SCORNED EX WIFE Queen Of Ashes (Camille and Stefan) novel Chapter 153

Camille crouched beneath a table with three young women in evening gowns, all sobbing in terror. The second explosion had blocked their path to the main exit with burning debris.

"Listen to me," Camille said firmly, her voice cutting through their panic. "There's another way out. Through the service corridor. But we need to stay low and move fast."

The women nodded, their faces streaked with tears and soot.

"Follow me," Camille ordered. "Stay close. Cover your mouth with your dress if you can."

They crawled from under the table into the thickening smoke. Camille led them along the perimeter of the room, away from the worst of the flames. Her eyes burned. Her lungs screamed for clean air. But she pushed forward, guiding the terrified women toward safety.

The service door appeared through the smoke, its outline barely visible. Camille reached it first, pulling it open to reveal a relatively clear corridor beyond.

"Go!" she urged the women. "Straight ahead. You'll reach an exit in thirty seconds."

As the last woman stumbled through, Camille turned back to the ballroom. Were there others still trapped? Anyone she had missed?

A third explosion rocked the building, this one closer than the others. The force of it sent Camille flying backward into the wall. Pain exploded across her back and shoulder. Her vision blurred.

When it cleared, she saw the ceiling directly above her beginning to crack. In seconds, it would collapse.

Camille tried to move, but her body refused to respond. The smoke was too thick now. Each breath brought more pain than air.

So this was how it would end. Not in victory over Rose, but buried beneath the rubble of her triumph.

As consciousness began to fade, Camille thought she heard someone calling her name. A familiar voice, desperate and determined.

"Alexander?" she whispered, the word lost in the roar of the flames.

Then strong arms were around her, lifting her from the floor. A voice close to her ear saying, "I've got you. Stay with me."

Alexander had found her. Even through the smoke and flames and chaos, he had found her.

As he carried her toward safety, Camille's last thought before darkness claimed her was that Rose had failed again. Failed to destroy what mattered most.

Because even in this moment of destruction, she was not alone.

***

Victoria watched from her car as flames engulfed the west wing of the Grand Plaza Hotel. Emergency vehicles surrounded the building, their lights painting the night in flashes of red and blue. Paramedics treated injured guests on the plaza. Police officers established a perimeter. Firefighters battled the blaze with seemingly little effect.

And still, no sign of Camille or Alexander.

Victoria's hand gripped her phone so tightly her knuckles had turned white. She had called Alexander seventeen times. No answer.

"Curtis," she said, her voice dangerously calm. "If you don't let me out of this car right now, I will ensure you never work in security again. Anywhere. Ever."

Before Curtis could respond, Victoria's driver pointed toward the hotel's side entrance. "Look!"

Through the smoke emerged a figure carrying what appeared to be a body. As they moved closer, Victoria recognized Alexander, his face blackened with soot, his clothing torn and burned. In his arms lay Camille, motionless.

Victoria's heart stopped.

"Move!" she ordered, pushing past Curtis to open the car door herself.

She stumbled onto the plaza, her legs weaker than she would ever admit, and hurried toward Alexander. As she approached, she saw Camille's eyes flutter open. Relief flooded through her with such force she nearly collapsed.

"She's alive," Alexander gasped as Victoria reached them. "Smoke inhalation. Some burns. Maybe a concussion from debris."

Victoria touched Camille's face with trembling fingers. "Camille? Can you hear me?"

Camille's eyes focused on Victoria, recognition dawning. "You... should be... in the car," she whispered, her voice hoarse from smoke.

A laugh that was half sob escaped Victoria's lips. "And you should have followed me out. We both disobeyed orders."

Paramedics rushed forward with a stretcher. Alexander gently placed Camille on it, reluctant to let her go even for a moment.

"Stay with her," Victoria told him. "I'll follow in the car."

Alexander nodded, his eyes never leaving Camille as the paramedics began treating her.

Victoria turned back toward her vehicle, suddenly aware of the weight of her own exhaustion. The excitement, the fear, the relief, all of it came crashing down at once. Her vision swam. Her chest felt tight.

She took one step, then another. The third step never came.

Instead, Victoria felt her knees buckle. Darkness edged her vision. The last thing she heard was Curtis shouting for a medic.

Then nothing.