CHAPTER 1 — The Lie in the Red Dress
“She attacked me,” Isabella said instantly, breathless but composed.
Marcus did not move.
For one terrifying second, Khloe thought he believed her.
Then his eyes dropped to the broken champagne glass. To Khloe’s hand pressed against her belly. To the red mark already forming beneath the torn silk at her side.
“Marcus…” Khloe whispered.
His face changed.
Not loudly.
Not dramatically.
Something colder happened.
He walked past Isabella as if she were furniture and dropped to his knees beside his wife.
“Call emergency OB now,” he said to Elaine.
Elaine was already shaking as she reached for her phone.
Isabella took one step back.
“Marcus, she came at me first. I only defended—”
“Do not speak,” Marcus said.
The room went silent.
Khloe clutched his sleeve as pain rolled through her body again.
“The baby,” she breathed. “Marcus… our baby…”
His hand covered hers.
“You stay with me,” he said, voice low. “Both of you stay with me.”
Nurses rushed in seconds later, followed by two doctors and a security officer. Khloe was lifted carefully onto a rolling bed. Marcus followed beside her, still holding her hand.
Isabella tried to slip toward the door.
The security officer blocked her.
“I’m a guest here,” she snapped.
From the hallway came a deeper voice.
“No,” the man said. “You are now a suspect.”
Everyone turned.
Dr. Adrian Vale, the hospital director, stood at the entrance in a gray suit, his face pale with controlled fury.
Isabella frowned.
“Director Vale, this is a private matter.”
His eyes moved to Khloe.
Then softened.
“No,” he said. “That is my niece.”
Marcus froze.
Khloe had never wanted to use her uncle’s name. She hated power games. She had married Marcus as Khloe, not as the beloved niece of one of the most respected hospital directors in New York.
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But now the truth stood in the doorway.
And Isabella finally understood she had kicked the wrong woman.
