Chapter 60

Morning sunlight cut through Rodriguez Shipping headquarters, harsh and unforgiving. The building felt like a tomb, employees moving like ghosts, their futures evaporating with each passing hour. Stefan stood at his window, throat constricting as he watched the harbor. Last year, a dozen ships bearing his family name had dotted these waters. Now only two remained, forlorn specks against the vast blue that once was his birthright.

The grandfather clock, a family heirloom,ticked mercilessly in the silence. Each sound a heartbeat closer to the end.

Two floors below,Camille Kane sat watching security feeds, her pulse quickening as she found him. Stefan,standing alone, shoulders unnaturally straight despite everything crumbling around him. That damned Rodriguez pride. Her jaw clenched, fingernails digging into her palms as bitterness flooded her veins.

His phone lit up: Eduardo Rodriguez calling again.Four desperate calls already this morning. Overnight,the family estate's mortgage had been sold. Seattle accounts mysteriously frozen. Last-minute financing arrangements collapsed without explanation.

A cold smile spread across Camille's face, savage satisfaction coursing through her. No escape routes.No last-minute rescues. Just methodical, absolute destruction.

Maria appeared in Stefan's doorway, eyes swollen and red-rimmed. Fifteen years of loyalty, about to end in unemployment.

"Mr. Chen from First National Bank is asking to see you," she said, voice breaking. "He says it's urgent."

Stefan nodded. "Send him to the small conference room."

After she left, he straightened his tie with trembling fingers he couldn't quite control. What would his grandfather think? The man who started with one small cargo boat during America's darkest economic times-what would he say about the grandson who lost everything?

Matthew Chen's normally friendly face was now a mask of professional detachment. The handshake between them felt foreign, distant.

"I wanted to speak with you privately," Chen said,pity flickering in his eyes. "Before the official notifications."

Stefan's laugh held only pain. "To soften the blow?

Let me save you the trouble. I know the banks are calling in the loans."

"It's worse." Chen's voice dropped. "The loans weren't foreclosed by banks. They were purchased outright.All of them. By Kane Industries."

The name hit Stefan like a physical blow, driving the air from his lungs. "That's impossible."

"They found a loophole in your financing agreements."Chen slid a document across the table. "As of this morning, every dollar Rodriguez Shipping owes is owned by Kane Industries."

Stefan stared at the elegant cursive signature swimming before his eyes. Not Victoria Kane's signature. Her daughter's. Camille Kane.

"The family estate?" he asked, voice barely audible.

"Also purchased. I'm sorry, Stefan. This isn't standard practice anymore. This is..." Chen hesitated, "personal."

In her hidden room, Camille leaned closer to the screen, pulse hammering in her ears as she watched color drain from Stefan's face. This was the moment she'd dreamed of for so long. The realization dawning that this wasn't just business failure but targeted destruction.

"Victoria Kane?" Stefan asked, confusion etched in the lines of his face. "Why would she target my family?"

Chen shook his head. "All I know is they said it was 'precisely the point' to be unnecessarily destructive."

After Chen left, Stefan sat alone, nausea rising in his throat. His phone buzzed again with his father's name.This time he answered.

"They've taken the house." Eduardo's voice cracked with anguish Stefan had never heard before. "Our home. Five generations. They want us out in thirty days."

"I know." Stefan closed his eyes, chest so tight he could barely breathe. "Kane Industries bought all our debt. Every penny."

"But why? Victoria Kane never showed interest in shipping."

"I don't know," Stefan whispered, "but this feels personal, not just business."

Two floors below,Camille watched Eduardo on screen -the once-powerful patriarch suddenly looking old and broken. Something unexpected twisted in her chest. Eduardo had always been kind to her during her marriage to Stefan. Had defended her when Stefan's mother made cutting remarks. Had treated her with respect his son never showed.She pushed the feeling away, anger rising to drown it out. Eduardo had raised the man who discarded her so easily. Had taught Stefan that Rodriguez men always got what they wanted, consequences be damned.

At five minutes to nine, Stefan entered the boardroom where the remaining executives waited, faces etched with fear, anger, and resignation.

"I won't waste time with false hope," Stefan began,voice steady despite the storm raging inside."Kane Industries has acquired all outstanding Rodriguez Shipping debt and intends to call in these loans immediately."

"That's not possible," Thomas Wagner protested,the oldest board member.

"Then we file for bankruptcy protection," Elena Vasquez suggested.

"They've blocked that avenue too." Stefan's voice remained clinically detached while his world disintegrated. "They've already filed injunctions preventing bankruptcy protection."

In her hidden room, Camille watched their faces as understanding dawned. Not just business failure-absolute destruction. She had expected triumph in this moment,had nurtured this fantasy through sleepless nights. But the hollow feeling in her chest refused to fill with the joy she'd anticipated.

A knock interrupted. Three people entered, led by Rebecca Porter, Camille's assistant.

"Mr. Rodriguez," Rebecca said coolly. "I'm here to deliver formal notification of loan acquisition and immediate demand for payment in full."

"The loans total $157 million dollars," Rebecca continued. "Payment is required within 72 hours or Kane Industries will begin asset liquidation."

"That's more than double our current valuation,"Wagner whispered, the color draining from his face.

"Additionally, as the new holder of your family estate mortgage, Kane Industries is exercising its right to call that loan as well."

The estate. Five generations of Rodriguez history. The final twist of the knife.

"Why?" The question escaped Stefan, raw and desperate. "Why is Kane Industries doing this? We're not competitors."

"Ms. Kane anticipated your request." Rebecca removed an envelope. "She asked me to deliver this personally. For your eyes only."

Stefan took the envelope, his name written in elegant handwriting that stirred something in his memory.The paper felt heavy, like a tombstone in his hands.

After the Kane representatives left, silence descended.The board members looked to Stefan with devastation in their eyes.

"This meeting is adjourned," Stefan said quietly."HR will prepare separation packages. Legal will handle the wind-down procedures." His voice caught.| has been an honor working with each of you."

One by one they filed out, some stopping to shake his hand, others too overwhelmed to manage more than a nod. When the last had gone, Stefan remained alone in the boardroom where generations of Rodriguez men had built an empire now reduced to ashes.

Camille watched him on her screen, her heart thundering against her ribs. This was the moment she'd planned so meticulously. The message that would begin to unravel the mystery for him. That would start him questioning who had destroyed him and why.

Stefan opened the envelope with trembling fingers,removing a single sheet of heavy cream paper. The message was brief:

*Some debts can't be measured in dollars and cents.

Some losses can't be repaid with anything but complete surrender.

Ask yourself what you took that was beyond price.*

Confusion gave way to dread, a cold sweat breaking across his forehead. Not a business communication.A personal one. This wasn't just acquisition. This was targeted revenge.

But for what? Against whom?

His phone buzzed with a news alert: "KANE INDUSTRIES ACQUIRES RODRIGUEZ SHIPPING ASSETS IN HOSTILE TAKEOVER."

The accompanying photo showed Camille Kane touring properties. Something about her profile,about the way she tilted her head slightly, sent an electric shock of recognition through him. A memory trying to surface.

He stared at her image, the elegant woman with the sharp cheekbones and confident stance.Something about her eyes...

Camille watched his face, saw the moment confusion began shifting toward suspicion. Not full understanding yet, the surgical changes to her appearance prevented that. But the first seeds of recognition. Of questions.

Her phone vibrated with Victoria's text: *Is it done?*

*Yes,* she replied, hands shaking slightly. *Complete financial ruin. He just received my note.*

Victoria's response: *Perfect. The first phase of justice is complete.*

Camille returned her attention to the screen where Stefan sat alone, head in his hands, the carefully maintained facade finally cracking. The sight should have filled her with joy. Should have satisfied the hunger for justice that had defined her existence since the night Stefan had handed her divorce papers on their anniversary.

Instead, watching him break apart in private brought a hollow ache to her chest. This man had destroyed her without remorse. Had discarded her for her sister.He deserved this pain. This loss.

So why did victory taste so bitter?

Stefan suddenly looked up, gaze sweeping the room,pausing at the security camera. For a moment,it felt as though he was looking directly at her.

"Victoria Kane," he whispered, voice raw with confusion. "What did we do to you?"

Yet something in his expression suggested that deep in his mind, something was stirring. Not understanding,not yet. But the faintest echo of recognition,buried too deep for him to grasp.

Camille switched off the tablet, hands unsteady.Her phone buzzed.... Alexander this time.

*The phoenix strikes, but finds the fire burns both ways. When you're ready to discuss what comes after revenge, I'll be waiting.*

How did he always know exactly what she was feeling,when no one else could see beneath her carefully constructed facade?

Camille gathered her things, preparing to slip away unseen. Victoria would be waiting, eager to hear every detail of Stefan's suffering.

But something had changed inside her. Some shift she hadn't anticipated.

Stefan Rodriguez was broken. His company destroyed.His family legacy erased.

Complete victory.

So why did she feel so empty?

As she moved toward the door, Camille caught her reflection, the perfect exterior of Camille Kane,Victoria's heir,avenger.

But beneath that polished surface, something of Camille Lewis remained. Something that whispered uncomfortable questions about what came next.About who she would be when revenge no longer defined her purpose.

Yet as she slipped from the building, his confused question echoed in her mind, haunting her moment of triumph with unexpected doubt.