Chapter 90
Chapter 90
Camille sat frozen in Victoria’s private office, eyes fixed on the television. Alexander paced behind her chair while Victoria stood near the window. The screen showed the Plazh Hotel ballroom converted into a press area, camera flashes pulsing across the room.
“Are you sure you want to watch this?” Alexander asked, touching Camille’s shoulder.
Camille nodded, unable to speak, her throat tight and hands cold.
“They might still side with Rose,” Victoria warned. “Be prepared.”
The camera shifted to show Margaret and Richard Lewis entering. Camille sucked in a breath. Her parents looked older than she remembered, her father’s shoulders stooped her mother’s face drawn. Behind them, unexpectedly, came Stefan Rodriguez
“What is he doing there?” Camille whispered.
“Alexander’s handiwork, I suspect,” Victoria replied.
Richard adjusted the microphone, his hand trembling slightly. “Thank you all for coming. My wife and I have called this press conference to address the disturbing, allegations made against our daughter, Camille.”
Margaret stepped closer. “Two days ago,, false stories began circulating about Camille’s mental health. Fabricated medical records. Invented episodes. Lies designed to destroy not just her reputation, but her very identity.”
Camille gripped her chair as her mother continued with unusual fierceness.
“These lies did not come from strangers. They came from someone we once trusted. Someone we welcomed into our family and loved as our own” Her voice broke. “Our adopted daughter, Rose.”
Murmurs rippled through the press. Richard placed a hand on Margaret’s shoulder before speaking.
“For too long, we were blind to Rose’s manipulation. We failed to see how she systematically undermined Camille, turned us against her, and eventually stole her husband.” He glanced at Stefan. “We failed as parents to protect our daughter.”
Margaret dabbed her eyes but continued. “Camille never had mental health issues. There were no hospitalizations, no treatments. The medical records being quoted don’t exist.”
A reporter called out, “Then why would Rose make these claims?”
Richard’s face hardened. “Because Camille exposed Rose’s lies at the Kane Foundation gala. Because Camille survived Rose’s attempt to have her killed.”
The room erupted with questions. Victoria increased the volume to hear over the clamor.
“Mrs. Lewis! Yesterday you were scheduled to appear on National Morning to confirm Rose’s claims. What changed?”
Margaret’s face showed raw pain. “Last night, I found Rose altering Camille’s childhood journals, adding false entries about paranoia and violence. When confronted, Rose threatened us.”
She pulled a small leather–bound book from her purse. “This is Camille’s actual journal from when Rose first came to live with us.”
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Chapter 90
Camille felt her heart stop as Margaret opened to a marked page.
August 17. Rose ‘accidentally‘ spilled bleach on my science project today. Mom blamed me for leaving it where it could be damaged. This is the third time something important to me has been destroyed since Rose arrived, but no one believes me when I say it’s not an accident.“”
Margaret looked up, tears flowing. “There are dozens of entries like this. Small cruelties. Calculated sabotage. And we didn’t listen.”
In Victoria’s office, Camille wiped her own tears, overwhelmed by this public acknowledgment of her suffering
Richard gestured toward Stefan, who stepped forward reluctantly.
“My name is Stefan Rodriguez. I was married to Camille Levis for three years before betraying her with her sister.
The blunt admission caused another stir.
“During our marriage, Camille never displayed any signs of mental instability. She was kind, patient, balanced, everything Rose is claiming she wasn’t.”
He squared his shoulders. “Rose pursued me relentlessly. She told me Camille didn’t love me. Classic manipulation that I was too weak to recognize.”
“Are you saying Rose lied about Camille’s mental health?” a reporter shouted.
“Rose lied about everything,” Stefan said flatly. “The woman I thought I loved never existed.”
He paused. “What most people don’t know is that Rose and I had a relationship years before I met Camille. Rose orchestrated our breakup, then manipulated me into dating and eventually marrying Camille, all part of her plan.”
“It was Rose who introduced me to Camille,” Stefan continued. “When Camille disappeared, Rose showed no real grief. Within weeks, she was planning our future together.
In the office, Alexander squeezed Camille’s shoulder. “He’s actually doing it. He’s telling everything.”
On screen, Stefan’s face darkened. “Two nights before the articles of Camille mental instability came out i got a call from Rose and she said, ‘After tomorrow, everyone will see who Camille really is.” Now I realize she was already planning this smear campaign.”
Margaret stepped forward again. “We have evidence that Rose orchestrated this media attack. Records of payments to journalists. Communications with media outlets.”
She held up a flash drive. “We’ve gathered emails and financial records showing Rose’s direct involvement in fabricating these stories. Copies have been provided to law enforcement and journalists.”
Richard joined his wife. “Our daughter Camille is not mentally ill. She never was. The only person in our family with dangerous tendencies was Rose.”
“Mr. and Mrs. Lewis! How do you respond to claims that this is just damage control for Kane Industries?” Richard’s expression hardened “Our daughter nearly died because of Rose’s actions. This isn’t about business. It’s about justice.”
Stefan moved to the microphone again. “I’ve lost everything because of my mistakes. I’m not asking for sympathy. I’m here because it’s time someone told the truth about Rose Lewis. She’s dangerous and without
conscience.”
He took a deep breath. “If you’re looking for someone with personality disorder in the Lewis family, you’ve been
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focusing on the wrong sister.”
The room erupted again as reporters shouted questions.
Margaret raised her hand for quiet. “We have one final statement. To our daughter, Camille.” She looked directly into the camera. “We failed you. We chose Rose over you. We didn’t believe you when you needed us most. There aren’t enough words to express our regret.”
Richard joined her. “We love you, Camille. We understand if you can never forgive us, but know that we are proud of the woman you’ve become, with or without our help,”
In Victoria’s office, Camille covered her mouth to stifle a sob
Victoria silently offered a handkerchief, her expression uncharacteristically soft.
“Turn it off,” Camille said suddenly.
Victoria muted the television but left the images running. This changes everything. The narrative is shifting already”
Camille stared at the silent footage. “Why? After everything, why would they do this?”
“For the same reason most people do anything,” Victoria replied. “Because they realized what they stood to lose.” Camille shook her head. “No. They’ve already lost me.”
“Perhaps. Or perhaps they finally understand that some things matter more than pride.”
Camille’s phone began buzzing incessantly. Victoria switched channels to the business network where an anchor was reporting: “…extraordinary reversal as Kane Industries stock surges following the Lewis family press conference…”
The office door flew open as Victoria’s assistant rushed in. The Phoenix Grid partners are calling to reaffirm their commitment! And the board members who voted against Camille are requesting an emergency meeting!”
Victoria smiled. “Tell them I’ll consider their request after our stock fully recovers.”
The assistant nodded and retreated. Victoria turned to Camille, whose attention remained fixed on her parents leaving the podium.
“What are you thinking?” Victoria asked softly.
“I don’t know what to feel,” Camille admitted. “Grateful? Angry? It doesn’t erase what they did.”
“No,” Victoria agreed. “But it does complicate your neat categories of ally and enemy.”
Alexander checked his phone. “The market’s already responding positively,”
“How did my parents get all that evidence against Rose?” Camille asked.
“I may have had my team compile some files,” Alexander admitted. “Your father was surprisingly receptive.”
Camille’s phone rang, her mother’s number flashing on the screen. She stared at it, frozen.
“You don’t have
to answer,” Victoria sald.
“If I do, everything changes again.”
“Yes,”
“We stick to the plan. Rose and Herod destroyed. Clean. Fin”
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Chapter 90
“Yes,” Victoria repeated. “But plans can evolve.”
The ringing stopped. The call went to voicemail.
Camille opened her eyes. “They stood up for me.”
“They did.”
“After everything Rose did, they finally chose me.
Victoria nodded. “The question is: does it matter?”
Camille looked at the television where analysts were predicting Kane Industries‘ full recovery. Her parents” actions had saved more than her reputation, they’d protected everything, she and Victoria had built.
“I don’t know yet,” she answered honestly.
Her phone chimed with a voicemail notification. Victoria rose from her desk. “I’ll give you privacy. There are decisions only you can make.”
As Victoria left, Camille sat alone with her phone. Outside, she could hear the office buzzing with activity. Kane Industries would survive. The Phoenix Grid would proceed
Rose’s plan had failed.
But the greater question remained as Camille stared at her mother’s name on the screen. After years of pain, after rebuilding herself, after finding a new mother in Victoria, could she open the door to her past?
Her finger hovered over the voicemail icon.
On the television, Rose’s face appeared briefly, shocked and furious as reporters surrounded her, shouting questions about the accusations.
The sight strengthened something in Camille. She pressed the voicemail button and raised the phone to her ear. “Camille,” Margaret began, her voice breaking, “We’ve said what needed saying publicly. But there’s so much more I need to tell you privately. If you’re willing to listen
The message ended with a soft, “We love you. We always have. Even when we failed to show it.”
Camille lowered the phone, her chest tight with emotion she couldn’t name. Not forgiveness, not yet. But perhaps something like possibility.
Outside Victoria’s office, the world was reshaping itself. Rose exposed. Camille vindicated. Kane Industries recovering.
But inside, in the quiet space between heartbeats, Camille faced the most difficult question: Who did she want to be when the dust settled? The woman who got her revenge, or the woman who built something new from the ashes?
She looked at laer phone, then at Rose surrounded by reporters, and finally at her own reflection in Victoria’s darkened screen.
Three versions of herself, three possible futures.
The choice was he
