Chapter 12 — The Trap
Chapter 12 — The Trap
Marcus stared at the phone long after the call ended.
The room had gone silent.
Rain struck the broken windows.
Somewhere outside, a siren wailed and disappeared into the distance.
His father lowered his weapon.
“Marcus.”
He didn't answer.
“Marcus, listen to me.”
“My wife has been taken.”
“I know.”
“They threatened my daughter.”
“I know.”
“Then tell me where she is.”
His father stepped closer.
“I can get you there.”
Marcus turned on him.
“You disappeared for twelve years.”
His father's expression tightened.
“You have no idea why.”
“I don't care.”
“I do.”
“Then prove it.”
His father nodded.
“I will.”
David slowly emerged from behind the desk.
“Don't.”
Marcus turned.
David's voice was urgent.
“You cannot go.”
Marcus stared at him.
“Why?”
“Because that's what they want.”
“They have Khloe.”
“They want you to believe they have Khloe.”
Marcus froze.
“What?”
David pointed toward the phone.
“Did you hear her voice?”
“No.”
“Did you hear anything other than breathing?”
Marcus's expression changed.
“No.”
“Then you don't know if that was Khloe.”
His father looked at David.
“He's right.”
Marcus looked between them.
“Then where is she?”
David hesitated.
“That is the trap.”
Thirty minutes earlier, at the hospital, Khloe had been asleep.
A nurse entered quietly.
“Mrs. Thorne?”
Khloe opened her eyes.
“Yes?”
The nurse smiled.
“Your husband asked me to move you.”
Khloe immediately frowned.
“Why?”
“There was a security breach.”
Khloe sat up.
“Where?”
“The maternity floor.”
“Is Marcus here?”
“He's waiting downstairs.”
Khloe relaxed.
“Okay.”
The nurse pushed the wheelchair closer.
“Please sit.”
Khloe hesitated.
Something felt wrong.
“What's your name?”
The nurse paused.
“Sarah.”
“Sarah what?”
The woman's smile disappeared.
Before Khloe could react, another person entered the room.
A man in a surgical mask.
He grabbed her arm.
Khloe screamed.
The nurse covered her mouth.
“Don't!”
Khloe fought violently.
Her hand struck the emergency button.
An alarm began screaming.
The masked man cursed.
“Move!”
The nurse injected something into Khloe's arm.
Her vision blurred.
She heard footsteps outside.
Someone shouted.
Then everything went black.
When Khloe opened her eyes, she was in a dark room.
Her wrists were tied.
Her stomach hurt.
She tried to move.
A light turned on.
A woman sat across from her.
Khloe stared.
“Isabella?”
Isabella looked exhausted.
“I'm sorry.”
Khloe's voice was weak.
“You did this?”
“No.”
“Then untie me.”
“I can't.”
“Why?”
“Because if I do, they will kill you.”
Khloe stared at her.
“Who?”
Isabella looked toward the door.
“They're already inside.”
The door opened.
A man entered.
Khloe recognized him.
David.
Her face hardened.
“You.”
David smiled.
“Hello, Khloe.”
“You kidnapped me.”
“No.”
“You ordered it.”
“No.”
“Then why am I here?”
David pulled a chair closer.
“Because you are the only person Marcus will choose without hesitation.”
Khloe stared.
“What do you want?”
David leaned forward.
“The trust.”
Khloe frowned.
“I don't control it.”
“You carry the key.”
“What key?”
David pointed toward her stomach.
“Your child.”
Khloe's blood ran cold.
“You're insane.”
“No.”
David smiled.
“I'm desperate.”
Back at the mansion, Marcus was pacing.
His father watched him.
“Tell me the truth.”
“I am.”
“Then tell me where Khloe is.”
His father took out an old map.
He spread it across the table.
“There are three properties connected to the trust.”
Marcus looked at the map.
“The hospital?”
“No.”
“The old estate?”
“No.”
“Then where?”
His father pointed.
A location outside Manhattan.
An abandoned textile factory.
Marcus frowned.
“What is there?”
“A vault.”
“For money?”
“For records.”
“What records?”
“Birth records.”
Marcus's face changed.
“Khloe's?”
“Among others.”
David interrupted.
“They want the original files.”
Marcus looked at him.
“Why?”
“To prove who the heirs are.”
Sofia stepped closer.
“Then why don't they simply test us?”
David looked at her.
“Because DNA can be changed.”
Marcus frowned.
“What?”
David explained:
“The trust was created before modern genetic testing. The legal heir isn't determined by DNA alone.”
“Then what?”
“Birth documentation.”
Marcus understood.
“If they control the records…”
“They control the inheritance.”
Elena looked terrified.
“Then why do they need Khloe?”
David answered:
“Because her birth certificate is missing.”
Marcus stared.
“Missing?”
“Yes.”
“And if they find it?”
“They can rewrite the family history.”
Marcus's jaw tightened.
“So this entire nightmare is about a piece of paper.”
“No.”
David looked at him.
“It's about twelve billion dollars.”
Marcus's father stepped forward.
“There is something else.”
“What?”
“The person behind this isn't David.”
Marcus looked at David.
David shook his head.
“I told you.”
“You expect me to believe you?”
“No.”
His father placed an old photograph on the table.
It showed three men.
Marcus's father.
Anthony Vale.
And another man.
Marcus recognized him immediately.
His grandfather.
Marcus stared.
“What does he have to do with this?”
His father answered:
“He was the original architect.”
“Of the trust?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“The family.”
Marcus looked confused.
His father continued:
“Your grandfather created a network of hidden identities, shell companies, secret guardians, and false birth records.”
“Why?”
“To ensure nobody could ever destroy the family fortune.”
Marcus shook his head.
“He sounds insane.”
“He was.”
“What happened to him?”
His father looked away.
“He died.”
Marcus waited.
“Didn't he?”
His father didn't answer.
David stepped forward.
“He disappeared.”
Marcus froze.
“Like you.”
“Yes.”
“And like Anthony.”
David nodded.
“And like Sofia's mother.”
Marcus's mind raced.
“How many people are still alive?”
David looked at him.
“Enough to destroy you.”
A phone rang.
Everyone froze.
It was Marcus's phone.
Khloe.
He answered.
“Khloe?”
This time, he heard her.
“Marcus.”
His heart broke.
“Where are you?”
“I don't know.”
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
“Is the baby okay?”
“I think so.”
Marcus closed his eyes.
“I'm coming.”
“No!”
Her voice was sharp.
“Don't come.”
“Why?”
“They want you here.”
“Who?”
She hesitated.
Then whispered:
“David.”
Marcus looked at David.
David's face had gone pale.
Khloe continued:
“Marcus, don't trust anyone.”
“I'm listening.”
“They said if you come alone—”
The call suddenly cut off.
Marcus stared at the screen.
His father stepped closer.
“It was real.”
Marcus looked at him.
“You heard her.”
“Yes.”
“Then we're going.”
“No.”
Marcus turned.
“You don't get to tell me no.”
His father grabbed his arm.
“Listen.”
Marcus pulled away.
“You've lied to me my entire life.”
“I lied to keep you alive.”
“And now my wife is being held hostage.”
His father looked at him.
“That's exactly why you cannot walk into that trap.”
Marcus's voice broke.
“What am I supposed to do?”
“Make them think you will.”
At midnight, Marcus drove alone.
Or so everyone believed.
The black sedan moved through the rain toward the abandoned factory.
No security convoy.
No police.
No family.
Exactly what the kidnappers demanded.
Marcus parked outside.
The factory was dark.
He stepped out.
A loudspeaker crackled.
“Mr. Thorne.”
Marcus looked up.
“You came.”
“Bring my wife out.”
A man's voice laughed.
“You're alone?”
“Yes.”
“Prove it.”
Marcus raised his hands.
“Search me.”
Two men appeared.
They searched him.
No weapon.
No phone.
Nothing.
Satisfied, they stepped aside.
A door opened.
“Come in.”
Marcus entered.
The door slammed behind him.
Lights flickered on.
Rows of old filing cabinets filled the room.
At the center stood David.
Marcus froze.
“You.”
David looked at him.
“I warned you.”
“Where's Khloe?”
“She isn't here.”
Marcus's face hardened.
“Then where is she?”
David pointed toward a screen.
A video began playing.
Khloe was tied to a chair.
Marcus stepped forward.
“Khloe!”
She looked directly at the camera.
“Marcus, don't!”
A masked man stood behind her.
He held a gun.
Marcus's hands clenched.
The video stopped.
David turned.
“She will live if you cooperate.”
“What do you want?”
“The trust.”
“You already have it.”
“No.”
David walked toward him.
“I need your signature.”
“For what?”
“To transfer the controlling interest.”
Marcus stared.
“Why me?”
“Because you're the only surviving legal heir who can authorize it.”
“And if I refuse?”
David looked at the screen.
A countdown appeared.
30:00
Marcus's heart stopped.
“What is that?”
“Thirty minutes.”
“Until what?”
David smiled.
“Until the room where Khloe is being held fills with gas.”
Marcus stared at him.
“You're bluffing.”
“I wish I were.”
The countdown began.
29:59
Marcus looked around.
Then noticed something.
A tiny red light.
A camera.
He smiled.
David frowned.
“What?”
“You said I came alone.”
“Yes.”
Marcus looked at the camera.
“You were wrong.”
The lights suddenly went out.
A voice came through the speakers.
“Now.”
Doors burst open.
Armed agents stormed the factory.
David stumbled backward.
“What have you done?”
Marcus grabbed him.
“Where is she?”
David struggled.
“I don't know!”
Marcus slammed him against the wall.
“Where?”
“I swear!”
A gunshot echoed.
One of the agents fell.
Chaos erupted.
Marcus ducked.
His father's voice came through an earpiece.
“Marcus, move!”
He ran toward the back corridor.
A door opened.
He found a control room.
Screens covered the walls.
One showed the factory.
Another showed the hospital.
Another showed a basement.
Marcus froze.
Khloe was there.
Alive.
He rushed toward the screen.
“Where is that?”
His father answered through the earpiece.
“Basement level.”
Marcus ran.
He found a steel door.
Behind it, he heard screaming.
“Khloe!”
“Marcus!”
He kicked the door.
It wouldn't move.
Nathan arrived behind him.
“Stand back.”
He fired at the lock.
The door opened.
Marcus rushed inside.
Khloe was tied to a chair.
He ran to her.
“I'm here.”
She cried.
“You came.”
“I'll always come.”
He untied her.
Then froze.
Her face was covered in tears.
But she wasn't looking at him.
She was staring at the floor.
Marcus followed her gaze.
A small medical case lay open.
Inside was a syringe.
And a label.
MATERNAL GENETIC EXTRACTION.
Marcus looked at Khloe.
“What did they do?”
She shook her head.
“They took blood.”
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
Nathan entered.
He looked at the case.
His expression changed.
“They weren't trying to hurt her.”
Marcus frowned.
“Then what?”
Nathan picked up the syringe.
“They were testing the baby.”
“For what?”
Nathan stared at the label.
“Something they couldn't get from the trust documents.”
Marcus's heart sank.
“What?”
Nathan looked at him.
“Genetic inheritance.”
Marcus stared.
“The baby has the bloodline.”
“Yes.”
“And they needed proof.”
“Yes.”
A voice came from behind them.
“No.”
They turned.
David stood in the doorway.
Blood ran down his forehead.
He looked at Khloe.
“They needed more than proof.”
Marcus stepped forward.
“What?”
David looked at the unborn child.
“They needed to know whether the baby was compatible.”
“With what?”
David's face became expressionless.
“The vault.”
Silence.
Marcus frowned.
“What vault?”
David whispered:
“The one your grandfather built beneath this property.”
Nathan looked alarmed.
“You mean the biometric vault?”
David nodded.
“It opens only for one bloodline.”
Marcus stared.
“Whose?”
David looked at Khloe.
“Her child's.”
Suddenly, the lights went red.
An alarm began screaming.
A mechanical voice announced:
GENETIC MATCH CONFIRMED.
Marcus looked toward the wall.
A hidden door slowly opened.
Behind it was a staircase descending into darkness.
David smiled.
“The trap wasn't meant to catch you.”
Marcus looked at him.
“What was it meant to do?”
David answered:
“It was meant to bring the baby here.”
Khloe grabbed Marcus's arm.
“We have to leave.”
Marcus nodded.
They turned toward the exit.
But the steel doors slammed shut.
The voice repeated:
HEIR IDENTIFIED.
Then another message appeared on the screen.
WELCOME, THORNE CHILD.
Marcus stared.
May you like
His unborn daughter had just opened the vault.
And somewhere deep beneath the factory, something had been waiting for her for more than twenty years.
