Chapter 3 – The Secret Khloe Never Told
Marcus arrived at the obstetric intensive care unit only minutes later.
The hallway was quiet, the soft hum of medical equipment replacing the glamour and noise of the charity gala downstairs. Two security officers stood outside Khloe's room, acting under David Sterling's direct orders.
When Marcus stepped inside, he found Khloe awake.
She looked pale, her face drained of color, but her hand instinctively rested over her stomach the moment she saw him.
"How's the baby?" he asked softly, pulling a chair beside her bed.
Khloe managed a faint smile.
"The heartbeat is strong."
Marcus closed his eyes in relief before taking her hand.
"I'm so sorry."
She looked at him in confusion.
"I should have believed you," he continued. "Every time you told me Isabella crossed the line... I told myself she was just being ambitious. I thought you were overthinking it."
Khloe squeezed his hand.
"This isn't your fault."
"No."
He shook his head.
"It is."
Silence settled between them.
Finally, Khloe looked toward the window.
"There was something I couldn't tell you."
Marcus remembered Dr. Caldwell's words.
He nodded.
"I'm listening."
Khloe took a slow breath.
"Three months ago, I visited Uncle David."
Marcus frowned.
"About the pregnancy?"
She shook her head.
"He asked me to help him review several charitable grants funded through the Thorne Foundation."
Marcus recognized the program immediately. It financed children's hospitals, orphan care, and emergency medical research across the country.
"What did you find?"
Khloe hesitated.
"Millions of dollars were disappearing."
Marcus sat upright.
"What?"
"The accounting reports looked normal."
She swallowed hard.
"But the hospital invoices were fake."
"The suppliers didn't exist."
"The equipment had never been delivered."
Marcus stared at her.
"Someone was laundering money."
Khloe nodded.
"And whoever organized it had access to both Sterling Medical Group and the Thorne Foundation."
Marcus's expression darkened.
"How many people knew?"
"Only Uncle David."
"And now you."
She reached into the bedside drawer with trembling fingers.
Inside was a small silver flash drive sealed in a transparent evidence bag.
"I made copies."
Marcus carefully picked it up.
"The complete financial records are here."
"Every transaction."
"Every forged signature."
"Every offshore account we could trace."
Marcus looked at her in disbelief.
"You've had this all along?"
"I was waiting until after the gala."
She lowered her eyes.
"We were supposed to meet with federal investigators tomorrow morning."
Marcus suddenly understood.
Isabella's attack...
It wasn't just jealousy.
Someone had needed Khloe silenced before that meeting.
A knock interrupted the silence.
David Sterling entered, followed by a woman in a navy-blue FBI windbreaker.
She introduced herself without ceremony.
"Special Agent Rebecca Collins."
She placed a folder on the bedside table.
"We've reviewed the hospital security footage."
Then she looked directly at Marcus.
"And after seeing what's on that flash drive..."
"This assault is no longer just an attempted attack."
She opened the folder, revealing photographs, bank records, and surveillance stills.
"It's part of a much larger criminal conspiracy."
Marcus exchanged a stunned glance with Khloe.
Neither of them realized that the enemy standing behind Isabella Rossi was far more powerful than they had imagined.
And somewhere across the city, a man watching the evening news quietly picked up his phone.
"She survived," he said coldly.
May you like
A voice answered from the other end.
"Then we'll have to finish what Isabella couldn't."
