SCORNED EX WIFE Queen Of Ashes (Camille and Stefan)

The FBI command center at Federal Plaza buzzed with desperate activity as agents worked through the night searching for any trace of Victoria and Camille Kane. Computer screens displayed maps of potential hiding locations, surveillance footage from traffic cameras, and cell phone records that might reveal James Whitfield's whereabouts.

Alexander sat at a table covered with photographs and documents, his eyes bloodshot from hours of staring at evidence that led nowhere. Every lead the FBI had followed turned into a dead end. Every potential location they searched turned up empty. James had planned this kidnapping with the same methodical precision he had used for his fifteen-year campaign of revenge.

Stefan paced the room like a caged animal, his face etched with worry and frustration. "There has to be something we're missing. Some pattern, some connection that points to where James would take them."

FBI Special Agent Diana Chen looked up from her computer terminal, exhaustion clear in her voice. "We've checked every property James Smith or James Whitfield has ever owned or rented. We've analyzed his financial records for warehouse rentals, storage facilities, even boat registrations. He's either using a location we haven't connected to him, or he had help from someone we don't know about."

Alexander felt his chest tighten with panic as the hours slipped away. Somewhere in the city, Camille and Victoria were prisoners of a man who had already proven willing to commit murder. Every minute that passed brought them closer to whatever James had planned as his final act of revenge.

"What about his known associates?" Alexander asked desperately. "Business partners, criminal contacts, anyone who might have provided him with a safe house?"

"We're running background checks on everyone James has had contact with over the past five years," Agent Chen replied. "But Alexander, this is going to take time we might not have."

The words hung in the air like a death sentence. Time was the one resource they couldn't afford to waste, and it was slipping away with each passing hour.

Richard Lewis sat in the corner of the command center, his usually composed demeanor cracked by the terror of knowing his daughter was in the hands of a killer. Margaret Lewis had collapsed from the stress and was being treated by paramedics in another room. Senator Alvarez had mobilized every federal resource he could access, but even his considerable influence couldn't make James Whitfield appear out of thin air.

Alexander's phone rang, interrupting the tense atmosphere in the command center. The display showed an unknown number with a prison identification code.

"This is Alexander Pierce," he answered, hoping for any information that might help find Camille.

"Hello, Alexander." The voice on the other end made his blood run cold. "It's Rose."

Alexander felt rage and disbelief wash over him as he recognized the voice of the woman who had tried to murder Camille, who had manipulated and destroyed so many lives before her arrest.

"Rose? How are you calling me? Why are you calling me?"

"I'm calling because I know where Camille and Victoria are being held," Rose said, her voice carrying an odd mixture of desperation and calculation. "And I'm calling because you're running out of time to save them."

Agent Chen immediately began tracing the call while other agents gathered around Alexander, listening intently to every word of the conversation.

"You're lying," Alexander said. "You're in prison. You have no way of knowing anything about James Whitfield's operation."

"James Whitfield came to see me three days ago," Rose replied, her voice steady despite the explosive nature of her revelation. "He wanted my help kidnapping Victoria and Camille."

The command center fell silent as everyone processed this unexpected development. Rose Lewis, the woman who had tried to kill her own sister, was claiming knowledge of their current situation.

"Why would James come to you?" Alexander asked, though part of him already suspected the answer.

"Because we share the same enemy. Because we both hate Victoria Kane and everything she represents. Because James thought I would help him destroy the people who destroyed my life."

Stefan moved closer to Alexander, his face twisted with anger and disbelief. "She's lying. Rose would say anything to manipulate the situation for her own benefit."

"Maybe," Rose said, clearly hearing Stefan's comment through the phone. "But do you have any other leads? Any other source of information about where James might have taken them?"

The truth of Rose's words hit the room like a physical blow. They had exhausted every conventional investigative avenue. If Rose really did know something about James's plans, she might be their only hope of finding Victoria and Camille alive. "What did you tell James when he asked for your help?" Alexander asked.

"I told him I knew the perfect place to hold them," Rose replied. "An abandoned textile warehouse in Queens that I used to use for storage when I was building my fashion business. It's isolated, soundproof, and has multiple exit routes."

Alexander felt his heart racing as Rose provided specific details about the location. But trusting Rose Lewis felt like making a deal with the devil - she had already proven willing to lie, manipulate, and kill to get what she wanted.

"Why are you telling us this?" Alexander asked. "What do you gain by helping us find them?"

Rose was quiet for a long moment, and when she spoke again, her voice carried an emotion Alexander had never heard from her before - something that might have been genuine regret.

"Because I tried to kill Camille once, and I've had months in prison to think about what that really means. I've had time to understand that destroying someone you're supposed to love destroys part of yourself too."

"So this is about guilt?" Stefan asked skeptically.

"This is about the fact that Camille is still my sister, even after everything I did to her. And James Whitfield isn't planning to just kill her quickly. He's planning to torture her psychologically before he kills her, the same way he tortured Alexander with lies about Victoria."

Alexander felt sick as he realized the implications of Rose's words. James hadn't kidnapped Victoria and Camille just to kill them - he had taken them to break them emotionally before ending their lives.

"Give me the address," Alexander said.

"First, I need you to promise me something," Rose replied.noveldrama

"You're not in a position to make demands," Agent Chen interjected, taking the phone from Alexander. "This is FBI Special Agent Diana Chen. If you have information about the location of kidnapping victims, you're legally obligated to provide it immediately."

"I'll provide it," Rose said. "But I want Alexander to promise me something first." "What?" Alexander asked, taking the phone back.

"I want you to promise me that if you find them alive, you'll tell Camille that I helped save her. Not because want her forgiveness, not because I think me good act can balance out all the evil I've done. But because I want her to know that somewhere inside me, there's still a sister who loves her."

The request hit Alexander like an emotional punch. Even now, even from prison, Rose was thinking about her relationship with Camille and desperately wanting some form of connection with the sister she had tried to destroy.

"Rose, just give us the address," Alexander said.

"Pier Industrial Complex, 47-23 Vernon Boulevard in Queens. Building C, third floor. James has the entire floor set up as his operational base." Agent Chen immediately began coordinating with NYPD and federal tactical teams for an assault on the location Rose had provided. But Alexander felt torn between hope and skepticism about trusting information from someone who had already betrayed Camille so completely.

"Alexander, wait," Stefan said as agents prepared to move out. "What if this is another one of Rose's manipulations? What if she's lying to us, sending us to the wrong location while James kills Victoria and Camille somewhere else?"

The possibility sent ice through Alexander's veins. Rose had proven herself capable of elaborate deceptions and calculated cruelty. Using their desperation to find Victoria and Camille as a way to manipulate them further would be exactly the kind of twisted game she might play.

"We have to check it out," Alexander said. "It's the only lead we have."

"But what if it's a trap? What if Rose is working with James somehow, leading us into an ambush while he escapes with his prisoners?"

Richard Lewis stood up from his corner chair, his face drawn with exhaustion but

his voice carrying the authority that had built his family's empire.

"We trust Rose," he said simply.

Both Alexander and Stefan stared at him in disbelief.

"Mr. Lewis, Rose tried to murder your daughter," Stefan said. "She's spent her entire life manipulating and betraying Camille. Why would you trust her now?" Richard looked at both men with eyes that held decades of pain and regret. "Because Rose is still my daughter too. I failed her when she was young, failed to see what she needed, failed to give her the security and love that might have prevented her from becoming what she became."

"That doesn't mean you should trust her with Camille's life," Alexander protested.

"It means I understand her better than you do," Richard replied. "Rose has done terrible things, unforgivable things. But underneath all that hatred and manipulation, she's still the frightened child I adopted all those years ago. The child who desperately wanted to belong to a family."

was

Richard's voice cracked with emotion as he continued. "Rose gave us specific information that could save Camille's life. If she lying, she was trying to manipulate us, she would have asked for something in return. A reduced sentence, a transfer to a better prison, some kind of personal benefit."

"She did ask for something," Stefan pointed out. "She wants Alexander to tell

Camille that she helped."

"She wants her sister to know that she's capable of love, even after everything she's done wrong," Richard said. "That's not manipulation. That's desperation for connection with the only family she's ever really had."

Alexander looked at Richard Lewis and saw a father who had carried guilt for

decades about how his family had failed Rose, how their choices had contributed to creating the monster she became.

"Mr. Lewis, if you're wrong about this, if Rose is lying or manipulating us, we might lose our only chance to save Victoria and Camille."

"And if we don't trust her, if we dismiss the only information we have because of

who it's coming from, we definitely lose them," Richard replied. "Sometimes you

have to choose between the certainty of failure and the possibility of being betrayed by hope."

Agent Chen finished coordinating with the tactical teams and approached their group. "We're ready to move on the Queens

location. But I need to be clearelet

all of you - this could be a trap. Rose Lewis has every reason to want Victoria Kane dead, and using us to deliver a killing blow would be exactly the kind of revenge she

might plan."

"We go anyway," Alexander said, making the decision that could save or doom the

two women he loved most. "Because it's the only chance they have."

As federal agents and NYPD tactical officers prepared for the assault on the

warehouse Rose had identified, Alexander felt the weight of absolute uncertainty pressing down on him.

Either Rose Lewis had given them the information they needed to save Victoria and Camille, or she had just manipulated them into their final, fatal mistake.

In less than an hour, they would know which kind of sister Rose really was - the

one who loved Camille enough to save her, or the one who hated her enough to ensure her death.