The morning after the interview, the atmosphere in the War Room was electric. The hashtag **#TheMatriarch** was still trending, and for the first time in months, the Croft stock ticker was green.
Victoria sat at the head of the table. She looked tired, her skin pale against her dark suit, but her eyes were razor-sharp.
“The public is with us,” Victoria said, looking at William and Malcolm. “Julianna Vane bet that the market would punish a mother. She lost. Now, we make her pay.”
“We have liquidity,” Malcolm reported, tapping his tablet. “The surge in share price has unlocked our credit lines. We have access to four billion in capital.”
“It’s not enough,” Victoria said flatly. “I don’t just want to hurt her stock. I want to buy it.”
William looked up, realizing the scale of her ambition. “A hostile takeover of Vane-Tech? Victoria, that’s a leviathan. We’d have to liquidate personal assets to cover the margin.”
“Then liquidate them,” Victoria commanded. “Sell the Aspen lodge. Sell the Warhol collection. Sell the yacht.”
She placed her hands on the table, leaning forward. “She tried to bankrupt my reputation, William. I am going to buy her legacy. Trigger the buy orders. All of them.”