Chapter 2 — The Baby Between Them
Chapter 2 — The Baby Between Them
The first thing Marcus heard when he stepped back into Khloe's room was the steady rhythm of the fetal monitor.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
It was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard.
He stood in the doorway for several seconds, afraid to disturb the fragile peace inside.
Khloe was awake.
Her eyes were fixed on the ceiling.
One hand rested over her stomach.
The other lay beside her.
When she saw Marcus, she smiled faintly.
“You came back.”
He walked to her immediately.
“I told you I wasn't leaving.”
She looked at the chair.
“You can sit.”
Marcus pulled it closer.
He took her hand.
Neither spoke.
For the first time that night, there were no lawyers.
No police.
No cameras.
No Isabella.
Just the two of them.
And the tiny heartbeat between them.
Khloe closed her eyes.
“Did you talk to your uncle?”
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
Marcus hesitated.
“He found something.”
Her expression changed.
“What?”
“Someone accessed your medical records.”
Khloe went still.
“What?”
“Seven times.”
Her fingers tightened around his.
“Who?”
“We don't know.”
“Isabella?”
“We don't know.”
Khloe stared at him.
“Marcus…”
“I know.”
“She knew things about my pregnancy.”
“What things?”
“Things I never told her.”
Marcus felt a cold sensation move through his chest.
“What did she know?”
“She knew when my appointments were.”
“She could have learned that from someone.”
“She knew the baby's estimated weight.”
Marcus frowned.
“Who told her?”
“I don't know.”
“She knew you were having complications?”
Khloe nodded.
“She mentioned them at dinner.”
Marcus's jaw tightened.
“When?”
“Two weeks ago.”
“What exactly did she say?”
Khloe looked away.
“She said I shouldn't be having a baby if I was already having problems carrying it.”
Marcus's eyes hardened.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I didn't want another fight.”
“Khloe.”
“I thought she was just trying to scare me.”
Marcus lowered his head.
“I should have protected you.”
She squeezed his hand.
“You did.”
“No.”
He looked at her.
“I didn't see what was happening.”
“You're seeing it now.”
The monitor continued.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Then suddenly—
The rhythm changed.
Khloe's eyes widened.
A nurse rushed inside.
“Doctor!”
Marcus stood.
“What happened?”
“Her contractions are increasing.”
Dr. Caldwell entered seconds later.
“Khloe, I need you to stay calm.”
“Is the baby okay?”
“We're checking.”
The room filled with movement.
Marcus was pushed back.
He hated it.
He hated standing there.
He hated being unable to do anything.
He hated the helplessness.
But he stayed.
Because Khloe needed him to.
Twenty minutes later, Dr. Caldwell finally stepped away from the monitor.
“The baby has stabilized.”
Marcus exhaled.
Khloe closed her eyes.
“Thank God.”
Caldwell looked at them both.
“But we need to be very careful.”
“How careful?” Marcus asked.
“Extremely.”
“Why?”
“Your wife suffered significant trauma. The baby is responding, but another serious incident could change everything.”
Marcus's face hardened.
“Then she stays here.”
Caldwell nodded.
“I agree.”
“How long?”
“At least several days.”
“Fine.”
Khloe opened her eyes.
“What about home?”
“No,” Marcus said.
She looked at him.
“Marcus—”
“No.”
“I don't want to stay in a hospital.”
“You almost lost our baby tonight.”
Her expression softened.
“I know.”
“So please.”
He took her hand.
“Let me be afraid for you.”
She stared at him.
Then nodded.
“Okay.”
At 5:30 in the morning, Detective Cole returned.
Marcus stepped into the hallway.
“What did you find?”
Cole handed him a file.
“We traced the security access.”
“And?”
“All seven logins came from the same terminal.”
“Whose?”
Cole looked directly at him.
“Isabella's.”
Marcus's jaw tightened.
“I knew it.”
“But there's a problem.”
“What?”
“The terminal was used remotely.”
Marcus frowned.
“Meaning?”
“Someone logged in using her credentials.”
“Can you identify them?”
“Not yet.”
Cole handed him another sheet.
“There was a second account.”
Marcus looked at it.
“What is that?”
“An administrator account.”
“Who owns it?”
Cole hesitated.
“Your company.”
Marcus looked up.
“My company?”
“Yes.”
“Who has access?”
“Four people.”
“Names.”
Cole gave him the list.
Marcus read it.
Then stopped.
His face changed.
“What?”
Cole noticed.
Marcus folded the paper.
“One of them is my chief financial officer.”
Cole nodded.
“Thomas Reed.”
Marcus stared down the corridor.
Thomas had worked for him for eight years.
He had managed billions.
He had attended Marcus's wedding.
He had held Khloe's hand when she announced the pregnancy.
And now his name was attached to a hidden security account.
Marcus's voice became quiet.
“Don't tell anyone.”
Cole raised an eyebrow.
“Especially not him.”
By morning, Isabella had become strangely calm.
She sat in a private waiting room.
Her makeup was perfect.
Her hair was immaculate.
She had changed into a cream-colored suit.
Anyone walking in would have assumed she was the victim.
David entered.
She looked up.
“Can I leave now?”
“No.”
“I have been here for hours.”
“You're not under arrest.”
“Then I should be free to go.”
David sat across from her.
“You will be.”
“When?”
“When the police finish.”
Isabella smiled.
“You don't trust me.”
“No.”
Her smile disappeared.
“You used to.”
“I was wrong.”
She leaned forward.
“David, I love Marcus.”
“Don't.”
“I'm serious.”
“You attacked his wife.”
“I didn't.”
“The cameras say otherwise.”
Isabella's eyes narrowed.
“Cameras can be misleading.”
“Not seven angles.”
She went silent.
David watched her carefully.
“Why did you access the hospital security system?”
“I didn't.”
“You did.”
“Prove it.”
David smiled without warmth.
“We will.”
Isabella stood.
“You're trying to destroy me.”
“No.”
David looked at her.
“You're doing that yourself.”
At 7:00 a.m., Marcus received a call.
It was from his company's board chairman.
“Marcus, we need you.”
“Not now.”
“This is urgent.”
“What happened?”
“There are rumors about Khloe.”
Marcus went still.
“What rumors?”
“That she staged the incident.”
His blood ran cold.
“Who started them?”
“We don't know.”
“You're lying.”
Silence.
“Who?”
“Several media outlets received anonymous material.”
“What material?”
“Photographs.”
“Of what?”
“Khloe arguing with Isabella.”
Marcus closed his eyes.
The photographs had been taken months earlier.
They were being presented as evidence that Khloe had always been unstable.
He hung up.
David was standing nearby.
“What happened?”
“Someone is leaking information.”
David looked at him.
“About Khloe?”
“Yes.”
“Then this isn't just a family dispute.”
Marcus shook his head.
“It never was.”
By noon, the story had spread.
BILLIONAIRE'S WIFE ACCUSED OF ATTACKING FAMILY FRIEND
PREGNANT SOCIALITE INVOLVED IN PRIVATE HOSPITAL INCIDENT
JEALOUSY OR SELF-DEFENSE?
Marcus read the headlines.
His hands shook.
He wanted to destroy every screen in the hospital.
But he knew that was exactly what they wanted.
He called his legal team.
“Find the source.”
“We're trying.”
“Don't try.”
His voice hardened.
“Find it.”
Then he called his public relations director.
“No statements.”
“But Marcus—”
“No statements.”
“People are accusing Khloe.”
“I know.”
“We need to defend her.”
“I'll defend her.”
“How?”
Marcus looked through the glass toward Khloe.
“By proving the truth.”
Khloe woke again that afternoon.
She looked at her phone.
There were hundreds of messages.
Her face changed.
“What is this?”
Marcus took the phone.
“Don't read them.”
“Why?”
“Because they're lies.”
She reached for it.
“Marcus.”
“No.”
“I need to know.”
“You don't need to know what strangers think.”
“They're saying I attacked Isabella.”
“I know.”
“They're calling me unstable.”
“I know.”
“They're saying I shouldn't be a mother.”
Marcus took her face gently between his hands.
“Listen to me.”
She looked at him.
“You are the mother of my child.”
Tears filled her eyes.
“No article changes that.”
“But—”
“No.”
He wiped her tears.
“You don't have to prove you're a good mother to people who don't know you.”
She cried silently.
“I hate this.”
“I know.”
“I just wanted our baby.”
“You're going to have our baby.”
She looked at him.
“Promise?”
He smiled.
“I promise I'll be beside you.”
That evening, the hospital lights flickered.
Only once.
But Marcus noticed.
He looked toward the hallway.
“Did you see that?”
David nodded.
“Yes.”
Seconds later, the security system rebooted.
The monitors went black.
The doors locked.
Every elevator stopped.
The nurses froze.
Then a message appeared on the main hospital screen.
YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT HER ALONE.
Marcus's heart dropped.
David immediately called Security.
“Lock down the building.”
“Already doing it.”
Another message appeared.
THE BABY IS THE KEY.
Khloe's monitor suddenly went silent.
Marcus spun around.
“Doctor!”
Caldwell rushed toward the equipment.
“Backup monitor!”
A nurse grabbed one.
Nothing.
Khloe's eyes widened.
“Marcus…”
He ran to her.
“I'm here.”
“I can't hear the heartbeat.”
Marcus's face went white.
Caldwell checked the equipment.
“It's the power.”
The backup system failed.
“Get the portable monitor!”
A nurse ran.
The seconds felt like hours.
Khloe began crying.
“Please…”
Marcus held her hand.
“Stay with me.”
“I can't lose the baby.”
“You won't.”
“Marcus—”
“You won't.”
The portable monitor arrived.
Caldwell connected it.
Silence.
One second.
Two.
Three.
Then—
Beep.
Marcus nearly collapsed.
Another.
Beep.
The room filled with relief.
Khloe sobbed.
The doctor smiled.
“Heartbeat is strong.”
Marcus lowered his forehead against Khloe's hand.
He whispered:
“Thank you.”
But the message remained on the screen.
THE BABY IS THE KEY.
And beneath it appeared a final sentence.
YOU HAVE THREE DAYS.
That night, Detective Cole found Marcus in the hallway.
“We have a lead.”
Marcus looked up.
“Who?”
“Thomas Reed.”
Marcus's expression hardened.
“What did he do?”
“He transferred money.”
“How much?”
“Eight million dollars.”
“To Isabella?”
“No.”
Cole handed him the bank records.
Marcus read the recipient.
His stomach dropped.
The account belonged to an offshore trust.
“What is this?”
“We traced the beneficial owner.”
Marcus looked at the name.
His face went completely still.
KHLOE THORNE FAMILY TRUST.
He stared.
“That account doesn't exist.”
Cole shook his head.
“It does.”
“Who created it?”
“We don't know.”
Marcus looked toward Khloe's room.
Someone had created a trust in his wife's name.
Someone had moved eight million dollars into it.
And someone had been monitoring her pregnancy.
Cole lowered his voice.
“There is more.”
“What?”
“The trust has a beneficiary.”
Marcus waited.
Cole looked at him.
“The unborn child.”
Marcus felt the room spin.
“Why?”
“We don't know.”
Then his phone rang.
Unknown number.
Marcus answered.
Nobody spoke.
Then a woman's voice whispered:
“Marcus…”
He froze.
“Who is this?”
“Don't trust Thomas.”
Marcus's eyes narrowed.
“Who are you?”
The voice trembled.
“I worked for Isabella.”
“Where are you?”
“I can't tell you.”
“Why?”
“Because she knows where I am.”
Marcus gripped the phone.
“What did Isabella do?”
Silence.
Then:
“She didn't start this.”
Marcus's heart pounded.
“What do you mean?”
The woman whispered:
“She was hired.”
“By who?”
The call ended.
Marcus stared at the phone.
David approached.
“What happened?”
Marcus slowly looked up.
“Isabella isn't the mastermind.”
David's face hardened.
“Then who is?”
Marcus looked toward Khloe's room.
“The person behind her.”
And for the first time, Marcus realized the attack on Khloe had never been about jealousy.
It had been about the baby.
The money.
May you like
The trust.
And something hidden inside his family that someone was willing to kill to obtain.
