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."

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

said. "Board meeting minutes. Financial

Alexander agreed. "And he'll use a proxy to

reaches the five percent threshold that requires public

face him, her mind racing

need to

we

on his phone. "I'll

shell companies

And have them

patterns in Kane Industries stock. He may

imminent." Victoria returned to her

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

he'll discover just

"There's another

"Which is?"

found them, Herod will assume we're

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Chapter 105

met hers. "Which

plan

considered this. "A

"Possibly. The Grid-

purchases. What if neither is his primary goal?"

office, pouring two cups. "Herod

man who always has multiple strategies

the coffee he offered, warming her hands

sacrificing pieces to

sip of his coffee. "We need to ask ourselves:

most? Not just financially, but

say it aloud. There was only one thing

Alexander asked quietly, seeming to read her

"About the stock purchases?"

has enough to worry about

her too. Alexander's voice remained

heard the

deepened. He was no longer just an ally but

tell her,"

engineering team finishes correcting the Grid

apparently

compromise. "In the meantime, I have

"I'm listening."

about

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

false flag operation. Force him to react

And when he reacts, we may learn more about

morning, Victoria

loosen slightly. This was familiar territory,

draft a press release," she decided.

a significant upcoming

announcement. No specifics, just

blogs speculate."

my publicist do the

at cooperation between

and Kane Industries on a 'revolutionary new

noted. "Costing Herod more if he continues buying

possibly forcing him to accelerate his plans, whatever

cup and moved

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

Victoria rarely mentioned Sophia directly,

Alexander watched her, his

one more thing we should

an eyebrow.

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

racing through her mind.

find Herod. Herod found

worth considering," Alexander said. "What if Rose wasn't the architect of this

tool Herod discovered? Someone with personal motivation

direction and set

tightened. If Alexander was right, they had

wasn't the snake they needed to

for a much

need to-" Victoria began, but was interrupted by

listening intently as her security chief

face had