CHAPTER 13 — THE FALL OF ISABELLA ROSSI
CHAPTER 13 — THE FALL OF ISABELLA ROSSI
Isabella Rossi had always believed she was untouchable.
She believed beautiful women could manipulate powerful men.
She believed money could erase mistakes.
She believed Marcus Thorne would always choose silence over scandal.
Most of all, she believed the people who had promised her a place inside the Thorne empire would keep their word.
She was wrong.
By sunrise, Isabella's entire life had begun to collapse.
The first video appeared at 6:08 a.m.
It showed Isabella entering Khloe's hospital suite.
The second showed her arguing with Khloe.
The third showed her pushing Khloe.
And the fourth showed the moment Isabella drove the heel of her shoe into Khloe's side.
There was no ambiguity.
No misunderstanding.
No self-defense.
No accident.
She had attacked a pregnant woman.
And she had done it deliberately.
Within minutes, the footage reached the police.
Then the lawyers.
Then the press.
Then the public.
Isabella watched the video from her apartment.
Her hands were shaking.
“No.”
She replayed it.
Again.
Again.
Again.
She could hear her own voice.
“You were supposed to stay quiet.”
Her stomach twisted.
She had never expected the camera to survive.
She had been told the cameras were disabled.
That was the first lie.
The second came ten minutes later.
Her phone rang.
A number she recognized.
She answered immediately.
“You said there were no cameras.”
The voice on the other end was cold.
“There weren't supposed to be.”
“You told me the system had been shut down.”
“I said it would be.”
“You lied to me.”
The man laughed.
“You participated willingly.”
Isabella's face hardened.
“Who are you?”
“You know exactly who I am.”
The call ended.
Isabella stared at the phone.
Then she whispered:
“They're going to kill me.”
She wasn't wrong.
But they weren't planning to kill her physically.
They intended to destroy her credibility.
Make her look unstable.
Obsessed.
Greedy.
Desperate.
A woman who had become involved with a married billionaire and attacked his pregnant wife out of jealousy.
It would be easy.
Because Isabella had given them enough evidence.
Her affair with Marcus.
Her messages.
Her financial transfers.
Her threats against Khloe.
Every mistake she had made could be used against her.
And the people behind her were preparing to sacrifice her.
At 7:30 a.m., Marcus received the complete evidence package.
His attorney placed the documents on the table.
“There's more.”
Marcus looked up.
“How much?”
“Enough to establish a pattern.”
The attorney opened the first file.
Payments from Isabella to a private consulting company.
Then payments from that company to a shell corporation.
Then transfers from the shell corporation into an account controlled by someone inside Thorne Industries.
Marcus stared.
“Isabella wasn't acting alone.”
“No.”
“Who funded her?”
“We're still tracing it.”
Khloe sat beside Marcus.
Her expression remained calm.
“She knows.”
Marcus looked at her.
“Isabella?”
“She knows who gave her the money.”
“You think she'll talk?”
Khloe nodded.
“She will if she realizes they're going to abandon her.”
Marcus stared at the evidence.
“Then let's give her a reason.”
At 9:12 a.m., Isabella arrived at the police station.
She wore sunglasses despite the cloudy morning.
Her attorney walked beside her.
Cameras surrounded the entrance.
Reporters shouted questions.
“Did you attack Khloe Thorne?”
“Were you having an affair with Marcus Thorne?”
“Did you know Khloe was pregnant?”
“Were you paid to hurt her?”
Isabella kept walking.
But one question stopped her.
“Did Eleanor Thorne order you to attack Khloe?”
Isabella froze.
Her attorney immediately pulled her forward.
But the damage was done.
She had heard the name.
Eleanor.
The woman who had promised her everything.
The woman who had told her Khloe would disappear.
The woman who had promised Isabella she would become Marcus's wife.
Isabella suddenly understood.
She had never been Eleanor's ally.
She had been Eleanor's disposable weapon.
Inside the interrogation room, Isabella sat alone.
A detective entered.
He placed a folder on the table.
“You're facing multiple charges.”
Isabella swallowed.
“I want immunity.”
The detective stared at her.
“For what?”
“I have information.”
“Everyone says that when they realize they're in trouble.”
“I know who planned the attack.”
The detective opened the folder.
“Then tell us.”
Isabella leaned forward.
“But I want protection.”
“From whom?”
She whispered:
“Eleanor Thorne.”
Across town, Eleanor received the news.
She stood beside the window of her mansion.
Her assistant entered.
“Isabella is talking.”
Eleanor turned.
“To whom?”
“Police.”
Eleanor's expression didn't change.
“What did she say?”
“She mentioned your name.”
Eleanor slowly placed her coffee cup down.
“Get rid of her.”
The assistant hesitated.
“She's already under police protection.”
“Then find another way.”
The assistant nodded.
But before he could leave, Eleanor's phone rang.
Richard Thorne.
She answered.
“What?”
Richard's voice was furious.
“You've lost control.”
“No.”
“Isabella is talking.”
“She won't have anything useful.”
“She knows about the payments.”
Eleanor went silent.
Richard continued.
“She knows about the hospital.”
“I handled that.”
“You handled nothing.”
Eleanor's expression hardened.
“You were supposed to control Marcus.”
“I tried.”
“And failed.”
Richard's voice dropped.
“Because you underestimated Khloe.”
Eleanor looked toward the window.
“I'll fix it.”
Richard laughed.
“You've said that before.”
Meanwhile, Isabella began talking.
She told investigators everything.
Not because she had suddenly developed courage.
Because she was terrified.
She admitted the affair.
She admitted she had been promised a future with Marcus.
She admitted she had been paid.
She admitted she had received instructions before the hospital attack.
And then she gave investigators the name of the company that had paid her.
Rossi Strategic Holdings.
The investigator looked up.
“Your family company?”
Isabella nodded.
“My father doesn't know.”
“Who controlled it?”
She hesitated.
“Eleanor.”
The investigator leaned forward.
“Are you certain?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Because I saw the authorization.”
She reached into her handbag.
“I have copies.”
The documents were devastating.
They showed Eleanor had authorized payments to Isabella months before the hospital attack.
They showed payments to the doctor who falsified Khloe's medical records.
Payments to security contractors.
Payments to private investigators.
Payments to shell companies.
And one payment labeled:
PROJECT RED ROSE.
The investigator frowned.
“What is Project Red Rose?”
Isabella shook her head.
“I don't know.”
“You must.”
“I swear.”
She remembered something.
A meeting.
A hotel.
Eleanor sitting across from her.
Eleanor had placed a folder on the table.
“Your job is simple.”
“What if she fights?”
“She won't.”
“And Marcus?”
“He'll blame himself.”
Isabella had laughed.
“And after?”
Eleanor had smiled.
“Khloe disappears.”
Isabella stared at the detective.
“She wasn't supposed to die.”
The detective's expression changed.
“What?”
“Eleanor told me she would be sent away.”
“Where?”
“I don't know.”
“But she said something else.”
“What?”
“She said…”
Isabella swallowed.
“She said the baby couldn't be born.”
Silence filled the room.
Marcus received the transcript thirty minutes later.
His face became cold.
Khloe read it beside him.
Her hand moved instinctively toward her stomach.
Marcus noticed.
He reached for her hand.
“They're not getting near you.”
Khloe nodded.
“I know.”
But her eyes remained on the page.
“Marcus.”
“Yes?”
“There is something else.”
“What?”
“I remember Isabella saying something to me.”
“During the attack?”
“Yes.”
“What?”
Khloe closed her eyes.
“She said, ‘Your mother should have stayed dead.’”
Marcus froze.
“Your mother?”
Khloe nodded.
“My mother.”
Marcus looked at the evidence.
“That means Isabella knew about Evelyn.”
“Yes.”
“Who told her?”
“I don't know.”
Khloe suddenly looked frightened.
“My mother wasn't supposed to be alive either.”
Marcus stared.
“What?”
Khloe whispered:
“I found a second death certificate.”
The document had been hidden inside the blue box.
Two death certificates.
Same name.
Same date.
Different causes.
One was official.
The other was sealed.
Marcus examined the second document.
“Your mother didn't die from illness.”
Khloe shook her head.
“No.”
“What happened?”
“She was declared dead after a car accident.”
Marcus stared.
Another accident.
Another lie.
Another connection.
The Thorne family had been hiding the truth for decades.
And now the pattern was becoming clear.
People who discovered the truth didn't simply lose money.
They disappeared.
At noon, Isabella was taken into protective custody.
She expected relief.
Instead, she received a message.
You betrayed the wrong people.
Then another.
Your sister is at the Rossi estate.
Isabella's blood ran cold.
She immediately called the detective.
“My sister is in danger.”
The detective stood.
“Where?”
“I need to leave.”
“You're not leaving.”
“You don't understand.”
She showed him the message.
“They're threatening my family.”
The detective took the phone.
“Who sent this?”
“I don't know.”
But Isabella did.
She knew exactly who.
Eleanor.
That evening, Isabella made one final decision.
She would betray everyone.
She requested another meeting.
Marcus arrived with Khloe.
Isabella looked at them through the glass.
She had never expected to see them together again.
She picked up the phone.
Marcus did the same.
Isabella spoke first.
“I know where the original records are.”
Marcus frowned.
“What records?”
“The financial records.”
“Which ones?”
“The ones proving who really controls the Thorne trust.”
Khloe leaned closer.
“Where?”
Isabella hesitated.
“In Eleanor's private residence.”
Marcus stared.
“Why would you know that?”
“Because I delivered them.”
“What records?”
“Original contracts.”
“Signed by whom?”
“Your grandfather.”
Marcus's face tightened.
“Why would Eleanor keep them?”
“Because she couldn't destroy them.”
“Why?”
Isabella whispered:
“Because she isn't the owner.”
Marcus froze.
“Then who is?”
Isabella looked directly at Khloe.
“You.”
Marcus's voice became quiet.
“You knew this?”
Isabella shook her head.
“I only knew Eleanor wanted you to believe the trust belonged to the Thorne family.”
“Why?”
“Because if the real ownership became public, Eleanor would lose everything.”
Khloe stared at her.
“And what does she fear most?”
Isabella answered:
“You.”
Isabella then gave Marcus the location.
A hidden room beneath Eleanor's mansion.
A vault.
The original trust.
The original signatures.
And evidence of every payment connected to the conspiracy.
But there was one final warning.
“Don't go there tonight.”
Marcus frowned.
“Why?”
“Because Eleanor knows I'm talking.”
Marcus stood.
“What will she do?”
Isabella looked at him.
“She'll burn everything.”
Marcus immediately ordered a team to Eleanor's estate.
But they arrived too late.
Smoke was already rising from the property.
Flames climbed through the upper windows.
Firefighters rushed toward the building.
Marcus stood outside.
Khloe arrived minutes later.
“Is it gone?”
Marcus looked at the burning mansion.
“Maybe.”
Then Daniel appeared.
He was holding a black metal case.
Marcus stared.
“Where did you get that?”
Daniel opened it.
Inside were the original documents.
Khloe covered her mouth.
The evidence had survived.
Daniel smiled.
“I found the vault.”
Marcus looked at him.
“Then we have her.”
But Daniel shook his head.
“No.”
He handed Marcus another file.
“We have all of them.”
Marcus opened it.
Names filled the pages.
Eleanor.
Richard.
Victor.
Doctors.
Executives.
Politicians.
Security contractors.
And at the bottom—
Isabella Rossi.
Marcus looked toward the police vehicle where Isabella was being escorted away.
For the first time, he didn't see her as the woman who had betrayed him.
He saw her as a witness.
A dangerous one.
A necessary one.
And perhaps the only person capable of explaining what had happened to Khloe's mother.
That night, Isabella received one final message.
She opened it.
There was a photograph.
Her sister.
Alive.
Then a second photograph.
A grave.
Her mother's grave.
Then one sentence:
You should have stayed silent.
Isabella stared at the screen.
Her hands stopped trembling.
Something inside her changed.
She turned toward the detective.
“I know where Eleanor is going.”
“Where?”
Isabella looked at him.
“To finish what she started.”
“And where is that?”
Isabella whispered:
“The hospital.”
The detective's face changed.
“Why?”
“Because Khloe's baby is still the final piece.”
Across the city, Eleanor entered a private medical facility.
She removed her coat.
A doctor approached.
“Everything is ready.”
Eleanor nodded.
“Good.”
“Are you certain?”
She looked toward the operating room.
“Yes.”
Then she smiled.
“Once that child is born, the trust activates permanently.”
The doctor swallowed.
“And if the child doesn't survive?”
Eleanor's smile disappeared.
“Then neither does Khloe's claim.”
Outside, sirens suddenly echoed through the parking lot.
Eleanor turned toward the window.
Red and blue lights flashed across the glass.
Her expression finally broke.
Because Marcus Thorne was standing outside.
And beside him stood Isabella Rossi.
For the first time, the woman who had been used as a weapon had chosen her own side.
May you like
And she had brought enough evidence to destroy everyone who had ever believed she was disposable.
TO BE CONTINUED…
