A knock sounded on Ste''s office door, and Aicken entered to report, "Ms. Cameron, there''s a gentleman outside who wishes to see you. He ims to be your great-uncle."
Her great-uncle?
Ste remembered Skyler summoning the Cameron family to The Williams Group
on her first day. She recalled her great-uncle''s name was Aherne Cameron, and he
had brought a cousin with him, Hugo Cameron.
Since that meeting, Ste had had no contact with the Camerons. His sudden appearance was certainly intriguing.
"Please, send him in," Ste said.
A momentter, Aherne walked in, his face wreathed in smiles.
"Ste, it''s been too long. Have you been busy?"
"I just wrapped up a project, so things have calmed down a bit." Ste invited Aherne to sit and poured him a ss of water. "Uncle Aherne, is there something specific you came to see me about?"
Aherne''s voice was warm. "Ste, you''ve been in Solmaris for a while now, but you haven''t had a chance to meet your grandfather and grandmother, have you? I saw how busy you were before, so I didn''t want to bring it up. But it''s been some time, and I figured your schedule might have cleared up. It''s about time you went to see them. Why don''t you see when you''re free to visit the old folks?"
Ste fell silent.
If Aherne hade for any other reason, she might have found an excuse to refuse. But she couldn''t very well decline an invitation to see her own grandparents. After all, she had been in Solmaris for a long time and had never once visited the Cameron family. It was a visit she would have to make sooner orter.
With that in mind, Ste replied, "I''ll visit them this weekend."
Aherne looked thrilled. "Excellent! I''ll go back and prepare a family dinner. Your uncles, Israel and Coleman, will be overjoyed to see you."
They exchanged a few more pleasantries before Aherne took his leave.
Not long after Aherne departed, Joshua arrived.
"What was Aherne doing here?" Joshua asked.
"He invited me to the Cameron estate to visit my grandparents. I figured I had to go
at some point, so I agreed," Ste exined.
"That''s probably for the best," Joshua said. "We''ll see what kind of game they''re trying to y."
Ste looked at him. "You think the Camerons are up to something?"
"When someone shows up out of the blue being that friendly, they''re either after something or setting a trap" Joshua''s dark eyes were deep. with thought. "They''ve had plenty of time to dig their pit. It''s about time for them to make a move.
Ste lowered her gaze, thinking for a moment, and then a thought struck her.
"Joshua, do you think... someone might be pulling the strings behind the scenes?" "Yes," Joshua said without hesitation. "And there''s a high probability it''s Sellers." Ste looked at him, surprised. "Sellers?"
"Jonathan and his brothers barely visit the Cameron estate once a year; they''re clearly not on good terms with them," Joshua exined. "Back in the day, your mother, Nora, single-handedly stabilized The Williams Group. When Skyler returned, he may have sidelined her, but she retained control of thepany''s most crucial founder''s shares. Do you really think the Camerons wouldn''t want a piece of that pie? After your mother fled with you, the Camerons demanded the shares from the Williams family and were tly refused. Over the years, they''ve repeatedly tried to win over Jonathan and his brothers, attempting to drive a wedge
between them and Skyler, but they
always failed. Given that they''re
family, Skyler never went so far as to
crush them, so the Camerons haven''t been able to stir up much trouble. Without any leverage, they had to lie low.
"But things are different now. Not only have you returned, but you control those valuable shares. The Camerons will do whatever it takes to get you on their side."
Joshua looked at her intently.
"Aurora may have joined The
Williams Group, but her position is
precarious. If she wants to achieve
herambitions, she can''t y by the conventional rules."