Chapter 3 — The Woman Behind Isabella
Chapter 3 — The Woman Behind Isabella
The call ended at 4:07 a.m.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Marcus stood in the middle of the security room, staring at David.
“She threatened Khloe.”
David nodded.
“She said the baby would be next.”
Marcus's hands curled into fists.
“Then we find her.”
Elaine looked at the monitors.
“She isn't alone.”
Marcus turned.
“What?”
Elaine tapped the screen.
“The money.”
A financial transaction appeared.
Isabella Rossi had received another transfer.
Not from the account Marcus expected.
Not from Blackwell & Pierce.
Not from any company connected to the Sterling family.
The money had come from a private holding company registered in Delaware.
AURELIA HOLDINGS LLC.
Marcus frowned.
“Who owns it?”
“We're tracing it.”
“Now.”
Elaine nodded.
Then stopped.
Her expression changed.
“What?”
She zoomed in.
“There is a controlling entity.”
Marcus leaned closer.
The screen displayed a name.
AURELIA WOMEN'S FOUNDATION.
David stared at it.
“No.”
Marcus looked at him.
“You know that name?”
David's face had gone pale.
“Yes.”
“Who is she?”
David didn't answer.
“Uncle David.”
He finally whispered:
“Vivian Thorne.”
Marcus froze.
“My father's sister.”
Vivian Thorne had been dead for eighteen years.
At least, that was what Marcus had always been told.
She had supposedly died in a boating accident off the coast of Monaco.
There had been no funeral.
No body.
No public investigation.
Only a brief announcement from the family.
Vivian Thorne, beloved daughter, sister, and philanthropist, passed away unexpectedly at forty-three.
Marcus had been thirteen.
He remembered his father standing beside the fireplace that night.
He remembered his mother's silence.
He remembered asking:
“Who was Aunt Vivian?”
His father had answered:
“Someone you should never ask about again.”
Marcus had obeyed.
Until now.
“She died,” he said.
David looked at him.
“That's what we believed.”
“You mean she didn't?”
“I don't know.”
Marcus stared at the account.
“Then why is her foundation funding Isabella?”
David shook his head.
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
“No.”
“You knew about the trust.”
“Yes.”
“You knew about the Bloodline Provision.”
“Yes.”
“You knew Isabella had a connection to my father's lawyers.”
“Yes.”
“And now you're telling me you don't know about Vivian?”
David's expression tightened.
“I didn't know she was alive.”
Marcus stepped closer.
“Then who has been sending Isabella money?”
David looked at the screen.
“I think we already know.”
At 4:31 a.m., a private jet landed at Sterling International Airport.
A woman stepped onto the runway.
She wore a black coat.
Black gloves.
No jewelry.
Her silver hair was cut perfectly short.
She looked nothing like the photograph Marcus remembered.
But when she turned toward the waiting car, the airport security officer recognized her.
“Ms. Thorne.”
She nodded.
“Is the hospital secure?”
“Yes.”
“Is the child still alive?”
“Yes.”
The woman entered the vehicle.
“And Marcus?”
“Still with Khloe.”
She smiled faintly.
“Good.”
The driver hesitated.
“Ma'am?”
“What?”
“Why did you come back?”
The woman looked through the window.
“I didn't come back.”
She paused.
“I was never gone.”
Marcus didn't know Vivian was already in Chicago.
He was too busy trying to protect Khloe.
Dr. Caldwell had increased security around the obstetric unit.
Two armed officers stood outside.
No visitors were permitted.
Every nurse was verified.
Every medical device was inspected.
Yet Marcus couldn't shake the feeling that someone was still inside.
He stood beside Khloe's bed.
She was awake.
“You look angry.”
“I am.”
“At me?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
“Everyone.”
Khloe smiled weakly.
“That's probably fair.”
Marcus sat down.
“I found out who has been funding Isabella.”
Khloe's expression changed.
“Who?”
“Aurelia Holdings.”
She frowned.
“I've heard that name.”
“Where?”
“In the paperwork from my first doctor.”
Marcus looked at her.
“What paperwork?”
“He mentioned a foundation.”
“What foundation?”
“Aurelia Women's Foundation.”
Marcus felt a chill.
“Did your doctor say anything about it?”
“He said they had offered to pay for my prenatal care.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I didn't know they were connected to Isabella.”
Marcus took her hand.
“Did you ever meet anyone from the foundation?”
Khloe hesitated.
“Yes.”
“Who?”
“A woman.”
“What woman?”
Khloe looked toward the door.
“She called herself Vivian.”
Marcus's blood ran cold.
“What did she look like?”
“Older.”
“Hair?”
“Silver.”
“Eyes?”
“Gray.”
Marcus stood.
“Did she tell you her last name?”
Khloe shook her head.
“No.”
“Did she touch you?”
Khloe looked confused.
“Once.”
“Where?”
“She put her hand on my stomach.”
Marcus's expression hardened.
“What did she say?”
Khloe whispered:
“She said, ‘You don't understand what you're carrying.’”
The security room suddenly became crowded.
Elaine had pulled up every financial connection between Aurelia Holdings and Isabella.
The results were overwhelming.
Payments.
Hotels.
Private investigators.
Legal fees.
Medical expenses.
Travel.
Everything Isabella had done over the last eight months had been financed by the same network.
But one payment stood out.
A transfer of $12 million.
Marcus stared.
“What was that for?”
Elaine opened the associated invoice.
“Acquisition.”
“Of what?”
She hesitated.
“Your father's old company.”
Marcus frowned.
“My father sold that company.”
“According to public records.”
“What does the private record say?”
Elaine opened another file.
The company had never truly been sold.
It had been transferred into a holding structure.
The holding structure was controlled by Aurelia Holdings.
Marcus stared.
“So Vivian owns part of my father's empire.”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
“Twenty-two percent.”
David closed his eyes.
Marcus turned toward him.
“You knew.”
“I knew about the company.”
“Did you know Vivian controlled it?”
“No.”
“Then who did?”
David didn't answer.
Marcus looked at Elaine.
“Find out.”
At 5:12 a.m., Elaine discovered the first direct connection.
Isabella had received a private message from an encrypted number.
The message contained three words:
THE CHILD FIRST.
The sender was listed as:
V. THORNE.
Marcus stared at it.
Then another message appeared.
Marcus must believe Isabella is acting alone.
A third:
Do not let him find me.
Marcus looked at David.
“This isn't just financial.”
“No.”
“It's personal.”
David nodded.
“Vivian hated your father.”
“Why?”
“Because he inherited everything.”
Marcus frowned.
“What did she get?”
“Nothing.”
“Why?”
“Because your grandmother disinherited her.”
“Why?”
David hesitated.
“She tried to expose the family.”
Marcus stared.
“Expose what?”
David whispered:
“The first fraud.”
The truth came slowly.
Decades earlier, the Sterling family had secretly acquired a pharmaceutical company.
The transaction had been illegal.
Vivian discovered it.
She threatened to expose the family.
Marcus's grandfather retaliated.
He cut her out of the trust.
Then he ordered everyone to believe she had died.
“But why would she come after Khloe?” Marcus asked.
David looked at him.
“Because she believes the child is the key to everything.”
“To what?”
“The Sterling Legacy Trust.”
Marcus shook his head.
“She wants the trust.”
“No.”
David's expression darkened.
“She wants to destroy it.”
At 6:02 a.m., the hospital received a package.
No sender.
No return address.
It was delivered directly to Marcus.
Inside was a single envelope.
His name was written by hand.
He opened it.
One photograph fell onto the table.
It showed Vivian standing beside Isabella.
On the back were four words:
SHE IS NOT THE ENEMY.
Marcus stared.
Then the door opened.
Isabella walked into the room.
Two officers immediately stepped forward.
“Stop.”
She raised her hands.
“I came to talk.”
Marcus stared at her.
“You're under investigation.”
“I know.”
“You threatened my wife.”
“I didn't.”
“You paid people to attack her.”
“No.”
“Then who did?”
Isabella looked at him.
“Vivian.”
Marcus froze.
“Why should I believe you?”
“Because she told me to kill the baby.”
Silence.
David stepped forward.
“What did you just say?”
Isabella began crying.
This time, the tears looked real.
“She found me eight months ago.”
“Why?”
“Because she knew I hated Khloe.”
Marcus's expression hardened.
“And she used you.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“She promised me Marcus.”
He stared.
“She said if Khloe disappeared, you would eventually choose me.”
Marcus felt disgust.
“You agreed?”
“Yes.”
“And the money?”
“She paid me.”
“How much?”
“Enough to make me believe I could escape.”
“Escape what?”
Isabella looked toward David.
“Your family.”
David's face changed.
“What does that mean?”
Isabella whispered:
“Vivian isn't trying to steal the Sterling fortune.”
“She's trying to make sure nobody inherits it.”
Marcus stared at her.
“Why?”
Isabella shook her head.
“I don't know.”
“Then find out.”
“I tried.”
“And?”
“She threatened my mother.”
Marcus paused.
“Your mother?”
“Yes.”
“Where is she?”
“Dead.”
Isabella looked down.
“Vivian killed her.”
The room went silent.
Marcus didn't know whether to believe her.
Then Isabella reached into her purse.
The officers immediately moved.
“Slowly.”
She pulled out a small recording device.
“I stole this from Vivian.”
She pressed play.
A woman's voice filled the room.
Cold.
Calm.
Familiar.
Vivian.
“You were useful, Isabella.”
Isabella's breathing became uneven.
Vivian continued.
“But you misunderstood your role.”
Isabella whispered:
“She was talking to me.”
The recording continued.
“Marcus cannot know the child is not simply an heir.”
Marcus looked at Khloe.
“What does that mean?”
Vivian's voice answered.
“The child is evidence.”
Marcus froze.
“Evidence of what?”
Vivian continued:
“Evidence that the Sterling family has been lying for three generations.”
The recording ended.
No one moved.
Then another voice appeared.
A man's voice.
Marcus recognized it immediately.
His father.
“You can't do this, Vivian.”
Marcus's heart stopped.
His father continued:
“If you expose the truth, you'll destroy Marcus.”
Vivian answered:
“Your son is not the one I'm trying to destroy.”
“Then who?”
Vivian's voice became almost a whisper.
“Your entire bloodline.”
The recording ended.
Marcus stared at the device.
His father's voice had been dead for years.
Yet somehow, his father had known about Vivian.
Had known about the child.
Had known about the danger.
And had kept silent.
Khloe suddenly cried out.
Marcus turned.
Her hand clutched her abdomen.
Dr. Caldwell rushed inside.
“What's happening?”
“Pain.”
The monitor began beeping rapidly.
Nathan checked the readings.
“We need to move her.”
Marcus grabbed Khloe's hand.
“Is the baby okay?”
Nathan's expression tightened.
“We're having another problem.”
“What?”
“The fetal heart rate is dropping.”
Marcus felt the world disappear.
Khloe looked at him.
“Marcus…”
He leaned over her.
“I'm here.”
“I don't want our baby to die.”
“It won't.”
But even as he said it, another monitor began screaming.
Outside the room, a nurse shouted:
“Security!”
Marcus turned.
A figure was running down the corridor.
Elaine chased after him.
The doors slammed shut.
Then the lights went out.
Again.
And in the darkness, Marcus heard a woman's voice through the hospital intercom.
Vivian.
“Marcus Thorne.”
He froze.
“You wanted to know why your child matters.”
The emergency lights flickered red.
Vivian continued:
“Because your child carries proof that I was right.”
A pause.
“And if that child is born…”
Her voice became colder.
“…the Sterling family will finally fall.”
The announcement ended.
Marcus stared into the darkness.
He finally understood.
Isabella had never been the mastermind.
She had been a weapon.
Vivian was the hand holding it.
But the most terrifying part was still unanswered.
What exactly did Khloe's unborn child carry?
And why was Vivian willing to destroy an entire family to make sure the world never found out?
Outside the hospital room, footsteps approached.
Slow.
Measured.
Deliberate.
May you like
Someone stopped directly outside the door.
Then the handle began to turn.
