CHAPTER 3 — THE MESSAGE ON MARCUS’S PHONE
The police arrived before sunrise.
Marcus did not resist when they asked for his phone.
He handed it over without deleting a single message.
That decision exposed something Khloe had never known.
For nearly three months, Marcus had been communicating privately with Isabella.
Some messages were about the charity foundation.
Others were not.
Isabella: You looked miserable beside her tonight.
Marcus: Do not start.
Isabella: You deserve someone who understands you.
Marcus: This conversation is over.
But the conversation had not ended.
There were late-night calls.
Private dinners listed as business meetings.
And one photograph of Marcus and Isabella standing together on the terrace of a hotel in Boston.
When Khloe woke in recovery, Adrian tried to keep the phone from her.
She insisted.
She read every message without crying.
That frightened Adrian more than tears would have.
“How long?” she asked.
Marcus stood several feet away.
“It wasn’t an affair.”
“How long?”
“Three months.”
“You met her alone.”
“Yes.”
“You let her insult me in public.”
“I didn’t know how far it had gone.”
“You knew enough to hide the meetings.”
Marcus had no answer.
Khloe turned her face toward the window.
“My daughter is in an incubator because a woman you encouraged believed she could replace me.”
“I never encouraged her to attack you.”
“No. You only encouraged her to believe she mattered more than your wife.”
Marcus stepped closer.
“I made mistakes.”
“A mistake is missing an anniversary. This was a campaign of humiliation.”
Richard entered before Marcus could respond.
“You need to rest, Khloe.”
She looked at him.
“Get out.”
“This family is under attack.”
“I was attacked.”
“Isabella will be handled.”
“Was she following your orders?”
Richard’s eyes hardened.
“You are medicated and confused.”
Adrian moved between them.
“She told you to leave.”
Richard glanced toward Marcus.
“Control your wife.”
That was the moment Marcus finally turned against his father.
“Leave the room.”
Richard stared at him.
“You do not understand what is at stake.”
“I understand that my wife almost died.”
Richard walked out without another word.
Hours later, detectives recovered a deleted voice message from Isabella’s phone.
Her voice was soft and intimate.
“Marcus, you promised everything would change tonight. You promised she would be gone by midnight.”
Khloe listened from her hospital bed.
Marcus looked genuinely horrified.
“I never said that.”
The detective placed another recovered recording on the table.
This one came from Richard’s phone.
Richard’s voice was unmistakable.
“Do not allow Khloe to leave that suite before the trustees arrive.”
Marcus looked toward the door.
May you like
His father was gone.
And no one knew where he had taken the hospital’s original master keycard.
