CHAPTER TWO The Betrayal Was Bigger Than an Affair
The operating-room doors closed before Marcus reached them.
He pounded his fist against the wall.
“Let me see her!”
Gabriel followed several steps behind him.
“You don’t have that right at the moment.”
“I’m the baby’s father.”
“And Khloe is my family.”
Marcus turned.
“I never told Isabella to attack her.”
“You sent a woman obsessed with you into a private room with your pregnant wife.”
“I told her to convince Khloe that our marriage was over.”
Gabriel’s expression hardened.
“Your wife learned her marriage was over while she was bleeding on the floor?”
Marcus lowered his voice.
“I was going to tell her tonight.”
“After the gala?”
“Yes.”
“After she smiled for your investors? After she stood beside you for photographs? After she helped raise millions for this hospital?”
Marcus said nothing.
Gabriel stepped closer.
“You used her.”
“I made a terrible mistake.”
“No. A mistake is forgetting an anniversary. You built an entire second life and expected your pregnant wife to disappear quietly.”
Police officers arrived on the fourteenth floor.
Isabella was taken into a conference room for questioning.
At first, she continued claiming self-defense.
Then a detective placed printed images from the security video in front of her.
Her story changed.
Marcus had manipulated her.
Marcus had promised to leave Khloe.
Marcus had said the child was the only obstacle keeping him in the marriage.
Marcus had told her everything would belong to them once Khloe signed the divorce papers.
When the detective asked for proof, Isabella unlocked her phone.
There were hundreds of messages.
Photographs.
Hotel reservations.
Voice recordings.
And financial documents Marcus had never expected anyone else to see.
One message had been sent three days earlier.
After the baby is born, Khloe loses her position in the company. I’ll control the trust through the child. Be patient.
Another message came from Isabella.
And if she refuses to give you custody?
Marcus’s response was brief.
My attorneys will make her look unstable.
Isabella read the messages aloud in front of the detective.
Elaine stood near the conference-room window, listening in horror.
Gabriel entered halfway through the interview.
“Where did you get the documents concerning the Thorne family trust?” he asked.
Isabella’s eyes shifted toward Marcus.
“He gave them to me.”
Marcus stepped forward.
“That’s a lie.”
Isabella laughed bitterly.
“You told me Khloe was weak. You said she would accept whatever settlement you offered because she loved you too much to fight.”
“I never authorized you to hurt her.”
“You didn’t stop me.”
“I wasn’t in the room.”
“No. You were downstairs protecting your reputation.”
Marcus’s mother, Victoria Thorne, arrived ten minutes later.
She swept into the corridor wearing a silver evening gown and an expression of controlled outrage.
“What have you done?” she demanded.
Marcus stared at her.
“How did you know?”
Victoria froze.
Gabriel noticed.
“No one called you,” he said.
Victoria recovered quickly.
“The gala guests are talking. News travels.”
Elaine stepped forward.
“The elevators were locked down before anyone downstairs knew what happened.”
Victoria looked at her with contempt.
“I don’t answer questions from event staff.”
“You’ll answer mine.”
A detective approached Victoria.
“Were you aware Isabella Rossi entered Mrs. Thorne’s private suite?”
“Of course not.”
Elaine pulled out her phone.
“I think you were.”
She opened an email sent earlier that evening.
The message authorized Isabella to access the restricted hospital floor.
It had been sent from Victoria’s private office.
Marcus read it twice.
“Mother?”
Victoria’s expression remained calm.
“Isabella said Khloe had requested a private conversation.”
“That’s not true,” Isabella said.
Victoria turned on her.
“Be careful.”
Isabella smiled coldly.
“You gave me the access code.”
“You’re lying.”
“You also told me the cameras had been disabled.”
Gabriel looked at Victoria.
“You attempted to disable hospital security?”
Victoria’s composure cracked.
“I was protecting this family.”
“By helping your son’s mistress confront his pregnant wife?”
“Khloe was never strong enough for this family.”
Marcus stared at his mother as if he were seeing her for the first time.
Victoria continued.
“She came from money, but she had no instincts. No discipline. She allowed emotion to control her.”
Gabriel’s jaw tightened.
“She is a Thorne by birth.”
“And Marcus was supposed to lead the company.”
“There it is,” Gabriel said.
The room became still.
“This was never about the marriage. It was about Khloe’s shares.”
Victoria said nothing.
Gabriel turned toward Marcus.
“Your mother knew about the trust.”
Marcus looked between them.
“What are you talking about?”
“Your father never owned controlling interest in Thorne Global. Khloe’s father did.”
Marcus shook his head.
“He died when she was sixteen.”
“And his shares entered a protected trust.”
Gabriel removed a sealed document from his briefcase.
“Khloe receives full voting control when she turns thirty-five, gives birth to her first child, or proves that a spouse attempted to hide marital assets from her.”
Marcus’s face went blank.
Gabriel continued.
“You transferred company shares into three shell corporations controlled by Isabella.”
Isabella stopped smiling.
Marcus looked at her.
“You told me those corporations were secure.”
“They were,” she answered. “Until your uncle found them.”
Gabriel placed the document on the table.
“The attempted concealment activated the trust clause six weeks ago.”
Marcus’s voice came out hoarse.
“What does that mean?”
“It means Khloe already controls fifty-one percent of Thorne Global.”
Victoria gripped the back of a chair.
“That’s impossible.”
“The board was informed this morning.”
Marcus stared at Gabriel.
“You knew?”
“Khloe knew.”
The betrayal on Marcus’s face almost looked genuine.
“She knew about the affair?”
“She knew about the transfers. She planned to confront you after the gala.”
Gabriel leaned closer.
“You thought you were preparing to take everything from her.”
He paused.
“She was preparing to remove you.”
The operating-room doors opened.
A surgeon stepped into the corridor, his mask hanging beneath his chin.
Everyone turned.
Gabriel crossed the hallway first.
“Tell me.”
“We stopped Khloe’s bleeding.”
Marcus released a breath.
“And the baby?”
The surgeon hesitated.
“A girl. Twenty-nine weeks. She was born without a heartbeat.”
Marcus stumbled backward.
Gabriel’s face collapsed.
Then the surgeon continued.
“We managed to revive her.”
“Is she alive?” Marcus asked.
“She is on a ventilator in intensive care. The next several hours are critical.”
Gabriel pressed a hand against the wall.
“What about Khloe?”
“She survived the surgery, but she hasn’t regained consciousness.”
Marcus moved toward the intensive-care doors.
The detective blocked him.
“We need you to come with us.”
Marcus stared at him.
“For what?”
“Financial fraud, conspiracy, and evidence related to the attack.”
“I didn’t touch Khloe.”
“No,” Gabriel said. “You simply opened the door for the people who did.”
As the officers placed Marcus in handcuffs, a nurse ran from the neonatal unit.
“Dr. Thorne!”
Gabriel turned.
May you like
The nurse’s face was pale.
“The baby’s oxygen level is falling.”
