SCORNED EX WIFE Queen Of Ashes (Camille and Stefan)

Chapter 196

Chapter 196

The morning of September 15th arrived gray and cold, matching the heaviness in Alexander's chest as he stood at his office window. Fifteen years. Fifteen years since Meridian Technologies collapsed. Fifteen years since his uncle Richard Pierce had tied a rope around his neck rather than face another day of Victoria Kane's systematic destruction.

Alexander's phone buzzed on his desk, but he ignored it. Today wasn't a day for business calls or meetings. Today was a day for remembering. For honoring the dead. For making good on promises whispered in graveyards.

The secure phone in his jacket pocket vibrated against his ribs. A message from "Guardian": *System breach complete. Phoenix Grid servers compromised. Anniversary gift delivered.*

Alexander closed his eyes, feeling the weight of the moment. Somewhere across the city, Kane Industries was about to discover that their precious Phoenix Grid had been sabotaged. On the exact anniversary of Richard Pierce's death, Victoria's crown jewel would suffer the kind of unexplained failure that would send shock waves through the company.

Justice, served cold after fifteen years.

** **

At Kane Industries headquarters, chaos erupted across multiple floors simultaneously. Computer screens flickered and died. Emergency lights flashed red warnings. In the Phoenix Grid control room, Hannah Zhao stared in horror as system after system showed critical failures.

"What's happening?" Camille burst through the control room doors, her face pale with panic.

"Complete server outage," Hannah reported, her fingers flying across backup keyboards. "Primary systems, secondary backups, even the tertiary safeguards. Everything's down."

Camille's phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID- power company officials from Chicago, Detroit, and Philadelphia. The three cities where Phoenix Grid expansion was scheduled to begin next month.

"Ma'am," came a voice from across the control room. "We're getting reports of power fluctuations in all three expansion cities. Grid coordination is failing without our central systems."

Camille's hand shook as she answered the phone. "This is Camille Pierce. Yes, we're aware of the situation. No, I can't give you a timeline for restoration yet."

The calls kept coming. Angry municipal officials. Worried investors. News reporters who had somehow already learned about the outage. Each conversation was a nail in Kane Industries' coffin, each question a reminder of how much was at stake.

Victoria Kane arrived forty-five minutes after the crisis began, her silver hair perfectly styled despite the early hour. She moved through the control room like a general surveying a battlefield, her pale eyes taking in every detail.

"Status report," she commanded.

"Complete system failure starting at 6:47 AM," Hannah replied. "No obvious cause. No malware detected. The servers just... died."

"All of them? Simultaneously?"

"Yes, ma'am. It's unprecedented."

Victoria's jaw tightened almost imperceptibly. "And the backup systems?"

"Failed at exactly the same time. Someone would need incredibly sophisticated knowledge of our infrastructure to coordinate this kind of attack."

"How long until full restoration?"

Hannah hesitated. "At least twelve hours. Maybe eighteen. We're essentially rebuilding everything from scratch."

Victoria nodded once, absorbing the information with the calm of someone who had weathered countless storms. But Camille saw the tension in her shoulders, the slight tremor in her hands that betrayed inner turmoil.

"I want a complete investigation," Victoria announced. "Every access log. Every employee with sufficient clearance. Every contractor who's worked on these systems."

She turned to Camille. "Call an emergency board meeting for this afternoon. And prepare a press statement. We need to control the narrative before it controls us."

As Victoria moved toward the door, she paused. "And find out what today's date significance might be. Someone chose September 15th for a reason."

** ***

In her private office, Victoria sat alone with her laptop, diving deep into Kane Industries' corporate history. September 15th. The date nagged at her, familiar but not immediately identifiable.

She pulled up archived files from the company's earlier years, scanning through acquisition records, press releases, financial reports. There, a folder marked "Meridian Technologies Final Closure - September 15th."

anniversary of Meridian's collapse. The exact date

Someone remembered. Someone was sending her a very specific

typing in "Richard Pierce family

Alexander Pierce, age 16, currently

had been living in her home, attending her board meetings,

Richard Pierce's nephew.

through months of interactions with Alexander. Had she seen resemblance? Had there been signs? How had she missed something so fundamental about

secure phone, dialing Jason Chen's direct

transcripts, business dealings, personal relationships. I want to

he's been thoroughly vetted. When he married

it again. Deeper this time. And Jason? Priority one.

in her chair, staring at the city skyline beyond her windows. If Alexander Pierce was behind this attacks,

personal.

*** **

the headstones. The same cemetery where he had made his promises. The same grave

the anniversary. Victoria Kane felt

fresh

grave, replacing the withered

ет

of the anger. But I can't. Not when she's still out there, still powerful,

day dealing with the server crisis. Will

his wife worked desperately to fix

headstone. "I

her now. And I'm

of wind through old trees. Alexander

don't know how this ends," he admitted. "I don't know if I can stop.

if

I want to stop."

Kane's name flashed on

blood turned to ice. He let it ring once, twice, before answering

carefully controlled composure.

"Victoria. Is everything alright?"

Her voice was sharp, cutting. "My office.

this about the

quickly can you

dirt from his knees. "Twenty

"I'll be waiting."

to change forever. Victoria

down at his uncle's grave one last time. "I think she knows,

I think the

** ***

a trap when Alexander entered. She sat behind her massive desk,

open before her.

sun cast long

making her pale eyes appear almost

commanded, not looking

her, his heart

business negotiations had taught him to project calm,

not meeting his

looked up suddenly, pinning him with her stare. "Tell

Pierce."

his expression to remain neutral, forced his voice to stay steady. "I'm not sure what you mean." "Richard Pierce. Founder of Meridian Technologies. Committed suicide fifteen years ago today." Victoria's

through possible responses, calculating risks, weighing options. Denial would only work if she had no proof. Partial truth might satisfy

Alexander said