Chapter 68

Chapter of your journey. Discovering Camille Kane beyond revenge.Beyond the past. Beyond even my careful molding."

The suggestion surprised me. Victoria had always been directive, strategic, clear about who I should become.This open-ended possibility, this freedom to define myself beyond our shared purpose, was unexpected.

"You would support that?" | asked carefully. "Even if it meant choices you didn't plan for?"

Something flickered in Victoria's eyes, an emotion l couldn't identify. "I saved you, Camille. Rebuilt you.Gave you the tools to achieve justice. But I never intended to own you."

She moved back to her desk, picking up a thick folder I hadn't noticed earlier. "Which brings me to something I've been considering."

I followed her, curiosity momentarily displacing my existential questions. Victoria handed me the folder,its weight substantial.

"What is this?"

"Open it," she said simply.

Inside were legal documents. I flipped through them,understanding dawning slowly.

"You're giving me controlling interest in Kane Industries' Tech division," I said, looking up in shock."Thirty percent ownership. Board chairmanship.Final approval on all acquisitions."

Victoria nodded. "Consider it your graduation present. You've learned everything I can teach you about business, strategy, and power. Now it's time for you to build something of your own."

I stared at the documents, their implications staggering. This wasn't just a gift, it was independence. Authority. Identity beyond being Victoria Kane's creation or Rose Lewis's destruction.

"Why now?"

"Because revenge is ending," Victoria said simply."And your life needs to be beginning. Rose Lewis built her career stealing from others. I want you to build yours creating something uniquely yours."

Emotion tightened my throat, unexpected gratitude mixing with something like awe. For all her calculated coldness, Victoria Kane had given me more than tools for revenge. She had given me a future. "Thank you," I said, the words inadequate for the gift she was offering.

Victoria waved away my gratitude. "Don't thank me.Show me what you'll build. Show me who Camille Kane becomes when not defined by her past."

My phone buzzed again. Another message from Alexander: *Dinner tomorrow? Something to celebrate your victory, and perhaps discuss what comes after.*

This time, I found myself smiling as | typed: *Yes.8pm. You choose the place.*

Victoria noticed, of course. "Alexander Pierce represents a choice too," she observed. "One I hope you'll make with your eyes fully open."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning he has his own agenda, as everyone does.Including me." Victoria's honesty was refreshing and slightly alarming. "Just be certain you understand what you're choosing before you choose it."On the screens, a new headline scrolled: "DESIGNER ROSE LEWIS: FORMER EMPLOYEES ALLEGE TOXIC WORKPLACE ENVIRONMENT." The destruction continued its inexorable march, gathering momentum without requiring our further intervention.

"I believe I'll understand mny choices better now," I said, looking at the documents in my hands. "Now that I have something to look forward to, not just something to avenge."

Victoria raised her champagne glass. "To the future,then. And to the woman you're becoming."

"To the future," I echoed, clinking my glass against hers.

As night settled over Manhattan, the city lights blazed against the darkness. I studied my reflection in the window, Camille Kane looking back at me,Victoria's creation but increasingly my own as well.The surgical alterations, the careful training, the strategic positioning had transformed me physically and socially. But something else was happening now,something neither Victoria nor I had fully anticipated.

I was transforming internally too. Becoming someone neither Camille Lewis nor Victoria's carefully crafted heir,but someone new. Someone undefined by either past trauma or present revenge.

My phone buzzed one final time. Alexander again:*Looking forward to tomorrow. The phoenix rises not just from ashes, but toward something greater.*

For the first time since the Rose's men had nearly claimed my life, I found myself genuinely curious about what that "something greater" might be.