Victoria Kane sat alone in her office, the glow from herputer 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,pany


    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 mmed 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 inte 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, impable 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 herputer 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 shellpanies. Clever. Staying under the radar."


    "Clever?" Victoria''s voice sharpened. "He''s infiltrating mypany, Alexander."


    "How much has he acquired?"


    "Just


    over five percent, ording 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


    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 thepany."


    "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 nning for something beyond the Grid sabotage."


    Victoria moved to the window, watching the citye to life below. She knew Alexander was right. This wasn''t just about emotion, it was about chess moves, strategy, seeing ten steps ahead.


    "He wants inside


    information," she said. "Board meeting minutes. Financial projections. ess to shareholdermunications."


    "Exactly," Alexander agreed. "And he''ll use a proxy to request that


    information once he reaches the five percent threshold that requires public disclosure."


    Victoria turned back to face him, her mind racing through


    scenarios. "We need to identify


    his proxy before they make a move. And we need to know how much stock he actually owns."


    Alexander was already typing on his phone. "I''ll have my team dig


    deeper. There may be other shellpanies we haven''t traced yet."


    "Good. And have them check recent


    trading patterns in Kane Industries stock. He may be elerating his purchases now that the


    Gridunch is imminent." Victoria returned to her desk, her


    momentary loss of control now reced with cold calction. "If Herod thinks he


    can use mypany against me, he''ll discover just how wrong he is."


    Alexander pocketed his phone. "There''s another angle we should consider."


    "Which is?"


    "If his stock purchases are discovered-and they will be, because we''ve found them, Herod will assume we''re focused on protecting thepany from takeover."


    Alexander''s eyes met hers. "Which may distract us from whatever


    his actual n might be."


    Victoria considered this. "A diversion."


    "Possibly. The Grid-


    sabotage. The stock purchases. What if neither is his primary goal?" Alexander crossed to the


    coffeemaker in the corner of Victoria''s office, pouring two cups. "Herod strikes me


    as a man who always has multiple strategies in y."


    Victoria epted the coffee he offered, warming her hands around


    the cup. “Like a chess master sacrificing pieces to disguise his true objective."


    "Exactly." Alexander took a sip of his coffee. "We need to ask ourselves: what


    would hurt you the most? Not just financially, but personally?"


    The question hung in the air between them. Victoria knew the answer immediately, though she would never say it aloud. There was only one thing left in this world that could truly destroy her. Camille.


    "Have you told her?" Alexander asked quietly, seeming to read her thoughts.


    "About the stock purchases?"


    Victoria shook her head. "She has enough to worry about with the Gridunch."


    "She should know. This affects her too. Alexander''s voice remained steady, but Victoria


    heard the


    underlying steel. His rtionship with Camille had shifted, deepened. He was no longer just an ally but a protector.


    "I''ll tell her," Victoria agreed, though


    reluctantly. "After the shadow engineering team finishes correcting the Grid sabotage."


    Alexander nodded, apparently satisfied with


    thatpromise. "In the meantime, I have a suggestion."


    "I''m listening."


    "Let''s leak information about a major announcementing


    from Kane Industries. Something vague but significant sounding." A slight smile touched Alexander''s mouth. "Make Herod think we''re nning a move he hasn''t anticipated."


    Victoria considered the suggestion. "A false g operation. Force him to react rather than continue his current strategy."


    "Exactly. And when he reacts, we may learn more about his true objectives."


    For the first time that morning, Victoria felt the tight knot in her


    chest loosen slightly. This was familiar territory, strategic maneuvering, creating traps for her enemies.


    “Have Sarah draft a press release," she decided. "Something about


    a significant uing


    partnership announcement. No specifics, just enough to make the business


    blogs specte."


    Alexander nodded. "I''ll have my publicist do the same. Hint


    at cooperation between


    Pierce Enterprises and Kane Industries on a ''revolutionary new venture."


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


    "And possibly forcing him to elerate his ns, whatever they might be."


    Victoria set down her coffee cup and moved back to herputer, closing the


    financial files with decisive clicks. "Let hime. Whatever Herod Preston is nning, he''ll find I''m not the easy target his brother thought Sophia was."


    The room fell silent. Victoria rarely mentioned Sophia directly, even


    now. Alexander watched her, his expression carefully neutral.


    "There''s one more thing we should consider," he said finally.


    Victoria raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"


    "The timing." Alexander leaned against her desk. "Herod''s stock purchases began six months ago, long before the Grid sabotage. Before Rose found him."


    Victoria went still, the implications racing through her mind. "You think Rose


    didn''t find Herod. Herod found Rose."


    "It''s worth considering," Alexander said. "What if Rose wasn''t the architect of this n, but merely


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


    right direction and set loose?"


    Victoria''s chest tightened. If Alexander was right, they had potentially


    misunderstood the entire situation. Rose wasn''t the snake they needed to worry about, she was merely the venom


    delivery system for a much more dangerous predator.


    "We need to-" Victoria began, but was interrupted by her phone''s sharp ring.


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


    ended, her face had gone pale.


    "What is it?" Alexander asked, instantly alert.


    "The shadow engineering team discovered a secondaryyer of sabotage in the Grid system. More sophisticated than the


    first." Victoria''s voice was tight. "And some of theponents were installed


    by someone with high-level security clearance. Not Walsh."


    Alexander straightened. "Someone else on the inside."


    "Yes. Martin Greene most likely. My head of special projects." Victoria''s hand clenched around her phone. "He''s worked for me for fifteen years."


    "Since Sophia died," Alexander said quietly.


    Victoria nodded, the betrayal cutting deeper than she would admit. "Have him


    followed. Discreetly. But don''t move against him yet. If Greene is working with


    Herod, he may lead us to him."


    Alexander nodded. "And Camille?"


    "Double her security detail immediately. Don''t tell her why." Victoria moved


    toward the door, her mind shifting to crisis mode. "I want the entire shadow engineering team moved to the secure facility in White


    ins. Today. No contact


    with anyone outside the team until the Grid corrections areplete."


    "And the stock purchases?" Alexander asked, following her.


    Victoria paused at the door, her face hardening into the expression that had made titans of industry quake for decades. "Let Herod buy whatever he


    wants. It won''t matter when this is over."


    "Victoria," Alexander said, his voice low. "Don''t let this be personal."


    She turned, fixing him


    with a gaze that could have frozen fire. "This has been personal since the moment Charles Preston arranged my daughter''s death. Herod


    chose to continue his brother''s war."


    "And Rose?"


    "A useful pawn. Nothing more." Victoria''s voice was cold. "We deal with Herod first. Rose is an afterthought."


    Alexander didn''t look convinced. "Don''t underestimate her. That kind of hatred..."


    "I know exactly how dangerous


    hatred can be, Alexander." Victoria cut him off. "I''ve spent a decade


    perfecting mine."


    She


    squared her shoulders, the momentary vulnerability gone, reced by the steely determination that


    had built her empire.


    "Alert the board members I want an emergency meeting at noon.


    Prepare the press release about our supposed partnership


    announcement.'' And get Camille additional


    protection without rming her." Victoria''s tone


    made it clear these weren''t requests. "Herod Preston thinks he''s hunting me. He''s about to discover he''s the


    prey, not the predator."


    As she strode from the office, Alexander remained behind for a


    moment, troubled by what he''d seen. Theposed, calcting Victoria Kane he


    knew had briefly vanished, reced by


    something rawer, more dangerous. A woman consumed by a decade-old


    vendetta.


    He pulled out his phone and/sent a quick text to Camille: *Need to talk. Soon. Something''s happening with Victoria.*


    Then he followed Victoria from the office, wondering if they were all being


    maneuvered into exactly the positions Herod Preston wanted them


    in. Like pieces on a chess board, thinking they were making their own moves while actually following


    the pattern a master yer had designed for them.


    And if they were, Alexander


    wasn''t sure any of them would recognize the trap until it was toote.