,” Victoria said firmly. “They’re just our fears taking shape in our sleep.”
“I know. But this feeling won’t go away.” Camille pressed a hand to her chest. “It’s like a weight right here. A certainty that something terrible is coming.”
lle,
Victoria rose from her chair, moving with the careful grace of someone managing constant pain. She sat beside taking her hand. “Then we don’t go. We issue a statement. Send the donations directly. The hospital still gets its ney, and we remain safe.”
Camille shook her head. “If we do that, we’ll be running from Rose forever. Always wondering when she’ll strike next.
2/4
Chapter 147
Always looking over our shoulders. She squeezed Victoria’s hand. “I can’t live that way. Not anymore.”
Victoria studied her adopted daughter’s face, pride mingling with worry in her eyes. “You’ve come so far from the woman I found in that parking garage.”
“Because of you,” Camille said softly. “You taught me to face my fears. To transform pain into power”
“Perhaps I taught you too well,” Victoria murmured. “Sometimes wisdom lies in strategic retreat.”
“Not this time.” Camille stood, renewed determination straightening her spine. “Alexander has done everything possible to secure the gala. Stefan has provided insights into Rose’s tactics. We’re as prepared as we can be.”
Victoria rose more slowly, wincing slightly as she put weight on her left leg. The pain from her cancer was getting worse, though she tried to hide it. “Then at least promise me you’ll stay close to Alexander all night. Don’t wander off alone, not even for a moment.”
“I promise.”
Victoria nodded, apparently satisfied. “I should go. My security team is waiting downstairs. I need to change for tonight.”
After Victoria left, Camille returned to staring at the gown on her bed. The feeling of dread hadn’t disappeared. If anything, it had grown stronger, a shadow at the edge of her consciousness that refused to be dismissed.
She picked up her phone, scrolling to Alexander’s number. Her finger hovered over the call button. What would she say? That she was afraid of a dream? That despite all their preparations, she couldn’t shake the feeling that Rose would find a way through?
Camille put the phone down without calling. Alexander was already doing everything humanly possible to protect the gala. Her fears would only distract him.
Instead, she turned to get ready. As she stepped into the shower, Camille tried to focus on the positive. The money they would raise tonight. The children who would benefit from the new hospital wing. The statement they would make by proceeding despite the threat Rose posed.
But as water cascaded over her shoulders, Camille couldn’t help but feel like she was preparing for her own funeral rather than a celebration.
“Stop it,” she told herself firmly. “This is just what Rose wants. For you to be afraid. To doubt yourself.”
Camille finished her shower and began drying her hair, forcing herself to go through the familiar motions of preparation. Hair. Makeup. Jewelry. The routine helped calm her nerves, pushing the nameless dread to the background.
As she slipped into the blue silk gown, Camille caught her reflection in the full–length mirror. The woman who stared back at her looked confident, powerful, unafraid. The perfect image of Camille Kane, heir to Victoria’s empire, hostess of the most exclusive event of the season.
Only her eyes betrayed her inner turmoil.
Camille took a deep breath, squaring her shoulders. Whatever happened tonight, she would face it with the strength and dignity Victoria had taught her. She would not cower. Would not hide.
Even as the shadow of her nightmare hung over her like a storm cloud ready to break.
Her phone chimed with a text from Alexander: “Everything secure. Ready when you are.”
Camille replied: “On my way.”
With one last look in the mirror, she gathered her small clutch purse and headed for the door. The gala awaited. Her guests would soon arrive. The show must go on.
Despite the voice in her head that whispered: Danger is coming. Danger is coming. Danger is coming.
And there was nothing she could do to stop it.
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