Chapter 464
Chapter 464:
Alexander traced Camille’s face in the photograph with his finger, wondering if she would ever forgive him when the truth finally came out. Wondering if he would be able to forgive himself.
Tomorrow would bring the final assault. Tomorrow would see Kane Industries’ reputation destroyed beyond repair. Tomorrow would deliver justice for Richard Pierce.
But tonight, Alexander Pierce sat alone in his office, mourning the death of the man he used to be and the marriage he was about to destroy with his own hands.
The photograph stared back at him, capturing a moment of perfect happiness that would soon be nothing but a memory. A reminder of what love looked like before it was poisoned by the need for revenge
Victoria’s hands shook as she stared at the financial reports spread across her desk. Not from the cancer treatments—those were going better than expected. No, these tremors came from something far worse: the growing certainty that the man sleeping beside her daughter every night might be her greatest enemy.
The attacks on Kane Industries had started three weeks after Camille’s wedding. Subtle at first— a few negative stories in financial blogs, anonymous tips to reporters about safety concerns. Then the server outages, the manipulation at 16:05, and the leaked internal documents. Someone with intimate knowledge of their systems was bleeding them slowly, methodically.
Someone close enough to know their vulnerabilities.
Victoria picked up her phone with unsteady fingers.
“Stefan Rodriguez…”
“Stefan, it’s Victoria Kane. I need to see you. Today.”
A pause.
“Is Camille…?”
“Camille is fine. But I need your help with something that could destroy her if I’m right.”
Two hours later, Stefan sat across from Victoria in her private conference room. The guilt he’d carried since betraying Camille had changed him, made him quieter, more thoughtful. More willing to do whatever it took to protect the woman he’d failed so completely.
“You suspect Alexander?” Stefan said, more a question than a statement.
Victoria’s composure cracked slightly.
“The timing of these attacks… they started right after the wedding. Someone is using inside information, intimate knowledge of our systems. And there’s something else.”
She slid a folder across the table.
“Meridian Technologies. It collapsed fifteen years ago after a series of financial attacks that look remarkably similar to what’s happening to us now.”
Stefan opened the folder, scanning the documents.
“Richard Pierce. The founder who died by suicide after losing everything.” His head snapped up. “Pierce. As in Alexander Pierce?”
“His uncle.” Victoria’s voice was barely a whisper. “If Alexander blames me for Richard’s death…”
“Then Camille married a man who’s using her to get revenge on you.” Stefan’s face went pale. “Jesus, Victoria. The engagement, the wedding, everything—it could all be an elaborate setup.”
The words hung in the air like poison. Victoria thought of Camille’s radiant smile on her wedding day, the way she’d looked at Alexander as if he had hung the stars. The idea that it might all be built on lies made her feel physically sick.
“I need you to investigate him,” Victoria said. “Quietly. Thoroughly. Use your shipping connections, your business contacts. Find out everything about Alexander Pierce’s background. Any connection to Meridian Technologies, any evidence he’s targeting my company.”
“Why me? You have resources…”
“Because this has to stay completely off the books. No paper trail that could tip him off. And because…” Victoria met his eyes. “Because you understand betrayal from the inside. If Alexander is using Camille’s love against her, I need someone who knows how that kind of manipulation works.”
Stefan flinched at the direct hit. He thought of the night Camille found those divorce papers, the way her face had crumbled when she realized the scope of his betrayal. The possibility that she might be living through something even worse—that she might be sharing her bed with someone systematically destroying everything she loved—made his stomach twist.
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.
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