CHAPTER 9 — THE SECOND RECORDING
CHAPTER 9 — THE SECOND RECORDING
The gunshot had come from somewhere beyond the archive.
Khloe stood frozen in the darkness.
Her hand covered her stomach.
Her breathing was shallow.
The emergency lights flickered above her.
Red.
Then black.
Then red again.
The woman who had claimed to be Marcus's mother was gone.
The original succession document was gone.
And on the wall, written in black ink, were six words that refused to leave Khloe's mind.
THE FALSE HEIR WAS NEVER DANIEL.
A cold voice came from behind her.
“Khloe.”
She turned.
No one.
Then footsteps echoed down the corridor.
Someone was coming.
Khloe grabbed the nearest object she could find—a metal file holder.
The footsteps stopped.
A man's voice whispered:
“Don't be afraid.”
Khloe tightened her grip.
“Who are you?”
Silence.
Then the voice answered:
“Someone who has been trying to save you.”
The emergency lights went out again.
When they came back on—
the hallway was empty.
But something had been left on the floor.
A small black recorder.
Khloe stared at it.
She picked it up.
There was only one file.
No label.
No date.
She pressed play.
And Isabella's voice filled the empty archive.
THE VOICE IN THE RECORDING
“Is it done?”
A man's voice answered.
Deep.
Calm.
Older than Adrian.
“No.”
Isabella sounded nervous.
“Why not?”
“Because she survived.”
“You said she wouldn't.”
“I said she wasn't supposed to.”
There was a pause.
Then Isabella whispered:
“Adrian will be furious.”
The man laughed softly.
“Adrian doesn't give orders here.”
Khloe's blood ran cold.
She replayed the sentence.
Adrian doesn't give orders here.
The recording continued.
Isabella spoke again.
“Then who does?”
The man answered:
“You already know.”
Silence.
Then Isabella's voice changed.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“I was told never to say his name.”
“Then don't.”
“Who is he?”
The man laughed.
“You've been working for him for three years.”
Khloe stopped breathing.
Three years.
The exact length of time everything had begun to collapse.
The recording continued.
Isabella whispered:
“I thought Adrian was the one.”
“He wanted you to think that.”
“Why?”
“Because if you knew who was really behind this, you'd never have agreed.”
Khloe's fingers tightened around the recorder.
The man continued:
“That's why you were chosen.”
THE NAME
Isabella's voice trembled.
“What happens if Khloe finds out?”
“She won't.”
“She already knows about the trust.”
“That doesn't matter.”
“She knows about Adrian.”
“That doesn't matter either.”
“Then what does?”
The man's voice became colder.
“The baby.”
Khloe's eyes widened.
The man continued.
“The child cannot be allowed to inherit.”
Isabella whispered:
“And if it does?”
“Then everything we built collapses.”
“How much?”
“Everything.”
“Billions?”
“No.”
A pause.
“More than money.”
Khloe stared at the recorder.
The man's next words came slowly.
“The child can expose the original bloodline.”
Isabella was silent.
Then:
“You mean Evelyn.”
“Yes.”
Khloe's heart slammed against her ribs.
The original bloodline.
Evelyn.
Her grandmother.
Her mother.
The child.
Everything was connected.
But then Isabella asked the question that changed everything.
“Why are you afraid of Evelyn?”
The man didn't answer immediately.
When he finally spoke—
his voice had lost all emotion.
“Because I killed her.”
The recording ended.
Khloe dropped the recorder.
THE WOMAN WHO CAME BACK
She couldn't move.
Evelyn was dead.
At least that's what everyone had believed.
But the woman who had just appeared in the archive—
Marcus's mother—
had looked exactly like the woman from the photographs.
And now Isabella's recording claimed someone had killed Evelyn.
Khloe's mind raced.
Were there two women?
Had someone been impersonating her?
Or had Evelyn survived?
She picked up the recorder again.
There was another file.
Hidden.
She pressed it.
Isabella's voice returned.
But this time, she sounded furious.
“You lied to me.”
The mysterious man answered:
“You were paid to obey.”
“You told me Khloe would disappear.”
“She was supposed to.”
“You told me Marcus would divorce her.”
“He nearly did.”
“You told me I would become Mrs. Thorne.”
The man laughed.
“That was never promised.”
Isabella's breathing became ragged.
“You used me.”
“Yes.”
“You destroyed my life.”
“No.”
His voice became colder.
“You destroyed your own life the moment you believed you were important.”
Silence.
Then Isabella whispered:
“Who are you?”
The man answered:
“The man who owns your father.”
The recording ended.
Khloe stared at the recorder.
Her mind was spinning.
The man controlled Isabella's family.
He controlled Adrian.
He knew about the trust.
He knew about the baby.
He knew about Evelyn.
And he had apparently been planning this for years.
But who was he?
MARCUS ARRIVES
The archive door suddenly opened.
Khloe turned.
Marcus stood there.
His face was pale.
His shirt was torn at the shoulder.
There was blood on his sleeve.
“Khloe.”
She ran toward him.
“What happened?”
“I was attacked.”
“By whom?”
“I don't know.”
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
Marcus looked at the recorder in her hand.
“What is that?”
Khloe stared at him.
“You need to listen.”
She pressed play.
Marcus heard Isabella.
Then the mysterious voice.
His expression changed.
When the recording reached the sentence—
Adrian doesn't give orders here.
Marcus looked at Khloe.
“That's not Adrian.”
“I know.”
“You've heard this voice before?”
“No.”
Marcus listened again.
The man's voice continued.
When the recording ended, Marcus stood completely still.
Then he whispered:
“I know who that is.”
Khloe froze.
“Who?”
Marcus looked at her.
“My grandfather.”
THE IMPOSSIBLE VOICE
Khloe stared at him.
“Your grandfather is dead.”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Twenty-two years ago.”
“Then how?”
Marcus shook his head.
“I don't know.”
Nathan arrived moments later.
Marcus played the recording.
Nathan listened.
His face became expressionless.
Then he looked at Marcus.
“That's him.”
Marcus stared.
“You recognize the voice?”
Nathan nodded.
“Your grandfather.”
Khloe whispered:
“But he died.”
Nathan's eyes darkened.
“That's what we were told.”
Marcus looked at him.
“You think he's alive?”
“No.”
Nathan pointed toward the recorder.
“I think someone is using his old recordings.”
Marcus frowned.
“Why?”
“To make us believe he's alive.”
Khloe looked at the recorder.
“Then who is actually speaking?”
Nathan didn't answer.
Marcus did.
“Someone who knew him.”
Nathan nodded.
“Someone who had access to his private recordings.”
Khloe suddenly remembered the archive.
“The trust.”
Marcus looked at her.
“What?”
“The original documents.”
She told him everything.
The hidden room.
His mother.
The stolen document.
The message.
The gunshot.
Marcus's face became grim.
“My mother was here?”
“Yes.”
“And she disappeared?”
“Yes.”
“Did she say anything?”
Khloe hesitated.
“She said the false heir wasn't Daniel.”
Marcus stared.
“What did she mean?”
“I don't know.”
Nathan looked at the wall.
Then at the missing document.
“She was warning us.”
“About whom?”
Nathan's answer came quietly.
“The person who was supposed to inherit after Evelyn.”
THE THIRD NAME
Marcus opened his father's old files.
Nathan helped.
They searched for succession records.
One name appeared repeatedly.
Richard Thorne.
Marcus frowned.
“Who is Richard?”
Nathan looked at him.
“Your grandfather's youngest brother.”
“Why have I never heard of him?”
“Because he died before you were born.”
“When?”
“Three months after your grandfather.”
Marcus stared.
“Another dead Thorne.”
Nathan nodded.
“Convenient.”
Khloe looked at the recorder.
“Could Richard be the man?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because Richard died in a plane crash.”
Marcus's expression darkened.
“Was the body recovered?”
Nathan hesitated.
“No.”
Silence.
Khloe whispered:
“So he might be alive.”
Nathan shook his head.
“Or someone wants us to think he is.”
THE CALL
Marcus's phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
No one spoke.
Then the same mysterious voice.
“Hello, Marcus.”
Marcus froze.
Khloe stared at him.
“Who is this?”
The man laughed softly.
“You've been asking the wrong questions.”
Marcus's grip tightened.
“Where are you?”
“Closer than you think.”
“What do you want?”
“The same thing I've always wanted.”
“What?”
“Your family to remember who owns it.”
Marcus's face hardened.
“You're not taking Khloe's inheritance.”
“I don't need to.”
“Then what?”
“I need the child.”
Marcus stepped forward.
“You will never touch my child.”
The man laughed.
“You still don't understand.”
“Understand what?”
“The child isn't yours to protect.”
Marcus's eyes narrowed.
“Whose is it?”
Silence.
Then:
“Ask your mother.”
The call ended.
Marcus stared at the phone.
Khloe's face went pale.
“My mother is dead.”
The mysterious man answered through the disconnected line one final time.
“No.”
Then the call ended completely.
THE HIDDEN FILE
Nathan suddenly remembered something.
“Wait.”
He opened an old computer.
“There was another archive.”
“What archive?”
“Your grandfather's private recordings.”
Marcus stared.
“Where?”
“His old estate.”
“It's been abandoned.”
Nathan shook his head.
“No.”
He looked at Khloe.
“Someone has been accessing it.”
Marcus stood.
“Who?”
Nathan pulled up the security logs.
One name appeared.
Isabella Rossi.
Khloe's eyes widened.
“She went there.”
Marcus nodded.
“And she wasn't alone.”
The footage showed Isabella entering the estate.
Behind her was a man.
His face was hidden.
But his height.
His posture.
His walk.
Marcus stared at the screen.
He knew that walk.
He had seen it before.
He just couldn't remember where.
Nathan froze the image.
Then zoomed in.
A ring was visible on the man's hand.
A black stone.
Surrounded by a silver crest.
Marcus recognized it immediately.
His grandfather had worn the same ring.
THE MAN BEHIND THE RING
Marcus whispered:
“That ring belongs to the Thorne family.”
Nathan nodded.
“Only one person still has the original.”
“Who?”
Nathan looked at him.
“Your father.”
Marcus froze.
“My father?”
“He was supposed to surrender it when he lost control of the trust.”
“But he didn't.”
“No.”
Marcus's mind raced.
“My father is dead.”
Nathan stared at him.
“Is he?”
The question hung in the air.
Khloe slowly turned toward Marcus.
“You told me your father died five years ago.”
“Yes.”
“Did you see his body?”
Marcus stopped.
“No.”
Khloe's expression changed.
“Then we have another dead man without a body.”
Nathan closed the computer.
“We need to leave.”
“Why?”
“Because if your father is alive…”
He looked toward the archive door.
“…then we've been looking for Adrian when the real enemy may have been standing above him all along.”
THE THIRD RECORDING
As they prepared to leave, the recorder suddenly activated by itself.
A new file appeared.
None of them had pressed anything.
The mysterious man's voice filled the room.
“You found the second recording.”
Marcus froze.
The voice continued.
“Good.”
Khloe stepped closer.
“You want us to hear this.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because you're finally ready.”
“For what?”
“To learn the truth about your child.”
Khloe's hand went to her stomach.
The voice continued.
“The baby is not merely the heir.”
Marcus's face tightened.
“Then what is it?”
The man answered:
“The final proof.”
“Proof of what?”
A pause.
Then:
“That the Thorne bloodline never ended.”
Khloe looked at Marcus.
The man's voice became almost a whisper.
“And when the child is born…”
Silence.
“…the original succession clause becomes legally irreversible.”
Nathan's face changed.
“What?”
The voice continued.
“Which means if the child survives…”
Marcus stepped closer to the recorder.
“Then what?”
The answer came.
“Adrian loses everything.”
Marcus stared.
“Then why are you helping him?”
The man laughed.
“I'm not.”
Silence.
“I want Adrian to fail.”
Marcus frowned.
“Why?”
The final words came slowly.
“Because Adrian stole something from me.”
The recording stopped.
No one moved.
Then Khloe noticed something on the floor.
A small envelope.
She picked it up.
Inside was a photograph.
Marcus looked over her shoulder.
It showed three men standing together.
His grandfather.
His father.
And Adrian.
But there was a fourth man in the photograph.
A younger man standing behind them.
Khloe recognized him first.
Her face went pale.
“Marcus…”
He looked.
The fourth man was unmistakable.
It was the man whose voice they had just heard.
Marcus stared at the photograph.
He knew that face.
Everyone in the family had been told he was dead.
But the handwritten note beneath the photograph revealed something far worse.
THE FOURTH THORNE.
And below it:
THE MAN WHO NEVER LOST HIS CLAIM.
Marcus looked at Khloe.
For the first time, neither of them knew who they could trust.
Because the false heir was not Daniel.
Adrian was not the mastermind.
Isabella was not the true villain.
And Marcus's father might still be alive.
But there was one more secret hidden beneath all of them.
A forgotten branch of the Thorne family.
A man who had been erased from every official record.
A man who had waited decades for his inheritance.
And now—
he wanted Khloe's child.
Not dead.
Not kidnapped.
Alive.
Because only the child could unlock the final inheritance.
May you like
And only the child could prove that the man everyone thought was dead…
was the rightful heir all along.
