Camille''s point of view


    "They rejected our ofter,"


    Reba''s words hung in the air between us, impossible, unthinkable. The folder in her hands contained the formal response from Rodriguez Shipping, a single page declining our "generous proposal" with diplo "That''s not possible," I said, my voice too quiet even to my own ears. "They''re broke. Desperate. Days fromplete copse"


    Mr. Rodriguez was quite firm." Reba set the folder on my desk, her expression professionally neutral despite delivering news she knew would infuriate me. "Their lead negotiator said the family would rather Heat rose from my chest to my throat, a burning tide of rage I hadn''t felt since the night Stefan had handed me divorce papers on our anniversary. Since the night Rose had smirked at my pain while pretending concern. Since the night I''d walked away from the ruins of a life they''d systematically destroyed.


    "Pride," I spat the word like poison. "Always his weakness. His father''s too."


    I moved to the window, needing space to contain the fury threatening to crack my carefully constructedposure. Outside, spring rain fell on the Kane estate gardens, each drop hitting leaves and petals with


    Until now.


    "The financial team has updated projections." Reba''s voice remained steady, a reminder of the professional fa?ade I needed to maintain. "Rodriguez Shipping will default on their major loans tomorrow. Their "Then why reject our offer?" I turned back to face her, struggling to understand "Thirty cents was insulting, yes, but it would have given them operating capital. Time to reorganize. A chance to salvage something Reba consulted her tablet. "Our analysts suggest it may be a negotiating tactic. Rejecting our first offer to push for better terms."


    I shook my head, knowing Stefan better than any analyst ever could. "No. It''s principle. Family pride. The Rodriguez name."


    Three generations of shipping legacy. The grandfather who''d started with a single vessel during the Depression, The father who''d expanded globally during the shipping boom. And Stefan, who''d inherited it all Just as he''d taken me for granted.


    "What do they hope to gain?" I asked, more to


    myself than Reba. "They must know they can''t survive without selling something"


    “Our intelligence suggests they may be consolidating their Northwestern operations." Reba scrolled through her notes. "Moving liquid assets to their Seattle division before the banks seize everything else." A strategic retreat. Smart, actually, Salvaging the one piece of thepany structurally protected from the banks'' reach. The original


    hub where Rodriguez Shipping had began three generations ago.


    Starting over from nearly nothing


    My fingers curled into fists, nails digging half-


    masons intumy palms. This wasn''t how it was supposed to go. Stefan was supposed to surrenderpletely. Was supposed to experience the total loss of everything he valued. Was supposed to feel the helple


    "The banks move tomorrow?" I asked.


    Reba nodded. "First thing in the morning Our sources say they''ll foreclose on outstanding loans and seize all coteralized assets"


    "And the board meeting?"


    "Emergency session scheduled for nine AM. Likely to ept the chairman''s resignation and approve bankruptcy protection filing"


    I moved back to my desk, finger tapping against the polished mahogany as I thought. Stefan was slipping through my fingers. Finding a way to survive when he should


    be experiencingplete destruction. Holding onto a scrap of his family legacy when he should be losing everything.


    "Call Matthew Chen at First National," I instructed. "Tell han Kane Industries will purchase Rodriguez Shipping''s debt at eighty cents on the dor. All of it, the secured loans, the operating lines, the equipment le Reba''s eyes widened slightly, the only indication of her surprise at this unexpected move. "That''s over forty million dors in bad debt, Ms. Kane. The financial team hasn''t analyzed...."


    "I don''t care what it costs,"I cut her off, voice sharp with determination. "If Stefan won''t sell to us directly, we''ll own his debt instead. Every dor he owes, every asset securing those loans, every piece of paper She made quick notes on her tablet. "And after we acquire the debt?"


    "We call it immediately. All of it. No extensions, no refinancing, no mercy." My voice sounded foreign to my own ears, cold and hard in a way I barely recognized. "If he wants to save his precious Seattle operatio Reba nodded, professional mask firmly in ce despite what must have seemed like irrational business decisions. Spending forty million to acquire bad debt made no financial sense, But this wasn''t about fi was about justice. About making Stefan feel theplete helplessness I''d experienced when he''d discarded me like yesterday''s trash.


    "There''s one more thing," I added. "The Rodriguez family estate. The banks don''t hold that mortgage, Sterling Trust does. I want it too."


    This time Reba couldn''tpletely hide her shock. "The family home? Ms. Kane, that''s not a business asset. That''s their private residence."


    "I know exactly what it is." Three years I''d lived in that mansion as Stefan''s wife. Three years of trying to please his family, of attempting to belong in spaces where I was merely tolerated. Three years of memori "May Task why


    The estate has no strategic value to Kane Industries."


    The question deserved a business answer, a rational exnation. Something that would make sense in tomorrow''s executive briefing when Victoria questioned this decision


    Instead, I gave the truth. "Because it will hurt him more than losing thepany. Because the Rodriguez estate


    represents five generations of family history. Because it''s the one thing Stefan believes can never be taken from him


    Understanding dawned in Reba''s eyes, not judgment, not concern, just recognition of the personal motivation. driving these business decisions Victoria had trained her well to ept without questioning. "I''ll make the calls immediately," she said, moving toward the door.


    Once Reba had gone, I moved to the hidden wall safe bnd my office artwork. Inside, nestled beside


    the diamond ne Alexander had given the,y a small photo album, one of the few possessions I''d kept from my lite as Camille Lewis. I removed it carefully, opening to thest pages.


    My wedding to Stefan. Me in an ivory gown his mother had selected because "white would wash out yourplexion, dear." Him handsome in his tuxedo, the smile that had once seemed genuine now revealed


    Rose stood beside me in the photos, maid of honor in a dress carefully chosen to outshine the bride. Her arm around my waist, her smile perfect, her eyes already calcting how to take what wasn''t hers. I mmed the album shut, returning it to the safe


    before the memories could weaken my resolve. This wasn''t about pain anymore, wasn''t about heartbreak or betrayal. This was about justice. About consequences for actions carelessly taken. About making Ste anniversary.


    My phone buzzed with a text from Victoria: Heard about the Rodriguez rejection. Your next steps?


    *


    I replied quickly. Acquiring all debt through bank purchases. Foreclosing immediately. Taking the family estate


    as well.


    Her response came instantly, approval evident even in text form: *Excellent. Total control rather than partial acquisition. More thorough destruction.


    I set the phone down, strangely unsettled


    by her enthusiasm. Once, her approval had been everything I sought. Her strategic guidance the foundation of my reborn existence. Her careful mentoring the framework for my transformation from victim to ave But recently, something had shifted. Some small, persistent voice questioning whether Victoria''s vision of justice throughplete destruction was truly what I wanted. Whether bing as cold and calcting Alexander''s words floated back to me: "The phoenix rises not just from ashes, but toward something greater."


    I pushed the thought away. Now wasn''t the time for doubt. For questioning the path I''d followed for sixteen months. Stefan had rejected the lifeline I''d offered, insulting though it had been. Had chosen family pri My phone buzzed again, Alexander, not epting my assistant''s message as final.


    *The phoenix makes her choice. Today revenge, perhaps tomorrow something more. When you''re ready to discuss possibilities beyond Victoria''s script, I''ll be waiting message,


    I started to delete the then stopped, rereading his words. How did he always seem to know my thoughts? To understand the conflict beneath my carefully maintained exterior?


    More importantly, how did he know about Victoria''s "Script? About her careful orchestration of my revenge? About the


    n we''d developed together over sixteen months of meticulous preparation?


    The questions added to my unease, to the growing sense that Alexander Pierce knew far more


    about me than should be possible. That he somehow saw beyond the surgical alterations and behavioral training to the woman beneath.


    To the woman I sometimes feared no longer existed.


    Tomorrow would bring the next phase of Stefan''s destruction. The irrevocable foreclosure on his family''s shipping empire. The beginning of the end for the Rodriguek legacy.


    But somewhere beneath my fury at his rejection, beneath my determination to make him suffer as I had suffered, a small voice whispered ufortable questions.


    What happens after revenge isplete? Who will you be when hatred no longer defines your purpose? What rises from ashes when the fire finally burns out? Questions I pushed aside, focusing instead on the justice


    tomorrow would bring. On the satisfaction of watching Stefan finally understand what it meant to lose everything that mattered.


    On the moment when he would finally pay the debt he owed for destroying Camille Lewis without a second thought.