Chapter 11 - The Fall on the Marble Floor
Khloe pulled away from Marcus.
“My father never begged you for anything.”
“You did not know him as well as you think.”
Marcus released Isabella and reached into his jacket.
He removed a small audio player.
“Thomas knew the Vale network was larger than my father. He knew people above us would kill you if he exposed them.”
“Play it.”
“Give me the evidence package.”
“I do not have it.”
“Then call whoever does.”
Isabella moved toward the private corridor where Owen had taken Noah.
Marcus blocked her path.
“Your mother is in the same facility as Evelyn Cross.”
Isabella froze.
“Noah’s mother?”
Marcus nodded.
“Both women are alive?”
“For now.”
Khloe stared at him.
“You kept them imprisoned.”
“I kept them protected.”
“From whom?”
Marcus’s gaze flicked toward the hidden camera.
That small movement did not escape Khloe.
“You are afraid of whoever is watching,” she said.
“I am cautious.”
“You did not install the second camera.”
“No.”
“Who did?”
Marcus stepped closer.
“Your father.”
Khloe’s anger faltered.
“He died before this suite opened.”
“The camera was installed during construction.”
“Why?”
“Insurance.”
Marcus activated the audio player.
Thomas Arden’s voice filled the room.
Khloe recognized it instantly.
“Marcus, listen to me. If they discover Khloe knows about the ledger, they will use her to reach me. Keep her away from the hospital. Keep her away from the trust.”
The recording crackled.
Marcus’s younger voice replied, “And if she refuses?”
“Make her believe whatever is necessary. Let her hate you if she must. Just keep her alive.”
The audio ended.
Khloe could not speak.
Marcus watched her reaction.
“Your father asked me to protect you.”
“You married me because he asked?”
“At first.”
“And everything after that?”
“Complicated.”
“You expect me to believe that poisoning me was protection?”
“I did not poison you.”
“Isabella said you gave her the bottle.”
“I gave her an unopened bottle.”
Isabella stared at him.
“That is true.”
Khloe looked between them.
“Then who added the sedative?”
Marcus glanced at the camera again.
“The same person who activated the television.”
A sharp sound came from the private corridor.
Noah shouted.
Isabella ran toward the stairs.
Marcus caught her arm once more.
“Do not go up there.”
“My mother is alive because of you.”
“And she will die if you leave this room.”
Isabella struck his hand away.
“You do not get to threaten me anymore.”
She moved toward the staircase.
Marcus stepped after her.
Khloe grabbed his jacket.
He turned too quickly.
His elbow struck her shoulder.
Khloe lost her balance.
Her heel slipped on the edge of Isabella’s silver key, still lying on the marble.
She fell.
The impact knocked the air from her lungs.
Pain shot through her side.
Isabella turned at the sound.
For one second, she looked horrified.
Then Marcus shouted, “What did you do?”
Isabella stared at him.
“You pushed her.”
“I never touched her.”
“You struck her.”
“She grabbed me.”
Khloe reached protectively toward her stomach.
“You tried to hurt my baby.”
Isabella looked from Khloe to Marcus.
Then something changed in her expression.
She understood what Marcus was doing.
He was creating two versions of the event before anyone else arrived.
Isabella slowly stepped away.
“She attacked me,” she said deliberately. “I was defending myself.”
Khloe stared at her.
Marcus looked confused.
The suite doors burst open.
Security officers entered behind Dr. Shaw.
Marcus positioned himself between Khloe and Isabella.
“Which one of you is lying?”
The hidden camera rotated.
Its red light blinked.
The hospital investigator entered carrying a tablet.
“The footage proves who attacked Khloe,” he said. “But it also recorded Marcus saying something before the incident.”
Marcus turned pale.
The investigator played the recording.
“If Khloe loses the baby, the trust returns to me.”
Isabella’s recorded voice followed.
“And if she survives?”
“Then we make sure she never remembers what happened.”
The screen went black.
REMOTE ACCESS DETECTED.
Marcus’s phone vibrated.
May you like
YOU WERE WARNED NOT TO LET THE CAMERA SEE EVERYTHING.
Then every door in the suite locked.
