SCORNED EX WIFE Queen Of Ashes (Camille and Stefan) novel Chapter 174

Chapter 174

Victoria stared at the scan results spread across her doctor's desk. The images showed her body from the inside, revealing the battle waged within her tissues and bones. But unlike previous scans, these told a different story.

"The tumors have shrunk by sixty-three percent," Dr. Winters said, her finger tracing the outlines on the images. "It's the best response I've seen to this treatment protocol."

Victoria kept her face blank, decades of boardroom battles making it second nature to hide her feelings. But inside, something unfamiliar bloomed, a fragile, tender hope she hardly dared acknowledge.

"What does this mean, exactly?" she asked, her voice steady despite the storm in her chest.

Dr. Winters removed her glasses, meeting Victoria's gaze directly. "It means the cancer is responding to treatment far better than we anticipated. Six months ago, I told you we were looking at buying time. Now, I'm talking about the possibility of remission."

The word hung in the air between them. Remission. Not cure, never cure with this type of cancer... but something Victoria hadn't allowed herself to consider.

"How much time?" The question that had haunted her since diagnosis.

"I can't make promises," Dr. Winters said, "but patients with this response rate often gain years rather than months. Good quality years."

Years. The enormity of it struck Victoria like a physical blow. She had been preparing to die, arranging her affairs, bracing Camille for the worst. She had accepted her fate with the same grim determination she'd applied to everything in life.

Now, suddenly, there was a tomorrow. Maybe many tomorrows.

"I still recommend continuing treatment," Dr. Winters continued, putting her glasses back on. "And regular monitoring, of course. But Victoria," she leaned forward, her professional distance softening, "this is the time to think about what you want to do with this gift."

Victoria nodded, unable to speak past the unexpected tightness in her throat. She gathered her coat and bag, thanking the doctor with practiced courtesy.

Outside, her driver waited by the car, his face carefully neutral as always. Victoria slid into the back seat, grateful for the privacy partition that allowed her a rare moment of unguarded emotion.

Years. The word echoed in her mind all the way back to her office.

*** **

Kane Industries occupied the top ten floors of a gleaming tower in Manhattan's financial district. Victoria's office on the highest floor offered views that stretched across the city, a daily reminder of the empire she had built from nothing.

She stood by the windows now, watching the afternoon light glint off nearby buildings. Behind her, Frederick Winters arranged papers on her desk, his movements precise and familiar after fifteen years as her lawyer.

"Everything's prepared as you requested," he said. "Though I still think we should wait for the quarterly board meeting to make the announcement."

Victoria turned from the window. "I've waited long enough."

Frederick sighed. "As you wish. But surely there's no rush now, not with your health improving."

"That's exactly why there's a rush."

Her phone rang before she could explain. Camille's name lit up the screen.

"Are you on your way?" Victoria asked, answering without preamble.

"Just arrived downstairs," Camille replied. "I'll be up in five minutes."

Victoria hung up without saying goodbye, a habit Camille had long stopped trying to change. She smoothed her jacket and moved to her desk, sitting in the chair that had become almost an extension of herself over the decades.

Frederick gathered his notes. "Shall I stay for this?"

Victoria considered, then shook her head. "No. This should be private."

When he left, she pressed her palms flat against the polished surface of her desk. For the first time in her memory, her hands trembled slightly.

The corner of her desk held a small silver frame, the only personal item in the otherwise austere office. It contained a photograph of Sophia, her daughter, smiling on a beach Victoria couldn't remember the name of. Had she even been there when the photo was taken, or had she sent Sophia with a nanny while she closed some essential deal?

She couldn't recall. The realization hit her with unexpected force.

When the door opened and Camille entered, Victoria was still staring at the photograph. Camille approached cautiously, noting Victoria's unusual stillness.

"Is everything all right?" she asked.

Victoria gestured to the chair across from her desk. "Sit down, Camille. I have news."

Camille's face tightened with worry. She had seen Victoria through months of treatment, watching her mentor grow thinner, her legendary energy dimming. Though Victoria had never admitted the severity of her condition, Camille had researched enough to understand what stage four pancreatic cancer typically meant.

"Your doctors..." she began, preparing for the worst.

"My doctors," Victoria interrupted, "are rather surprised." She pulled out the folder containing her latest scan results. "The treatment is working. The tumors have shrunk significantly."

Camille's eyes widened as she processed this unexpected turn. "That's... that's wonderful news."

"Indeed." Victoria's tone remained businesslike, though her eyes had softened. "Dr. Winters now speaks of years rather than months. Good quality years, she emphasized."

The relief that spread across Camille's face touched something deep inside Victoria. In all her life, how many people had genuinely cared whether she lived or died? The number was painfully small.

"I can't tell you how happy I am to hear that," Camille said, her voice thick with emotion.

Victoria nodded, unused to navigating such personal waters. "It changes things," she said. "And yet, in some ways, it changes nothing."

Camille looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"

Victoria stood and walked to the windows, needing the movement to order her thoughts.