Chapter 221: Chapter Two Hundred And Twenty One

Camille’s POV

The hall was quieter now. The chairs were still overturned. Flowers crushed. Guests shaken. But the danger was gone, replaced by a heavy silence that felt almost unreal. Theo kept his arm around my waist while Ethan and the guards swept every inch of the venue.

For the first time since Miles burst through the doors, I allowed myself to breathe normally.

But peace never lasted long with Miles.

Not even in death.

Ethan approached us from the entrance, his steps firm but his expression tight, too tight. He carried a small sealed evidence bag in his hand. Inside it was a cracked black phone.

Miles’ phone.

My heart pushed painfully against my ribs.

Theo’s arm tightened around me like he already knew what was coming. “What did you find?”

Ethan hesitated before speaking. “This was on him before he ran. He dropped it when he broke from the police.”

Theo tried to take the bag from him, but Ethan stepped closer to me instead.

“Camille… there’s a video here. A long one.” My breath caught.

Every part of me already knew what that meant oand what it would cost me to watch it.

Theo stepped slightly in front of me. “She doesn’t need to see anything from that mad-man.”

But I moved around him, standing straighter than I felt. “No more secrets,” I whispered. Not from anyone.”

Theo exhaled slowly, then cupped the back of my neck, grounding me. “If you watch it, I’m right here.”

Ethan unlocked the phone, pulled up the last recorded video, and set it on the table beside us. The screen was dirty, cracked, but the footage was clear enough to make my stomach drop.

A dim room appeared.

Bare walls. A single hanging bulb.

And Sonia.

Tied to a chair.

Her face was swollen. Makeup smeared with tears. Lips cracked. She was shaking.

Pain punched straight into my chest.

Even after everything she had done to me, I never wished this on her.

Miles’s voice came next, calm, almost conversational.

“Sonia,” he said, circling her like she wasn’t even human. “You lied to me. You lied about Camille. You lied about everything.”

Sonia sobbed through the gag. Miles ripped it off her mouth.

“You slept with my best friends,” he continued. “You stole from me. You made me believe Camille betrayed me. You fed every insecurity I had until it became poison.”

Sonia shook, gasping for breath. “Miles, I…I didn’t mean…”

“Yes, you did,” he snapped. “You destroyed me. And when that wasn’t enough, you poison my father.”

My hand flew to my mouth. I felt my knees weaken.

Theo immediately wrapped an arm around me, steadying me, pulling me closer. I leaned into him, trembling.

Miles lifted his phone to the camera.

“You know what the difference between you and Camille is?” he asked Sonia. “Camille loved me. Honestly. You just used me.”

Sonia sobbed again, trying to twist away, but the ropes kept her trapped.

I couldn’t stop shaking.

I knew Sonia was manipulative, cruel, obsessed, but this…

This was a side of her I never imagined I’d see.

Miles lowered the phone, his breath heavy, his voice sinking darker.

“And now,” he said, stepping in front of her, “this is the part Camille needs to see most.”

My chest squeezed painfully.

No.

No, no, no…

Miles wrapped both hands around Sonia’s throat.

She screamed, choked, begged, but he didn’t stop. His grip tightened, his fury unleashed. She clawed at his sleeves, her legs kicking frantically.

The sound of her gasping for breath filled the room like something out of hell.

I squeezed my eyes shut, but Theo lifted his hand gently to my cheek, guiding my face back toward him.

“You don’t have to look,” he murmured.

But I did.

I needed to know the truth of the monster who tried to destroy me.

Sonia’s movements grew weaker… slower… until her hands dropped. Her body slumped.

Miles stepped back and released her. She fell forward, lifeless, hanging by the ropes.

His chest rose and fell quickly, but he wiped his hands like she was nothing more than dirt.

Then he looked straight into the camera.

Straight at me.

“This is what happens to people who try to take Camille away from me,” he whispered. “She was always supposed to be mine.”

The video ended.

Silence fell like a heavy curtain.

I couldn’t breathe.

I stared at the phone, Sonia’s last terrified moments burned into my mind, the truth pouring down on me like icy water.

She lied.

She manipulated.

She dragged Miles into darkness… but he walked into it willingly.

Miles was not a victim.

He was manipulative, greedy, and hungry for control.

He chose every lie Sonia fed him because it suited the version of himself he wanted to believe.

And when all his plans crumbled…

When his father abandoned him…

When every door he tried to break through shut in his face…

He turned to me like I was the only thing left to save him.

But I was not his salvation.

I was never meant to be.

And I am not the woman he used to know.

That girl, the one he insulted, doubted, pushed aside, she’s gone.

The one who begged for understanding, who cried silently, who believed people could change if she loved them enough, she died the day he threw me out.

I’m stronger now, harder and wiser.

And I stand beside a man who proved his love in the darkest nights, A man who stood by me even when he believed the lies…

A man who drove me out of his home once, yes, but came back fighting for us harder than anyone ever has.

I’m with the man who chose me every day after the truth came out.

The man who protects me.

The man who sees me.

The man who would burn the world before he lets anyone hurt me again.

Miles looked at me like I was his last chance.

But Theo is the man waiting on the other side of every battle I survived and Miles…

He was the past I finally buried.

Theo’s hands slipped around me, gathering me gently against his chest. I pressed my face into him, choking on a sob I didn’t want to release but couldn’t hold back.

“It’s over,” he whispered into my hair. “She’s gone. He’s gone. None of them can touch you again.”

My tears fell faster, each one releasing years of fear, humiliation, and betrayal.

“I didn’t know…” I whispered brokenly. “I had no idea she hated me that much.”

Theo held me tighter, his chin resting on the top of my head. “You trusted her. That was your kindness, not your weakness.”

I shook my head. “She almost destroyed me, Theo.”

“No,” he said softly, lifting my face so I had to look at him. “You survived her. You survived Miles. You’re here. Standing. Strong.”

I blinked through tears, my breathing uneven.

Theo brushed one thumb across my cheek. “You’re done mourning monsters.”

I swallowed hard, nodded slowly, and wiped my face and a strange quiet settled inside me not peace, not happiness, but closure.

Painful closure.