SCORNED EX WIFE Queen Of Ashes (Camille and Stefan)

Chapter 58

Stefan stared at the offer letter on his desk mitil the words blurred together. Thirty cents on the dollar. For

shipping routes his grandfather had established. For contracts his father had nurtured. For a legacy thre Thirty

cents on the dollar. A number designed to wound as much as to acquire.

Behind him, the Rodriguez Shipping headquarters

buzzed with the frantic energy of a dying animal. Staff packed personal

belongings into cardboard boxes Security escorted tearful employers to the elevator. Phones rang unanswered

throughout the building as news of their financial collapse spread through the industry.

Three hours earlier, the board had voted to remove him as CEO. Only his father's intervention, and their family's

controlling shares, had prevented his complete dismissal. Now he clung to the title of "Executive "They're waiting

for your answer," Eduardo Rodriguez said from the doorway. At sixty-

two, his father looked a decade older than he had a month ago, Lines of worry had carved themselves

permanently into his face. The proud posture that had intimidated

boardrooms for forty years now showed the slight curve of defeat.

"Kane Industries can keep waiting," Stefan replied, crumpling the offer letter in his fist. "I won't sell our Asian

routes. Not to them. Not at any price."

Eduardo moved into the office, closing the door behind him "It's not about pride anymore, son. It's about

survival. Without those routes, we lose access to our largest markets. Without the

cash from selling them, we can't make payroll next week."

"We'll find another way." Stefan stood, moving to the

window that overlooked the harbor where Rodriguez ships had once dominated the skyline. Now only three

vessels bore their flag, the rest sold or repossessed in desperate attempts to generate operating capi "What

other way?" Eduardo's voice held no anger, only exhaustion. "Eastern Capital passed on our loan request. Banks

have frozen our credit lines. Suppliers demand payment in advance for fuel and materials "We still have friends

in this industry. Relationships built over decades."

"Friends?" Eduardo

laughed without humor. "Where are these friends now? Henderson Freight signed with Marunouchi yesterday.

Pacific Partners canceled our maintenance contract this morning. Everyone's jumping from what th Stefan

pressed his

forehead against the cool glass. Below, workers streamed from the Rodriguez building, carrying boxes of

personal items, years of service ended with impersonal severance papers and security escorts.

"Someone is behind this," he said quietly. "Someone with resources and motivation to destroy us systematically."

"Does it matter? The result is the same."

Stefan turned to face his father. "It matters if we can identify them. Fight back. Expose whatever gthey're

playing."

Eduardo sank into a visitor chair, suddenly looking every year of his age and more. "This isn't a conspiracy,

Stefan. It's business. We overleveraged our Asian expansion. We didn't diversify our client base prope The timing

is too perfect," Stefan insisted. "Every attack precisely when we're most vulnerable. Every blow calculated for

maximum damage."

His father studied him with eyes dimmed by fatigue. "And who would have both the resources and motivation for

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such a campaign?"

"I don't know" Stelan moved back to his desk, staring at the crumpled offer from Kane Industries. "But this offer

it feels personal, Deliberately insulting Designed to bumiliate as much as to acquire" "Victoria Kane is a ruthless

businesswoman. Nothing

"It's not Victoria." Stefan smoothies the letter, studying the signature at the bottom. Not Victoria's

familiar scrawl but a different hand. Elegant, precise, somehow familiar though he couldn't place it. "It's her

daughter, Camille Kane

Eduardo's expression shifted slightly. "The girl who appeared out of nowhere a year ago? The one in the news

with Alexander Pierce?"

"Yes." Stetan picked up the tablet on his desk, pulling up a photo from the charity gala where Pierce had placed

that diamond necklace around Camille Kane's throat. The image had been everywhere for days, t Why would she

target us specifically?" Eduardo asked, leaning forward to see the tablet screen

"I don't know." Stefan studied the woman's face, feeling that strange sense of déja vu he'd experienced since

first seeing her in person at the Metropolitan Museum fundraiser months ago. "But something about He left the

thought unfinished, unable to articulate the nagging feeling that he should recognize Camille Kane That beneath

her perfect exterior lay something, someone, he had encountered before. “You're grasping at shadows,” Eduardo

said gently. “Looking for conspiracies instead of accepting hard truths.”

Perhaps his father was right. Perhaps the systematic destruction of Rodriguez Shipping was simply bad luck, bad

timing, bad management decisions coming hto roost all at once. Perhaps the insulting offe But Stefan's

instincts screamed otherwise. The sinstincts that had guided him through countless negotiations, that had

warned him of hidden agendas and unspoken motivations across boardroom tables a Someone wanted

Rodriguez Shipping destroyed. Wanted the Rodriguez family humiliated. Wanted Stefan himself to experience

the special pain of watching, everything he valued being stripped away plece by piece.

His phone rang, the fourth call in an hour from Rose. He ignored it again, unwilling to deal with her increasingly

desperate attempts to reconcile. Her own empire lay in ruins, her fashion line destroyed by scanda rebuild

her

But he needed distance. Space to think without her manipulation clouding, his judgment. Tto understand

what had happened to their lives in such a short, brutal span

"The Kane offer expires at five," Eduardo reminded him, glancing at his watch. "That's thirty minutes from now."

"Then they'll have their answer in thirty minutes." Stefan straightened his shoulders, decision mad Eduardo's

eyes widened. "That's financial suicide. Without that cash infusion..."

"We find another way." Stefan's voice hardened

with determination that surprised even him. "This company survived the Depression. Survived two world wars.

Survived the 2008 crash. It will survive this too."

"How?"

"I don't know yet." Stefan moved to the credenza where three model ships stood in glass cases, replicas of the

first vessels his grandfather had purchased to start Rodriguez Shipping. "But | won't surrender my grandfather's

legacy for thirty cents on the dollar, Not to Kane Industries, Not to anyones.

For the first tin weeks, a shadow of pride crossed Eduardo's face. "You sound like him now. Stubborn.

Determined. Perhaps a little foolish "

"Foolish enough to start a shipping company during the Great Depression with a single boat and more courage

than capital?" Stefan managed a small smile. “I'll take that comparison."

Eduardo stood, moving to join his son by the family heirlooms. "If we reject Kane's offer, we'll need to take

drastic measures. Sell the headquarters building Liquidate the pension fund. Possibly even sell our fam The

suggestions hurt physically-

each one removing another piece of what had made Rodriguez Shipping special. What had made it theirs. But

Stefan nodded, accepting the harsh reality.

"Whatever it takes," he agreed. "But we do it on our terms. Not with a gun to our head from Kane Industries."

Eduardo squeezed his shoulder, a silent gesture of support that meant more than words. Then he let Alone,

Stefan returned to the window, watching darkness fall over the harbor. Lights began appearing on the remaining

ships, pinpricks of brightness against the gathering gloom. Like hope in the face of overwh Another text followed

from the CFO: *Without the Kane money, we default on loans tomorrow. Complete collapse within 72 hours.

Stefan silenced his phone, turning back to the model ships that represented the beginning of Rodriguez Shipping

His grandfather had started with nothing

but determination and a single cargo vessel when everyone said he would fail.

Perhaps it was tto return to those roots. To strip away everything but the core of what had made the

company great. To rebuild from foundation rather than try to save a structure that might be too damaged His

intebuzzed, his father returning from the meeting with Kane Industries representatives. "They're gone,"

Eduardo reported, voice tight with controlled emotion. "Their lead negotiator seemed almost... pl "Of course she

was," Stefan replied bitterly. "Now they

can wait a week and offer fifteen cents instead of thirty." "Perhaps." Eduardo paused. "But she said something

strange as she was leaving Askedto give you a personal message.

Stefan's attention sharpened. "What message?"

"She said, "Tell Mr. Rodriguez that slosses can't be measured in dollars and cents. Sdebts can't be paid

with anything but complete surrender.""

The words sent an unexpected chill down Stefan's spine. Not a business communication. A personal one.

Confirmation of what he'd suspected, this wasn't just predatory acquisition. This was targeted destruc"Did

she say anything else?" he asked.

"No. Just smiled in a way that.." Eduardo hesitated. "In a way that remindedof someone, though | can't place

Who"

The nagging sense of familiarity struck Stefan again. Camille Kame. The mysterious heiress who had appeared.

from nowhere. Who now seemed determined to destroy Bocipuez Shipping completely. Who was she really? And

why did she seem to hate his family with such personal intensity?

His desk phone rang, the head of HR needing approval for the next round of layoffs. As Stefan took the call, his

mind continued toiming over the puzzle of Camille Kane. The strange familiarity. The targeted atta Something

was missing Sconnection he couldn't quite make. Struth hiding just beyond his grasp.

By the the finished the call, night had fallen completely. The office building stood nearly empty, most

employees already departed, many never to return. Just a skeleton crew remained, those essential to ke His

office door opened again, his father returning with their remaining executive team. Five

people where once thirty had filled the boardroom. Five grim faces prepared for the hard decisions ahead.

The banks are calling their loans tomorrow," the CFO reported without preamble. "We have approximately three

million in

liquid assets against thirty-seven million in immediate obligations."

"Options?" Stefan asked, all emotion set aside for the cold mathematics of survival.

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"Bankruptcy protection buys us tbut destroys client confidence," the legal counsel replied, "Selling hard

assets might generate ten million at fire-

sale prices. Seeking private equity would mean surrendering control." The bleak assessment hung in the air like

smoke. Stefan studied the faces around him, men and women who had stood by Rodriguez Ship company

enough to risk going down with it.

"What about our Pacific Northwest operations?" he asked suddenly. "The routes Kane Industries didn't offer to

buy?"

The team exchanged glances, the CFO answering hesitantly. "They're our least profitable division. Aging vessels,

thin margins, heavy competition."

"But they're debt-

free," Stefan pressed. "And not encumbered by the bank loans, correct?"

"Technically, yes." The CFO shuffled through papers, brow furrowed. “They operate under a separate corporate

structure for tax purposes.”

"Then that's our lifeboat." Stefan moved to the map on his office wall, tapping the Seattle hub that had been the

company's first location. "We transfer what liquid assets we can to the Northwest division. Let the Silence

greeted his suggestion, broken finally by the legal counsel. "You're talking about deliberately sacrificing eighty

percent of the company to save twenty percent."

"I'm talking about saving what we can rather than losing everything," Stefan corrected. "A strategic retreat, not a

surrender."

His father studied him with new respect in his tired eyes. "Your grandfather would approve. He always said

sometimes you have to burn the fields to save the farm.

The team began discussing logistics, legal implications, financial arrangements to shield what assets they could

before tomorrow's bank reckoning. As they worked, Stefan felt something unexpected bloom in hi He wouldn't

save Rodriguez Shipping in its current form. Wouldn't preserve the global empire his father had

built. But he would save its heart, its original core, the

humble beginnings his grandfather had established with nothing but stubborn determination

And from that seed, he would rebuild. Without Rose's mardulation clouding his judgment. Without his father's

expectations weighing on his shoulders. Without the crushing burden of maintaining appearances a His phone

buzzed with a news alert: "KANE INDUSTRIES AND PIERCE TECHNOLOGIES ANNOUNCE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIN.

The accompanying photo showed Victoria Kane and Alexander Pierce at a press conference, Camille Kane

standing slightly behind them, poised and perfect in a blue dress that matched the sapphire earrings Those

earrings. Something about them struck Stefan as significant, though he couldn't place why.

Another puzzle piece that didn't quite fit. Another connection hovering just beyond recognition.

His CFO's voice pulled him back to

the crisis at hand. "If we move quickly, we might save the Seattle operation. But everything else, the Asian

routes, the European contracts, the headquarters, all of it will be lost."

Not lost," Stefan corrected, a new determination hardening his voice. "Surrendered temporarily. There's a

difference."

For the first tin weeks, his path forward seemed clear. Not easy. Not guaranteed. But clear.

He would retreat to Seattle, to the company's roots, to the single port where his grandfather had started with

nothing but determination and a second-

hand cargo ship.