SCORNED EX WIFE Queen Of Ashes (Camille and Stefan)

Morning sunlight cut through Bodriguez Shipping headquarters, harsh and unforgiving. The building felt like a tomb, employees moving like ghosts, their futures evaporating with each passing hour. Stefan stood The grandfather clock, a family heirloom, ticked mercilessly in the silence. Each sound a heartbeat closer to the end

Two floors below, Camille Kane sat watching security feeds, her pulse quickening as she found him. Stefan, standing alone, shoulders unnaturally straight despite everything crumbling around him. That damne His phone lit up: Eduardo Rodriguez calling again. Four desperate calls already this morning. Overnight, the family estate's mortgage had been sold. Seattle accounts mysteriously frozen. Last— minute financing arrangements collapsed without explanation

A cold smile spread across Camille's face, savage satisfaction coursing through her. No escape routes. No last-

minute rescues. Just methodical, absolute destruction.

Maria appeared in Stefan's doorway, eyes swollen and red-

rimmed. Fifteen years of loyalty, about to end in unemployment.

"Mr. Chen from First National Bank is asking to see you," she said, voice breaking "He says it's urgent."

Stefan nodded. "Send him to the small conference room."

After she left, he straightened his tie with trembling fingers he couldn't quite control. What would his grandfather think? The man who started with one small cargo boat during America's darkest economic times- what would he say about the grandson who lost everything?

Matthew Chen's normally friendly face was now a mask of professional detachment. The handshake between them felt foreign, distant.

"I wanted to

speak with you privately," Chen said, pity flickering in his eyes. "Before the official notifications."

Stefan's laugh held only pain. "To soften the blow? Let me gave you the trouble. I know the banks are calling in the loans."

"It's worse." Chen's voice dropped. "The loans weren't foreclosed by banks. They were purchased outright. All of them. By Kane Industries."

The name hit Stefan like a physical blow, driving the air from his lungs. "That's impossible."

"They found a loophole in your financing agreements." Chen slid a document across the table. "As of this morning, every dollar Rodriguez Shipping owes is owned by Kane Industries."

Stefan stared at the elegant cursive signature swimming before his eyes. Not Victoria Kane's signature. Her daughter's. Camille Kane.

"The family estate?" he asked, voice barely audible.

“Also purchased. I'm sorry, Stefan. This isn't standard practice anymore. This is..." Chen hesitated, "personal."

In her hidden room, Camille leaned closer to the screen, pulse hammering in her ears as she watched color drain from Stefan's face. This was the moment she'd dreamed of for so long. The realization dawning "Victoria Kane?" Stefan asked, confusion etched in the lines of his face. "Why would she target my family?"

Chen shook his head. "All I know is they said it was precisely the point to be unnecessarily destructive."

left, Stefan sat alone, nausea rising in

father's name.

house." Eduardo's

Stefan had never heard before. "Our home. Five

closed his eyes, chest so tight he could barely breathe. "Kane

all our debt.

never showed interest in

Stefan whispered, "but this feels personal, not just

Camille watched Eduardo on screen-the

kind to her during her marriage to Stefan. Had defended her when Stefan's mother ma She pushed the feeling away, anger rising to drown it out. Eduardo had raised the man who discarded her so

Rodriguez men always got what

the boardroom where the remaining executives waited, faces etched with

hope," Stefan began, voice steady despite the storm raging inside. "Kane Industries has acquired all outstanding Rodriguez Shipping debt and intends to call in these loans immedia "That's not possible," Thomas Wagner protested,

we file for bankruptcy protection,"

that avenue too." Stefan's voice remained clinically detached while his world

room, Camille watched their faces as understanding dawned. Not

She had expected triumph in this moment, had nurtured this fantasy through sleepless nights. But the hollow feeling in her chest

interrupted. Three people entered, led by

"Mr. Rodriguez,"

formal notification of loan acquisition and immediate demand

dollars," Rebecca continued. "Payment is required within 72 hours

than double our current valuation," Wagner whispered, the

your family estate mortgage,

right to call that

estate. Five generations of Rodriguez history. The final

raw and desperate. "Why is Kane Industries

your request." Rebecca removed an envelope, "She

something in his memory. The paper

descended. The board members looked to Stefan with devastation

is

prepare separation packages.

caught. "It has been an honor working with each

you."

Rodrig Camille watched him on her screen, her heart thundering against her ribs. This was the moment she'd planned so meticulously. The message that would begin to unravel

can't be measured in dollars

can't be repaid with anything

you took that

to dread, a cold sweat breaking across his forehead. Not a business communication. A personal