Chapter 77

Chapter of my life is closed forever."

"You can't just erase us!" her mother cried,desperation in her voice. "We're your parents!"

"You stopped being my parents the moment you chose to believe in Rose's lies rather than seeing the truth that was right in front of you," Camille replied,sadness coloring her words despite her resolve. "I don't hate you. I simply don't need you anymore."

Stefan moved toward the stage, his eyes pleading."Camille, I know I can never undo what I did. But I've changed. Seeing what Rose really is, understanding what happened to you, it's opened my eyes. Please,just give me a chance to show you how sorry l am."

Camille studied his face, remembering how she had once thought he was the center of her world.How small that world had been.

"I forgive you, Stefan," she said finally. "Not because you deserve it, but because I refuse to carry the weight of hating you any longer. That forgiveness doesn't mean reconciliation. It means freedom, my freedom from you."

Rose had been watching this exchange with growing fury, her entire body rigid with anger. "You think you've won?" she hissed. "You think this grand display changes anything? This isn't over. You took everything from me, and I'll make you pay for it."

Camille met her gaze evenly. "No, Rose. I took back what was mine.... my dignity, my power, my life.Everything else, you lost all on your own."

Rose looked around wildly, seeing all eyes on her,seeing her carefully constructed world collapsing.Her face contorted with rage as she pointed a trembling finger at Camille.

"This isn't over," she hissed, loud enough for everyone to hear. "You think you've won? You think you can just come back from the dead and destroy everything I've built? I'll make you pay for this,Camille. You have no idea what I'm capable of."

With that, Rose stormed toward the exit,shoving past guests who quickly moved out of her way. The heavy doors slammed behind her with an echoing finality.

As Rose disappeared, Camille felt a peculiar lightness spreading through her chest. This moment that she had imagined for so long... it wasn't bringing the savage triumph she had expected. Instead,there was something quieter,something like peace.

Victoria joined her on stage, placing a steady hand on her shoulder. "You did well," she said quietly.

"Is it over?" Camille asked, suddenly uncertain.

"The revenge is over," Victoria replied. "But your life.... your real life...... is just beginning."

Camille turned back to face the crowd, many of whom were still recording every moment on their phones. The story would be everywhere by morning.There would be legal battles, public scrutiny,endless questions. But for the first time since that night in the parking garage, Camille felt truly free.

"Thank you for coming tonight," she said to the crowd, her voice strong and clear. "This event marks not just the revelation of the truth, but the beginning of something new. The phoenix doesn't rise from the ashes to return to what it was. It rises transformed,stronger than before."

She felt Alexander Pierce's eyes on her from somewhere in the crowd, and for the first time,she allowed herself to acknowledge the possibility of a future beyond this moment, a future not defined by the past but open to new possibilities.

"The Phoenix Foundation will provide support for victims of domnestic abuse and those who have been betrayed by the people closest to them," she continued. "Sometimes the deepest wounds come from those we trust the most. But tonight proves that even from complete destruction, something beautiful can emerge."

As she stepped away from the microphone, the room erupted in applause.... whether from genuine support or simply the spectacle of it all, she couldn't tell. But as Victoria led her from the stage, Camille knew that whatever came next, she would face it not as the woman who had been discarded and betrayed, but as someone entirely new.

Camille Kane had risen from the ashes of Camille Lewis's destruction. And unlike the old fairy tales,this phoenix wasn't interested in happy endings with false princes or fractured families. She was interested in building something true, something that was entirely her own.

The revenge story had ended. Her real story was just beginning.