SCORNED EX WIFE Queen Of Ashes (Camille and Stefan) novel Chapter 204

Chapter 204

Richard Lewis sat in his private study at three in the morning, surrounded by documents that painted a picture of calculated betrayal. The mahogany desk his grandfather had built was covered with financial reports, digital surveillance evidence, and communication records that told a story no father should ever have to read.

His daughter's husband had been systematically destroying Kane Industries. The man Camille had trusted with her heart, her future, her most vulnerable moments, had been photographing Victoria at their wedding and stealing security plans during their honeymoon.

Richard's hands trembled as he read through the final piece of evidence: an advance copy of a press release scheduled to go live in six hours. The headline made his blood run cold: "Kane Industries CEO Victoria Kane Linked to Cover-Up of Factory Deaths - Exclusive Investigation Reveals Decades of Corporate Murder."

The release contained detailed allegations about a factory explosion fifteen years ago, claiming Victoria had bribed safety inspectors and destroyed evidence to protect her company's reputation. It painted her as a cold-blooded killer who valued profits over human lives.

Richard knew the release was scheduled to hit every major financial news outlet simultaneously. By the time markets opened, Kane Industries would be facing not just stock manipulation but criminal allegations that would destroy the company completely.

He picked up his phone and began making calls.

"Tom, it's Richard Lewis... I need an emergency favor... There's a fraudulent press release about to go live targeting my daughter's company... Yes, I know it's late, but this can't wait until morning..."

One call became ten. Ten became twenty. Richard worked through his contact list with methodical precision, calling in favors accumulated over thirty years of business relationships. Newspaper editors who owed him for charitable donations. Television producers whose careers he'd supported. Digital platform executives whose companies had benefited from Lewis family investments.

By five AM, the press release had been blocked from every major outlet. Legal injunctions had been filed. Criminal complaints about securities fraud were being prepared.

But blocking the attack wasn't enough. Richard needed to confront the man who had violated his daughter's trust so completely.

At seven AM, Richard Lewis stood outside Alexander Pierce's penthouse building. The doorman recognized him immediately - the Lewis family name carried weight in every corner of Manhattan society.

"Mr. Lewis? Is everything all right?"

"I need to see Alexander Pierce. Tell him it's urgent."

The elevator ride to the penthouse felt endless. Richard's anger had been building for hours, fueled by every document he'd read, every piece of evidence that showed how thoroughly Alexander had deceived Camille.

Alexander answered the door looking haggard and exhausted. His expensive shirt was wrinkled, his hair uncombed, his eyes bloodshot from sleepless nights. When he saw Richard, his face went white.

"Mr. Lewis? I wasn't expecting..."

"We need to talk." Richard pushed past Alexander into the penthouse without invitation.

The apartment was a mess. Empty bottles on the kitchen counter. Takeout containers scattered across expensive furniture. The remnants of a life that had fallen apart when the lies became too heavy to carry.

"Sit down," Richard commanded.

Alexander remained standing, his jaw set in stubborn lines. "If you're here about Camille..."

"I'm here about Kane Industries. I'm here about the stock manipulation, the stolen security plans, the surveillance photos of Victoria." Richard's voice was deadly quiet. "I'm here about the press release you scheduled to destroy my daughter's company this morning."

Alexander's face crumpled. "How did you..."

"How did I find out? You mean besides the fact that you've been sloppy enough to leave digital fingerprints all over your crimes?" Richard pulled out a folder thick with evidence. "I have documentation of every illegal access to Kane Industries systems. Every stolen document. Every manipulated stock trade."

"You don't understand. Victoria Kane is..."

"Victoria Kane is what? A killer? A criminal? A monster?" Richard's voice rose for the first time. "Or is she the woman who saved my daughter's life when everyone else abandoned her?"

Alexander stared at the floor, unable to meet Richard's eyes.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you." Richard's command was sharp enough to cut glass. "Look at me and explain how you justify using my daughter's love as a weapon against her family."

Alexander's head snapped up, his eyes blazing with desperate anger. "She covered up seventeen deaths! She destroyed my uncle's company and drove him to suicide!"

"According to who? Anonymous documents delivered at convenient times? Evidence that appeared exactly when you needed motivation to betray your wife?"

"The evidence is real..."

"The evidence is manufactured." Richard slammed the folder down on Alexander's coffee table. "I've had forensic accountants and digital investigators working all night. Your proof has been edited, doctored, and enhanced to support a narrative that doesn't match the actual court records."

Alexander went very still. "That's impossible."

"Is it? When did you last independently verify the claims against Victoria? When did you speak to any of the victim's families? When did you review the original safety reports that supposedly show her guilt?"

"I... the person who gave me the evidence...."

"Used your grief to turn you into a weapon against my daughter." Richard's voice was full of cold fury. "Someone fed you exactly what you needed to believe to do exactly what they wanted you to do."

Alexander sank into a chair, his face pale with dawning horror. "But the factory explosion really happened. People really died."

"Yes, they did. And the court records show your uncle's company was responsible for faulty equipment installation. The safety violations were real, but they were committed by Meridian Technologies, not Kane Industries."

"You're lying."

"I'm showing you documentation you should have examined before you destroyed your marriage." Richard opened the folder and spread official court documents across the table. "These are the actual legal proceedings. The real safety reports. The testimony of workers who tried to warn your uncle about the dangerous shortcuts he was taking."