SCORNED EX WIFE Queen Of Ashes (Camille and Stefan)

Chapter 105

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."

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

"He wants inside

minutes. Financial projections.

use a proxy to

reaches the five percent threshold

to face him, her mind racing

"We need

And we need to know how much stock he actually

was already typing on his phone. "I'll have

other shell

have them check

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

Victoria returned to her desk,

replaced with cold calculation. "If

against me, he'll discover just

his phone. "There's

"Which is?"

because we've found them, Herod will

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Chapter 105

eyes met hers. "Which

actual plan might

this. "A

"Possibly. The Grid-

What if neither is his primary goal?"

in the corner of Victoria's office, pouring two

a man who always has multiple strategies in

he

chess master sacrificing pieces to

Alexander took a sip of his coffee.

the most?

though she would never say it aloud.

asked quietly, seeming

"About the stock purchases?"

has enough to worry about with

too. Alexander's voice remained steady, but

heard the

shifted, deepened. He was no longer

tell her," Victoria agreed,

engineering team finishes correcting the

apparently satisfied

"In the meantime, I have

"I'm listening."

about

slight smile touched Alexander's mouth. "Make Herod think we're planning a move he

false flag operation. Force him to react rather than continue

reacts, we may

Victoria felt the tight knot in

This was familiar territory,

Sarah draft a press release,"

a significant upcoming

just enough to

blogs speculate."

have my publicist

at cooperation between

Kane Industries on

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

to accelerate his plans, whatever they

coffee cup and moved back

is planning, he'll find I'm

room fell silent. Victoria

her, his expression carefully

we should

an eyebrow.

began six months ago,

racing through her mind. "You

Herod. Herod found

if Rose wasn't the architect of

tool Herod discovered? Someone with personal motivation to

and

If Alexander was

wasn't the snake they needed to worry

system for a much more dangerous

to-" Victoria began, but was interrupted by her phone's sharp

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

her face had gone

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