Chapter 9 – The Envelope
While detectives questioned Isabella, forensic specialists examined everything recovered from her belongings.
The cream-colored handbag.
Her phone.
Jewelry.
Makeup.
And finally...
The sealed envelope.
Technician Sarah Kim carefully opened it under video recording.
Inside were only three items.
A hotel keycard.
A handwritten note.
And a photograph.
Claire examined the photograph first.
Marcus.
Standing beside an elegant blonde woman.
They appeared to be embracing.
The image looked intimate.
Too intimate.
Claire studied it carefully.
Something felt wrong.
"The shadows don't match."
Sarah looked closer.
"You think it's altered?"
Claire nodded.
"Run a digital analysis."
Minutes later the software confirmed it.
The photograph had been manipulated.
Someone had inserted Marcus into an entirely different image.
Claire unfolded the handwritten note.
One sentence.
"Show this to Khloe when Marcus leaves the gala."
No signature.
No explanation.
Only instructions.
David read the note twice.
"They wanted her to believe Marcus was having an affair."
Claire nodded.
"They wanted an argument."
"A divorce."
"A scandal."
David looked toward the hospital.
"But Khloe never saw the picture."
Claire's expression hardened.
"No."
"So someone moved to Plan B."
Silence settled over the evidence room.
The attack had never been spontaneous.
It had been prepared.
Step by step.
Someone had expected Khloe to break emotionally.
When that failed...
Violence became the backup plan.
Claire stared at Richard Hawthorne's frozen image on the monitor.
"This isn't about jealousy anymore."
"It's about motive."
"And I intend to find out why someone wanted Khloe—and her unborn child—out of the way."
Far across the city, Richard Hawthorne stood alone in his penthouse office.
He watched the morning news coverage without blinking.
Then he calmly picked up his phone.
"Clean everything."
The person on the other end answered nervously.
"It's already started."
Richard walked to the window overlooking the skyline.
"No."
He said quietly.
May you like
"It hasn't."
"It starts now."
