SCORNED EX WIFE Queen Of Ashes (Camille and Stefan)

Chapter 105

Victoria Kane sat alone in her office, the glow from her computer screen the only light in the room. Outside her

windows, dawn painted the Manhattan skyline in hues of pink and gold, but she hadn't noticed the sunrise. She

hadn't moved from her chair in hours.

On her screen, financial records filled page after page, stock purchases, company

acquisitions, shell corporations nested within shell corporations like

Russian dolls. A tangled web of financial transactions that

had taken her team of investigators days to

unravel.

Victoria's mouth tightened as she scrolled through the data. The pattern was unmistakable once you knew what

to look for. Small stock

purchases, never more than one percent at a time. Different buyer names. Different banks. Different countries.

But

all ultimately tracing back to one man.

Herod Preston.

7

She slammed her hand against the desk, the sharp crack echoing through the empty office. Victoria Kane did not

lose control. Not ever. But seeing Herod's name, the son of the man who had killed her daughte blood boiling.

Her intebuzzed. "Ms. Kane? Mr. Pierce is here."

Victoria took

a deep breath, smoothing her features into their usual mask of calm. Send him in."

Alexander

entered, impeccable as always in a tailored suit despite the early hour. His expression shifted when he saw her

face.

"You found something," he said, closing the door behind him.

Victoria swiveled her computer screen toward him. "Herod Preston has been buying Kane

Industries stock for the past six months."

Alexander crossed to her desk, studying the financial

data. “Through shell companies. Clever. Staying under the radar."

"Clever?" Victoria's voice sharpened. "He's infiltrating my company, Alexander."

"How much has he acquired?"

"Just

over five percent, according to what we've traced so far." Victoria stood, too agitated to remain seated. "He's

positioning himself for a hostile takeover."

Alexander

leaned closer to the screen, scrolling through the transactions. "Pequod Ventures, Ahab Holdings, Queequeg

Capital... all literature references. Easier to track than he thinks."

"This isn't a literary analysis, Alexander." Victoria paced behind her desk. "This

is Herod

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Preston making his next move against me. Against my

family. First the Grid sabotage, now this."

Alexander straightened, his expression serious. "Victoria, he can't take Kane Industries from you. You personally

own sixty percent of the company."

"I'm aware of my stock holdings," she snapped.

"And I've

recently acquired ten percent," Alexander continued, unfazed by her tone. Which means that even if Herod

managed to buy every remaining share, which he can't without triggering SEC notifications he would still be a

minority shareholder." Victoria paused her pacing. She knew this. Of course she knew this. She ha holdings

precisely to prevent hostile takeovers. But the sight of Herod Preston's nconnected to Kane Industries had

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triggered something primal in her, a mother's rage at the family that had taken her daugh "It's not about the

stock," she said finally. "It's about his audacity. His... invasion. After what his family did to Sophia.”

Alexander's expression softened slightly. "I understand. But we need to think

strategically. If Herod is buying

stock, it means he's planning for something beyond the Grid sabotage."

Victoria moved to the window, watching the city cto life below. She knew Alexander was right. This wasn't

just about emotion, it was about chess moves, strategy, seeing ten steps ahead.

"He wants inside

information," she said. "Board meeting minutes. Financial projections. Access to shareholder communications."

"Exactly," Alexander agreed. "And he'll use a proxy to request that

information once he reaches the five percent threshold that requires public disclosure."

Victoria turned back to face him, her mind racing through

scenarios. "We need to identify

his proxy before they make a move. And we need to know how much stock he actually owns."

Alexander was already typing on his phone. "I'll have my team dig

deeper. There may be other shell companies we haven't traced yet."

"Good. And have them check recent

trading patterns in Kane Industries stock. He may be accelerating his purchases now that the

Grid launch is imminent." Victoria returned to her desk, her

momentary loss of control now replaced with cold calculation. "If Herod thinks he

can use my company against me, he'll discover just how wrong he is."

Alexander pocketed his phone. "There's another angle we should consider."

"Which is?"

"If his stock purchases are discovered-and they will be, because we've found them, Herod will asswe're

focused on protecting the company from takeover."

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Alexander's eyes met hers. "Which may distract us from whatever

his actual plan might be."

Victoria considered this. "A diversion."

"Possibly. The Grid-

sabotage. The stock purchases. What if neither is his primary goal?" Alexander crossed to the

coffeemaker in the corner of Victoria's office, pouring two cups. "Herod strikes me

as a man who always has multiple strategies in play."

Victoria accepted the coffee he offered, warming her hands around

the cup. “Like a chess master sacrificing pieces to disguise his true objective."

"Exactly." Alexander took a sip of his coffee. "We need to ask ourselves: what

would hurt you the most? Not just financially, but personally?"

The question hung in the air between them. Victoria knew the answer immediately, though she would never say

it aloud. There was only one thing left in this world that could truly destroy her. Camille.

"Have you told her?" Alexander asked quietly, seeming to read her thoughts.

"About the stock purchases?"

Victoria shook her head. "She has enough to worry about with the Grid launch."

"She should know. This affects her too. Alexander's voice remained steady, but Victoria

heard the

underlying steel. His relationship with Camille had shifted, deepened. He was no longer just an ally but a

protector.

"I'll tell her," Victoria agreed, though

reluctantly. "After the shadow engineering team finishes correcting the Grid sabotage."

Alexander nodded, apparently satisfied with

that compromise. "In the meantime, | have a suggestion."

"I'm listening."

"Let's leak information about a major announcement coming

from Kane Industries. Something vague but significant sounding." A slight smile touched Alexander's mouth.

"Make Herod think we're planning a move he hasn't anticipated."

Victoria considered the suggestion. "A false flag operation. Force him to react rather than continue his current

strategy."

"Exactly. And when he reacts, we may learn more about his true objectives."

For the first tthat morning, Victoria felt the tight knot in her

chest loosen slightly. This was familiar territory, strategic maneuvering, creating traps for her enemies.

“Have Sarah draft a press release," she decided. "Something about

a significant upcoming

partnership announcement. No specifics, just enough to make the business

blogs speculate."

Alexander nodded. "I'll have my publicist do the same. Hint

at cooperation between

Pierce Enterprises and Kane Industries on a 'revolutionary new venture."

"Stock prices will rise," Victoria noted. "Costing Herod more if he continues buying shares."

"And possibly forcing him to accelerate his plans, whatever they might be."

Victoria set down her coffee cup and moved back to her computer, closing the

financial files with decisive clicks. "Let him come. Whatever Herod Preston is planning, he'll find I'm not the easy

target his brother thought Sophia was."

The room fell silent. Victoria rarely mentioned Sophia directly, even

now. Alexander watched her, his expression carefully neutral.

"There's one more thing we should consider," he said finally.

Victoria raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"The timing." Alexander leaned against her desk. "Herod's stock purchases began six months ago, long before

the Grid sabotage. Before Rose found him."

Victoria went still, the implications racing through her mind. "You think Rose

didn't find Herod. Herod found Rose."

"It's worth considering," Alexander said. "What if Rose wasn't the architect of this plan, but merely

a useful tool Herod discovered? Someone with personal motivation to hurt Camille, who could be pointed in the

right direction and set loose?"

Victoria's chest tightened. If Alexander was right, they had potentially

misunderstood the entire situation. Rose wasn't the snake they needed to worry about, she was merely the

venom

delivery system for a much more dangerous predator.

"We need to-" Victoria began, but was interrupted by her phone's sharp ring.

She answered, listening intently as her security chief spoke. When the call

ended, her face had gone pale.

"What is it?" Alexander asked, instantly alert.

"The shadow engineering team discovered a secondary layer of sabotage in the Grid system. More sophisticated

than the

first." Victoria's voice was tight. "And sof the components were installed

by someone with high-level security clearance. Not Walsh."

Alexander straightened. "Someone else on the inside."

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"Yes. Martin Greene most likely. My head of special projects." Victoria's hand clenched around her phone. "He's

worked forfor fifteen years."

"Since Sophia died," Alexander said quietly.

Victoria nodded, the betrayal cutting deeper than she would admit. "Have him

followed. Discreetly. But don't move against him yet. If Greene is working with

Herod, he may lead us to him."

Alexander nodded. "And Camille?"

"Double her security detail immediately. Don't tell her why." Victoria moved

toward the door, her mind shifting to crisis mode. "I want the entire shadow engineering team moved to the

secure facility in White

Plains. Today. No contact

with anyone outside the team until the Grid corrections are complete."

"And the stock purchases?" Alexander asked, following her.

Victoria paused at the door, her face hardening into the expression that had made titans of industry quake for

decades. "Let Herod buy whatever he

wants. It won't matter when this is over."

"Victoria," Alexander said, his voice low. "Don't let this becpersonal."

She turned, fixing him

with a gaze that could have frozen fire. "This has been personal since the moment Charles Preston arranged my

daughter's death. Herod

chose to continue his brother's war."

"And Rose?"

"A useful pawn. Nothing more." Victoria's voice was cold. "We deal with Herod first. Rose is an afterthought."

Alexander didn't look convinced. "Don't underestimate her. That kind of hatred..."

"I know exactly how dangerous

hatred can be, Alexander." Victoria cut him off. "I've spent a decade

perfecting mine."

She

squared her shoulders, the momentary vulnerability gone, replaced by the steely determination that

had built her empire.

"Alert the board members | want an emergency meeting at noon.

Prepare the press release about our supposed partnership

announcement.’ And get Camille additional

protection without alarming her." Victoria's tone

made it clear these weren't requests. "Herod Preston thinks he's hunting me. He's about to discover he's the

prey, not the predator."

As she strode from the office, Alexander remained behind for a

moment, troubled by what he'd seen. The composed, calculating Victoria Kane he

knew had briefly vanished, replaced by

something rawer, more dangerous. A woman consumed by a decade-old

vendetta.

He pulled out his phone and/sent a quick text to Camille: *Need to talk. Soon. Something's happening with

Victoria.*

Then he followed Victoria from the office, wondering if they were all being

maneuvered into exactly the positions Herod Preston wanted them

in. Like pieces on a chess board, thinking they were making their own moves while actually following

the pattern a master player had designed for them.

And if they were, Alexander

wasn't sure any of them would recognize the trap until it was too late.