Chapter 1 - THE CAMERA ABOVE THE DOOR

Marcus Thorne crossed the hospital suite in three long strides.

He dropped beside Khloe without even looking at Isabella again.

“Khloe.”

His voice cracked when he said her name.

Khloe was curled on her side, both arms wrapped around her seven-month belly.

The pain in her abdomen had sharpened into something deep and terrifying.

Marcus reached toward her.

She flinched.

That tiny movement stopped him cold.

Behind them, Isabella Rossi began to cry.

It was astonishing how quickly she could transform herself.

Ten seconds earlier, she had been standing over Khloe with hatred burning in her eyes.

Now her shoulders trembled.

Her mascara remained nearly perfect.

“Marcus, thank God.”

Isabella pressed one hand against her chest.

“She came at me.”

Elaine Parker stared at her.

“What?”

“She attacked me.”

Isabella pointed toward Khloe.

“I was defending myself.”

Khloe tried to speak, but another cramp seized her.

She gasped.

Marcus immediately turned.

“Get a doctor.”

Elaine was already running into the hallway.

Within seconds, nurses rushed inside.

One knelt beside Khloe.

Another pushed Marcus away to make room.

“Ma’am, can you hear me?”

“Yes.”

“Are you bleeding?”

“I don’t know.”

“Where does it hurt?”

“My stomach.”

Khloe swallowed hard.

“My baby.”

The nurse’s expression changed.

“Get maternity down here now.”

Marcus went pale.

Isabella took a cautious step toward him.

“Marcus, listen to me.”

He turned.

For the first time, Isabella seemed to realize something had changed.

The man looking at her was not the man who had whispered to her in private hotel rooms.

He was not the man who had answered her late-night calls.

He was not even the billionaire whose name opened doors across Manhattan.

He was a terrified husband staring at the woman who had just kicked his pregnant wife.

“You touched her.”

His voice was barely above a whisper.

Isabella shook her head.

“She attacked me first.”

“You kicked her.”

“No.”

“I saw where you were standing.”

“You didn’t see what happened before you came in.”

Then Isabella made her second mistake.

She looked directly at Marcus and said, “You know what she’s like.”

Khloe heard it.

Even through the pain, she heard the familiarity in Isabella’s voice.

Not the voice of a family friend.

Not the voice of a charity donor.

The voice of a woman who believed she knew Khloe’s husband intimately.

Marcus heard it too.

His jaw tightened.

A medical team entered with a stretcher.

They began lifting Khloe carefully.

As they moved her, Khloe looked toward the ceiling.

That was when she saw it.

A small black dome above the suite entrance.

A security camera.

Khloe’s eyes remained fixed on it.

Isabella followed her gaze.

The color drained from her face.

Marcus noticed.

So did Elaine.

And then a man appeared at the far end of the hallway.

Dr. Julian Vale.

Chief operating officer of St. Matthew’s Private Medical Center.

Former trauma surgeon.

Hospital executive.

And Khloe’s mother’s older brother.

He was still wearing his black-tie gala tuxedo beneath his white hospital coat.

Two security officers followed him.

Julian took one look at Khloe on the stretcher.

Then he looked inside the destroyed suite.

Broken crystal.

Overturned champagne.

Isabella.

Marcus.

His expression became frighteningly calm.

“What happened?”

Isabella immediately stepped forward.

“Dr. Vale, Khloe attacked me.”

Julian did not even glance at her.

Instead, he looked at his security director.

“Lock the floor.”

Isabella stopped breathing.

“Excuse me?”

Julian continued.

“No elevators without authorization.”

“No stairwell access.”

“No deletion, copying, transfer, or remote access to any surveillance system on this level.”

The security director nodded.

“Yes, sir.”

Julian’s eyes finally settled on Isabella.

“And call the police.”

The maternity team pushed Khloe toward the elevator.

Marcus followed.

Julian stopped him with one sentence.

“Marcus.”

Marcus turned.

Julian pointed at the black camera above the suite door.

“You’d better pray that recording says what you think it says.”

For the first time that night, Marcus looked afraid for a reason that had nothing to do with the baby.

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And Khloe saw it.

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