Chapter 100

Victoria's hands shook as she poured herself a drink in her office. The setting sun cast long shadows across the room. Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, New York City sparkled, unaware of the storm brewing among its towering buildings.

"Herod Preston," Victoria whispered the name like a curse, staring into her glass. "After all these years..."

Camille had never seen Victoria like this, unsteady, shaken to her core. Since Alexander had revealed Rose's partner at the groundbreaking, Victoria had barely spoken, rushing them back to Kane Industries headquarters with security doubled.

"You need to tell me everything," Camille said. "Who is he? What does he want?"

Victoria drained her glass in one swallow. "Herod Preston is the younger brother of Charles Preston. The man who was engaged to my daughter Sophia before her death."

She set her glass down with a sharp click.

"Charles Preston's family owned Preston Shipping, once a rival to Kane Industries. They were old money,very powerful. They didn't approve of Charles marrying Sophia. When they couldn't break the engagement,they arranged her car accident."

Alexander stood by the window, listening silently.

"You told me this before," Camille said softly. "You took revenge on them. Destroyed their company."

Victoria's laugh held no humor. "I did more than that. I made sure every Preston lost everything. Charles committed suicide six months after Sophia's death. Their father drank himself to death a year later." She paused. "But Herod... he was just nineteen when it happened. Away at college. I didn't pay much attention to him."

"But he blames you for what happened to his family," Alexander said.

Victoria nodded. "Apparently. I heard he dropped out after his father died. Disappeared. I assumed he'd gone abroad, living on whatever scraps the family had hidden away."

"Alexander, what did your sources find?" Camille asked.

Alexander crossed the room, pulling upfiles on his tablet. "Herod Preston has been operating under various aliases for the past decade. He built a fortune in Asia, property development, mostly. Very successful.Very quiet. He returned to the States two years ago and has been buying up companies through shell corporations."

"How did he find Rose?" Camille asked.

"More likely she found him," Victoria said. "Rose has always had a talent for sniffing out useful allies.And someone hungry for revenge against me would be irresistible to her."

Camille rose from her chair. "So this isn't just about me anymore. Rose brought Herod into this because he wants to hurt you. By targeting the Phoenix Grid, he strikes at both of us."

Victoria's eyes met Camille's. "Yes. And Camille, I'm sorry. I've put you in danger. Again."

The raw pain in Victoria's voice stripped away years of her carefully constructed armor. In that moment, she wasn't the powerful CEO, the vengeful mother, the calculating mentor. She was simply a woman frightened of losing another daughter.

Camille crossed the room and knelt beside Victoria's chair, taking her cold hands. "No. Don't you dare blame yourself. Rose is my fight. She's been my fight since she tried to kill me."

"But Herod..."

"Herod made his choice when he partnered with Rose. When he targeted the Phoenix Grid." Camille squeezed Victoria's hands. "We've faced enemies before. We'll face this one too."

Victoria shook her head. "You don't understand. The Prestons were different. Charles was... unstable.Brilliant but unhinged. Herod was always the same, quieter, more calculating. If he's spent ten years planning this..."

"Then we'll spend however long it takes stopping him," Camille finished firmly. She stood up. "I won't let you fight him alone."

Victoria looked up, surprise flashing across her face.

"From the moment you found me in that parking garage, you've fought for mne,"Camille continued."You reshaped me. Gave me purpose. A new life. Everything I am now, I owe to you."

"Camille..."

"No, let me finish." Camille's voice grew stronger. "You taught me to never show weakness. To always strike first. To use every resource at my disposal." She placed her hand over Victoria's. "Well, now I'm using the most valuable resource I have, you. We fight together. We win together."

Alexander stepped closer. "She's right, Victoria. Divided, Herod and Rose can pick us off one by one.Together, they don't stand a chance."

Victoria's eyes moved between them, something shifting in her expression. Slowly, the familiar steel returned to her gaze.

"Together," she repeated, as if testing the word."It's been a long time since I trusted anyone enough to fight alongside them."

"Then it's about time you started," Camille said.

Victoria stood, smoothing her suit jacket. "They'll expect us to be defensive now. To focus on protecting the Grid. Especially after the groundbreaking."

Alexander nodded. "Which means we need to be offensive instead."

"Exactly." Victoria moved to her desk, pressing the intercom. "Sarah, get me the files on all Preston family holdings from ten years ago. And schedule a meeting with the legal team for seven AM tomorrow."

She released the button and turned back to Camille and Alexander. "If Herod's been operating under aliases,there must be a paper trail somewhere. We find his assets, we find his weaknesses."

"I have my team working through the night," Alexander said.

Camille watched them shift into strategic mode, but her mind was elsewhere.... on Rose. Rose, who had manipulated everyone since childhood. Rose, who wouldn't stop until she had destroyed everything Camille loved.

"What are you thinking?" Victoria asked.

"Rose won't be satisfied with just damaging the Grid," Camille said slowly."She wants me to suffer. To watch everything I care about burn."

She turned to face them both.

"Which means she'll target the people I love too."

Victoria's eyes widened slightly."You think she'll go after Alexander? Or me?"

"Eventually. Yes." Camille's throat tightened. "Rose has always wanted what I have. She took Stefan. She tried to take my family, my reputation, my status. Now she'll want to take..."

Alexander crossed the room in three quick strides, taking her face in his hands. "Let her try."

His touch anchored her, pushing back the wave of fear threatening to drown her. In his eyes, she saw not just affection but fierce determination.

"I'm not Stefan," he said quietly. "I won't be manipulated. I won't be turned. And I'm a lot harder to get rid of than she thinks."

Victoria watched them, then opened her desk drawer and removed something small and silver. She held it out to Camille, a pin in the shape of a knight chess piece.

"I was going to give you this after the Grid went online," Victoria said."The knight, the piece that moves differently than all the others. The piece that can leap over obstacles. The piece that's most dangerous when it's underestimated."

Camille took the pin, feeling its weight in her palm.

"Now I think you need it sooner," Victoria continued. "To remind you that sometimes the best move isn't the obvious one."

"Thank you," Camille said, pinning it beside her phoenix emblem.

Victoria straightened. "We'll need to move quickly. I want twenty-four-hour security on all of us. Full background checks on everyone working on the Grid project."

"Done," Alexander said.

"And Rose?" Camille asked.

Victoria's mouth tightened. "We need to draw her out. Force her to show her hand."

"How?"

"By giving her something she can't resist." Victoria rubbed her temples."What does Rose want more than anything?"

"Todestroy me," Camille said. "To take everything I have."

"Exactly. And right now, what's most important to you?"

"The Phoenix Grid." Camille understood immediately."We make her think we've discovered a flaw in the system. Something that could delay the launch."

Alexander nodded. "A carefully leaked internal memo suggesting security concerns. Technical problems that need addressing."

"Rose will think her sabotage was discovered," Camille continued,"buut not completely understood. She'll want to know exactly what we found, and what we missed."

"And Herod will want to adjust his timeline," Victoria added. "They'll need to communicate, to coordinate."

"Which gives us a chance to track them,"Alexander finished.

Alexander's expression remained troubled. "What about your relationship? The press is already speculating after the groundbreaking ceremony."

Victoria studied them both. "You're not ready to go public."

"No. Not yet. Not like this." Camille exchanged a glance with Alexander."What we have is too new, too personal to use as a strategic move."

"We don't want Rose targeting it specifically," Alexander added. "Better to keep it private, protected."

Victoria nodded. "I understand. Some weapons are best kept sheathed until the perfect moment. We'll find another way to draw them out."

Camille felt relief wash through her. What was growing between her and Alexander felt precious, fragile despite its strength.

"Thank you," she said softly.

Victoria's gaze sharpened. "Don't thank me yet. This fight is just beginning, and it will get much worse before it ends. Herod Preston spent a decade rebuilding from nothing. That kind of patience, that level of determination..." She shook her head. "He won't be easily defeated."

"Neither will we," Camille said firmly.

Victoria smiled then, a real smile that transformed her face. "No. We won't."

She turned to Alexander. "Have your team leak that internal memo first thing tomorrow. Make it seem accidental, an email sent to the wrong distribution list, perhaps."

"Consider it done."

Victoria moved toward the door. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to make some calls."

At the doorway, she paused, looking back at Camille. "Camille... thank you. For saying you won't let me fight alone. It's been a very long time since anyone stood with me."

Before Camille could respond, Victoria was gone.

Alexander took Camille's hand. "Are you alright?"

"NO,"she admitted. "I'm scared. Not for myself, but for her. For you."

"Hey," Alexander said gently, pulling her closer. "Remember what you told Victoria? Together. We fight together."

"Besides," he added, a hint of steelentering his voice, "Rose may think she knows you. But she has no idea who I am. What I'm capable of."

Camille caught a glimpse of something hard and dangerous beneath his usual controlled exterior.

"You've been fighting for me from the shadows all this time," she said softly. "Now we fight side by side."

"Side by side," he agreed. "No more operating separately. No more secrets between us."

His phone buzzed. He frowned at the screen.team found something. Herod has been moving large sums to offshore accounts. Recently."

"What does it mean?"

"It means he's preparing for something big." Alexander's eyes met hers."Camille, whatever's coming... it's coming soon,"

She touched the knight pinat her lapel."Then we'll be ready."

But even as she spoke the words, a whisper of doubt curled through her mind. Rose had alway/s been one step ahead. And now, with Herod Preston beside her, with resources and hatred fueling them both...