Chapter 4 - THE FIRST BETRAYAL
Nurses rushed into the room.
Nathaniel examined the monitor.
The baby’s heart rate fell, recovered and fell again.
Khloe gripped the sheets.
“Do something.”
“We are.”
Marcus stood near the wall, powerless.
Nathaniel ordered medication from a sealed emergency cart.
This time, he checked the vial himself.
The baby’s heart rate slowly stabilized.
Khloe released a broken breath.
Marcus moved toward the bed.
She turned her face away.
“I saw the recording.”
“So did I.”
“I should have believed you.”
“You should have listened before there was a recording.”
He stopped.
There was no defense against that truth.
Marcus had known Isabella was becoming aggressive.
He had watched her insult Khloe at dinners and fundraisers.
He allowed it because Lorenzo Rossi controlled political relationships necessary for Thorne International’s newest hospital network.
Marcus convinced himself he was protecting the company.
In reality, he had been protecting his ambition.
“I never slept with her,” he said.
Khloe looked at him.
“Is that supposed to comfort me?”
“No.”
“Because betrayal does not begin in a hotel room.”
Marcus lowered his eyes.
“It begins when your wife tells you someone is hurting her and you decide the deal matters more.”
He nodded once.
“You are right.”
Khloe had waited months to hear those words.
They brought no relief.
Nathaniel left them alone for several minutes.
Marcus sat beside the bed without touching her.
“Why did Isabella say I would thank her?”
Khloe studied him.
“You tell me.”
“I do not know.”
“Then start with your company.”
Marcus had inherited Thorne International from his grandfather.
The family trust contained a succession clause few people understood.
If Marcus died without a living heir, control passed to his younger cousin.
If he divorced before the child’s birth, his voting shares temporarily transferred to a trust managed by the board.
Lorenzo Rossi controlled three board members.
If Khloe lost the baby and the marriage collapsed, Marcus’s position could be challenged.
Isabella had not been trying only to steal a husband.
She was helping someone steal an empire.
Marcus contacted his chief financial officer, Owen Black.
Owen did not answer.
He contacted the chairman of the family trust.
No answer.
Nathaniel returned with another sealed file.
“We traced the false medication order.”
“Who authorized it?” Marcus asked.
“The request came from Thorne International’s private health division.”
Marcus went still.
Only three executives could access that system.
Marcus.
Owen Black.
And Marcus’s mother, Victoria Thorne.
Khloe saw the recognition in his face.
“Your mother knew.”
Marcus shook his head.
“She dislikes you.”
“She hates me.”
“She would never harm her grandchild.”
Nathaniel placed a photograph on the table.
It showed Victoria entering Isabella’s suite two hours before the attack.
The women were carrying identical red folders.
Marcus stared at the image.
His phone rang.
It was Victoria.
He answered.
Her voice was calm.
“Come home.”
“Khloe was attacked.”
“I know.”
“Isabella tried to kill our child.”
Victoria paused.
May you like
Then she said the words that destroyed the last of Marcus’s denial.
“That child was never supposed to control this family.”
