QUEEN OF ASHES

Scorched earth

Chapter 2

The hospital lights were too bright. Camila winced when the nurse put another cold compress on her sore shoulder. Her thigh was sore where she had fallen, skin ripped clean away, and the bruising developing on her ribs throbbed when she breathed. That was all beside the hurt in her chest, though.

Xavier had just gotten up and left. Plainly gotten up and left as if she was not there. She stared vacantly at the wall as the nurse tied on her bandages.

"You're lucky nothing's broken," the woman said with warmth, completing the last bandage. "But you need to take it easy. That fall could have been worse." Camila did not say a word. She did not need to rest. She needed revenge.

As she was coming out of the ER room, she almost collided with her assistant, Mara, who had rushed to the hospital the moment she got the call.

"Camila," Mara exclaimed, horror etched on her face. "You didn't tell me he was this bad." Camila's laughter was dry and mirthless. "That's the point, Mara. He wasn't. At least, not until I met the real him."

They rode in the car in silence, the soft purr of the engine the only sound between them. As they neared the De Luca estate, Camila spoke.

Tomorrow, get me all we have on the De Luca shell companies. Especially the ones they used prior to cleaning up their act." "You're thinking exposure?" Mara asked in dismay.

"I'm thinking war," Camila replied coldly. "He tried to destroy my reputation. My father's honour. He wants to discard me now that Valentina's back? He's going to regret he didn't finish the job last night.". As they passed the tall iron gates, Camila’s phone buzzed.

A message from Xavier.

[Hope you’re okay. I’ll be home late. Valentina needs me.]

Her fingers clenched around the device. Valentina needed him? She needed him too. Bleeding on the marble floor of his own home while Nina smiled like she’d won the damn lottery.

She opened her phone camera and gazed at herself. Her hair was still pinned, makeup ruined, shoulder strapped. Her eyes? Not broken. No. They were colder than ever.

"Let's make him bleed where it hurts," she whispered. And that started with what he valued most: control.

The morning after, the mansion was quiet when she came down the grand staircase. Nina sat at the table sipping black coffee as though she hadn't tried to kill her the night before.

"You're up early," Nina said nonchalantly. "Hurt?"

"Not as hurt as you're going to be when I press charges for attempted murder," Camila countered, sitting in the head of the table. Nina blinked. "Excuse me?"

Camila set down her phone. On screen, a video played, the balcony security cam showing Nina shoving her near the staircase.

“I made a copy last night,” Camila said smoothly. “And another copy went to my lawyer this morning. Want to test me?” Nina’s face paled.

“You’re bluffing.”

Camila leaned forward, voice low and menacing. "Try me, Nina. Place one more finger on me, and I'll make sure you're rotting in a cell before your next facial treatment." Nina opened her mouth to respond when her phone rang.

Camila didn't let her hear the rest. She stood up, grabbed her bag, and was heading out to the garage.

The war had begun.

Her first destination was to the Torres law firm. Her family's law firm. Daniel, her good friend and head of her father's legal team, rose to his feet when she walked in. "You're serious about this?" he asked. "Once it starts, there's no going back. Divorce from Xavier means extracting Torres assets from De Luca hands. That will create hell in every mafia network." "That's precisely what I want," Camila replied.

He handed her a plump envelope. "This is the draft. Air-tight, as you asked for. And merciless."

She didn't blink to sign. The ink spread on the paper like the end of an era. A weight was removed. And another was put in its place.

That night, she returned home to find Xavier sitting in her office.

"Got your message," he said, holding up the divorce papers. "What the hell is this, Camila? “She walked past him, calm. Cold. Calculating. "I told you," she said. "I'm done."

Xavier laughed with venom. "You think you can just walk away like that? You have any idea what this is going to do to both of our families?"

"I do," she said. "I think it's ironic. Your reputation will go up in flames as last night mine was supposed to."

He went quiet.

"Think I don't know what you and Nina hatched?" she went on. "I overheard. The video, the drug, the sting. And Valentina—convenient timing, was it?"

His gaze turned icy. "You're blowing this out of proportion."

"No," she replied. "I've merely ceased to underestimate." And then she pulled out her phone and played the recording of the conversation she'd overheard beside his office. Every word. Crystal clear.

Xavier hardened. He didn't say a word. He didn't even deny it. "You're bluffing," he insisted, this time in a frail voice.

Camila's smile was a knife. "Am I?"

He wrapped his fingers around her wrist, tight. "You do this, Camila, and you'll start a war."

She shook loose. "Then I hope you're ready to lose."

That night, she leaned on the balcony, looking out over the lights of the city. A storm rolled over the skyline, thunder pounding in the distance. The breeze mussed her hair as she whispered into the phone, "It's done. The papers were served. I need the next step." The voice on the other end was one she hadn't heard in years. "I warned you, Camila," Matthew Malvado, son of the rival Malvado syndicate, spoke.

Camila's gaze turned icy. "I don't plan to turn back."

"Good," he said. "Let's burn him to the ground then."