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 intercom buzzed. "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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Chapter 105

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 name connected to Kane Industries had 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."

window, watching the city come to life below. She knew Alexander was right. This wasn't just about emotion,

"He wants inside

minutes.

he'll use a proxy to request

the five percent threshold that

face

need to

a move. And we need to know how much stock he

was already typing on his phone. "I'll

may be other shell companies

have them check

stock. He may be accelerating

Victoria returned

loss of control now replaced with

he'll discover just how

phone. "There's another angle we

"Which is?"

purchases are discovered-and they will be, because we've found them, Herod will

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Chapter 105

met hers. "Which

actual plan might

this.

"Possibly. The Grid-

neither is

of Victoria's office, pouring two cups. "Herod strikes

man who always has

accepted the coffee he offered, warming

sacrificing

a sip of his coffee. "We need

hurt you the most? Not just financially, but

though she would never say it aloud. There was only one thing left in this world that could

told her?" Alexander asked quietly, seeming

"About the stock purchases?"

head. "She has enough

This affects her too.

heard the

relationship with Camille had shifted, deepened. He was

her,"

engineering team

apparently satisfied

compromise. "In the meantime,

"I'm listening."

information about a major announcement

sounding." A slight smile touched Alexander's mouth. "Make Herod think we're

suggestion. "A false flag operation. Force him to react rather

may learn more about

Victoria felt the tight knot in

familiar territory, strategic maneuvering, creating traps

press release," she decided. "Something

a significant upcoming

announcement. No specifics, just enough to make the

blogs speculate."

nodded. "I'll have my publicist

at cooperation between

Enterprises and Kane Industries on

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

him to accelerate his plans,

and moved back to her

come. Whatever Herod Preston is planning, he'll find I'm not the

fell silent. Victoria rarely mentioned Sophia

Alexander watched her, his expression

more thing we should consider,"

an

"Herod's stock purchases began six months ago, long before the Grid sabotage. Before Rose found

went still, the implications racing through her mind.

find Herod. Herod found

"What if Rose wasn't the architect of this

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

and

tightened. If Alexander was right,

wasn't the snake they needed to worry about, she was merely

system for a much more

began, but was interrupted

listening intently as her security chief spoke. When

her face