Chapter 8 — Khloe’s Fight
Chapter 8 — Khloe’s Fight
For three days after the attack, Khloe Hale had been fighting a battle nobody could see.
Not against Isabella.
Not against the court.
Not against the rumors spreading outside the hospital.
She was fighting the fear inside herself.
Every time she closed her eyes…
She was back on the marble floor.
She felt Isabella’s hand around her arm.
She felt the cold surface beneath her body.
She heard the sound of her own breath disappearing as panic took over.
And worst of all…
She remembered the look on Isabella’s face.
Not anger.
Not hatred.
Something worse.
Certainty.
Like Isabella believed she had the right to do what she did.
Khloe opened her eyes.
The hospital room was quiet.
The morning sun entered through the window.
For a moment, she forgot where she was.
Then she felt Marcus’s hand holding hers.
“You’re awake.”
His voice was soft.
Khloe turned.
He was sitting beside her bed.
Exhausted.
Unshaven.
But still there.
“You didn’t sleep.”
Marcus smiled weakly.
“Neither did you.”
A small silence passed.
Then Khloe asked:
“What happened while I was asleep?”
Marcus knew what she meant.
Not medically.
Not about the baby.
About the truth.
He looked away.
“Things got worse.”
Khloe squeezed his hand.
“Tell me.”
Marcus hesitated.
“You need to rest.”
“No.”
Her voice surprised him.
Strong.
Firm.
“I spent years letting other people decide what I could handle.”
She looked at him.
“I’m not doing that anymore.”
Marcus became quiet.
Because this was the first time he saw something change in Khloe.
Before the attack, she was kind.
Patient.
Always willing to understand others.
But Isabella had taken something from her.
And now Khloe had found something else.
Her voice.
Marcus told her everything.
The deleted cameras.
Kevin.
The hidden messages.
Ethan.
When he finished, Khloe remained silent.
“Ethan knew.”
Marcus nodded.
“He didn’t know she would attack you.”
“But he knew she was watching us.”
“Yes.”
Khloe looked toward the window.
“That hurts more.”
Marcus looked at her.
“What?”
“Isabella is dangerous.”
She swallowed.
“But Ethan was family.”
Marcus had no answer.
Because that was exactly what hurt.
That afternoon, Detective Grant arrived.
She expected to find a frightened woman.
Instead, she found someone prepared.
“I want to give a statement.”
Detective Grant looked surprised.
“Mrs. Hale, your doctors said—”
“I know what they said.”
Khloe adjusted herself carefully.
“But Isabella is counting on me staying quiet.”
The detective studied her.
“Are you sure?”
Khloe nodded.
“She hurt me because she thought I was weak.”
A pause.
“She needs to know she was wrong.”
The official interview began.
A recorder was placed on the table.
Detective Grant started.
“Please describe what happened.”
Khloe closed her eyes.
And returned to that moment.
“She came into the room.”
“Did she seem angry?”
“No.”
Detective Grant looked up.
“No?”
Khloe shook her head.
“She seemed calm.”
“Calm?”
“Yes.”
Khloe’s voice became quieter.
“That’s what scared me.”
She explained everything.
How Isabella talked.
How she touched her stomach.
How she asked about the baby.
Then Detective Grant asked:
“What exactly did she say?”
Khloe remembered.
The words.
The horrible certainty.
“She said…”
Khloe swallowed.
“‘You’re carrying the life that should have been mine.’”
The room went silent.
Detective Grant wrote it down.
“Anything else?”
Khloe looked at Marcus.
Then back at the detective.
“Yes.”
“She said someone inside the family helped her.”
Detective Grant’s expression changed.
Later that evening, the hospital received another visitor.
Not Marcus.
Not Detective Grant.
Ethan.
Marcus immediately stood when he saw him.
“What are you doing here?”
Ethan looked exhausted.
“I need to talk to Khloe.”
Marcus stepped between them.
“No.”
Ethan looked at him.
“Marcus, please.”
“You knew.”
His voice was cold.
“You knew she was planning something.”
“I knew she was angry.”
“That’s not an answer.”
Ethan looked away.
And that confirmed everything.
Khloe spoke from the bed.
“Let him talk.”
Marcus turned.
“Khloe—”
“I want to hear.”
Slowly, Marcus moved aside.
Ethan entered.
He looked at Khloe.
And immediately looked ashamed.
“I’m sorry.”
Khloe stared at him.
“You should be.”
Ethan accepted the words.
Because he deserved them.
“I thought I was helping.”
Marcus laughed bitterly.
“You helped her stalk my wife?”
“No.”
Ethan shook his head.
“I thought I was helping you.”
Silence.
“What does that mean?”
Ethan looked at Marcus.
“Isabella told me something.”
Marcus waited.
“She said the baby might not be yours.”
Khloe’s face changed.
Marcus became still.
“What?”
Ethan continued.
“She showed me documents.”
“Fake documents.”
“Maybe.”
Marcus stared.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Ethan looked broken.
“Because I didn’t know what to believe.”
That answer hurt more than anger.
Because it meant Ethan chose doubt.
Not trust.
Khloe touched her stomach.
Then looked at Ethan.
“Did you ever think about what would happen to me?”
Ethan lowered his head.
“No.”
The honesty was worse.
“I was so focused on whether Isabella was telling the truth…”
He swallowed.
“I forgot there was a real person standing in front of me.”
Khloe looked away.
That night, Marcus received a call from the laboratory.
The DNA test request.
The one Isabella submitted.
He answered.
“Yes?”
A woman spoke.
“Mr. Hale, we need to inform you of an irregularity.”
Marcus frowned.
“What kind of irregularity?”
“The sample submitted by Ms. Moretti was not a standard request.”
Marcus stood.
“What does that mean?”
The woman lowered her voice.
“It means she already had access to genetic material connected to your family.”
Marcus felt cold.
“How?”
A pause.
Then:
“We traced the request history.”
“She received the sample from someone inside the hospital.”
Marcus’s hand tightened around the phone.
“Who?”
The answer came.
“We are still confirming.”
A long silence.
“But the authorization code belongs to…”
The woman stopped.
“Mr. Hale?”
Marcus whispered:
“Belongs to who?”
The answer finally came.
“Dr. Alexander Hale.”
Marcus stood frozen.
His uncle.
The man who saved Khloe.
The man he trusted.
No.
Impossible.
But the evidence was beginning to form a terrifying picture.
And somewhere between Isabella’s obsession…
Ethan’s betrayal…
And the hidden DNA test…
Marcus realized one thing.
May you like
The truth about his daughter was buried deeper than he ever imagined.
End of Chapter 8
