Chapter 9: The Brother Who Died Twice

Adrian Thorne had died twelve years earlier.

That was the official story.

Marcus’s older brother had lost control of a speedboat during a storm near the family’s private island.

No body had been recovered.

Victor Thorne had held a funeral without a coffin.

Marcus had inherited the company three weeks later.

Khloe listened from her hospital bed as Detective Ortiz explained the gaps in the record.

No death certificate based on physical identification.

No recovered remains.

No independent witnesses besides Victor’s security team.

“You think Adrian is alive?” Khloe asked.

“We think it is possible.”

Marcus stood near the window.

Khloe had allowed him inside only because the detective insisted.

“What does Adrian have to do with my parents?” she asked.

Marcus answered carefully.

“He managed Thorne Medical before I did.”

“Did he authorize the trials?”

“Yes.”

“And the crash?”

“I don’t know.”

Khloe gave him a hollow stare.

“You say that every time the truth becomes unbearable.”

“I believed he was dead.”

“But you knew he was dangerous.”

“Yes.”

“Did you know Isabella knew him?”

Marcus looked at Ortiz.

That was answer enough.

Khloe’s voice dropped.

“What was she to him?”

“His girlfriend.”

The room went silent.

Marcus continued.

“Isabella was seventeen when Adrian recruited her through a political youth foundation. By nineteen, she was carrying documents, cash, and messages for him.”

“And she became engaged to you?”

“After Adrian disappeared.”

Khloe understood.

“You were not her great love. You were her next position.”

Marcus said nothing.

Ortiz placed a recovered message on the table.

It had been extracted from Marcus’s stolen phone after hospital technology staff accessed the cloud backup.

The message had arrived from an unknown number two hours before the gala.

BRING THE EAST-WING CARD. ISABELLA WILL COLLECT THE VALE FILE. DO NOT INVOLVE THE POLICE.

Below the text was a photograph.

A man stood on a dock in southern Italy.

Older.

Heavier.

But unmistakably a Thorne.

Adrian.

Khloe looked at Marcus.

“You received this before we arrived at the gala.”

“Yes.”

“And you said nothing.”

“I thought I could handle it.”

“You brought Isabella into the hospital.”

“I gave her the card because the message said Adrian would expose you if I refused.”

“Expose me for what?”

Marcus looked away.

Khloe’s pulse quickened.

“Marcus.”

He finally met her eyes.

“The Vale file claims your father falsified part of his research.”

“My father was the whistleblower.”

“He was.”

“But?”

“But before he decided to testify, he helped design the trial.”

Khloe stared at him.

Marcus’s next words shattered the final piece of her childhood.

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“Your father was not only investigating Thorne Medical.”

“He helped create what killed those patients.”