Chapter 13 — The Woman Who Ordered It
Chapter 13 — The Woman Who Ordered It
The photograph remained on the screen.
Khloe couldn't look away.
Her unborn child.
Her name beneath it.
And one line in red:
PRIMARY TARGET — UNBORN HEIR.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Marcus stepped in front of Khloe.
"Turn it off."
Nobody moved.
"Turn it off!"
The screen finally went black.
Khloe's hands were trembling.
Marcus turned toward Harris.
"Who put that file on the system?"
"We're tracing it."
"How long?"
"Minutes."
"Take seconds."
Harris immediately began issuing orders.
The boardroom erupted into chaos.
Directors were calling lawyers.
Security officers were locking doors.
Employees were being escorted from the building.
But Khloe heard none of it.
She kept thinking about the photograph.
Someone had been watching her pregnancy.
Someone knew where she was.
Someone knew when she would be vulnerable.
Someone had known exactly when Isabella would attack.
She suddenly turned toward Richard.
"You."
Richard looked at her.
"What?"
"You knew about my pregnancy."
He didn't answer.
"Who gave Isabella the information?"
Richard remained silent.
Khloe stepped closer.
"Who ordered her to attack me?"
His eyes moved toward the floor.
That was enough.
Marcus grabbed his collar.
"Tell us."
Richard swallowed.
"I didn't order the attack."
"Then who did?"
Richard shook his head.
"You don't understand."
Khloe's voice became cold.
"Then explain."
Richard looked at her.
"She didn't want to kill you."
Khloe froze.
"Who?"
"Isabella."
"She wanted something else."
"What?"
Richard whispered:
"Your child."
The room became silent.
Marcus released him.
"What does that mean?"
Richard rubbed his throat.
"Isabella was supposed to frighten you into leaving the family."
"Why?"
"Because if you disappeared, the child would become vulnerable."
Khloe's face hardened.
"Vulnerable to whom?"
Richard didn't answer.
Marcus stepped forward.
"Richard."
"I don't know her."
"Who?"
"The woman behind the order."
Khloe stared.
"You said she contacted you."
"Yes."
"Then you've met her."
"Once."
"Where?"
"At the old Rossi estate."
Khloe's stomach tightened.
"Describe her."
Richard closed his eyes.
"She was older."
"How old?"
"Sixties."
"Hair?"
"Silver."
Khloe stopped breathing.
Marcus noticed.
"You know her."
Khloe shook her head.
"No."
But she did.
The description matched the woman from the video.
Her grandmother.
Richard continued.
"She told me the child had to be born."
Khloe stared.
"Born?"
"Yes."
"Then why put me in danger?"
"Because she wanted the baby separated from you."
Marcus's face darkened.
"Why?"
Richard looked at him.
"Because the child carries something you don't."
"What?"
"The final genetic marker."
Khloe frowned.
"What marker?"
"The Rossi inheritance marker."
She stared.
"The trust."
Richard nodded.
"Your grandmother believed the child would activate the final clause."
Marcus shook his head.
"That's impossible."
Richard smiled bitterly.
"That's what Edward said."
Harris returned.
"We have something."
Everyone turned.
He placed a laptop on the table.
"The file was uploaded through a remote server."
"Location?"
"An old private clinic."
Khloe's heart sank.
"Which one?"
Harris looked at her.
"St. Mary's."
The same hospital where Isabella had attacked her.
Marcus's jaw tightened.
"Someone inside the hospital is involved."
"Yes."
Harris opened another file.
"There were three unauthorized entries on the night of the attack."
"Names?"
"Two are fake."
"And the third?"
Harris hesitated.
"Dr. Leonard Vale."
Khloe's face changed.
She knew him.
He had been the physician assigned to her pregnancy.
He had attended several of her prenatal appointments.
He had been the one who reassured her after the attack.
Marcus looked at her.
"You trust him?"
Khloe shook her head slowly.
"I did."
They left the headquarters immediately.
The hospital had been placed under temporary security control.
But Dr. Vale was gone.
His office had been emptied.
His computer was missing.
Only one thing remained.
A photograph.
Khloe picked it up.
It showed her at six months pregnant.
Taken through a hospital window.
She recognized the room.
It was her private maternity suite.
She had never known anyone was watching.
On the back of the photograph was a handwritten message:
THE CHILD BELONGS TO THE FAMILY.
Marcus crushed the photograph in his fist.
"No."
Khloe looked at him.
"My child belongs to us."
Marcus nodded.
"Exactly."
They found Dr. Vale's hidden office beneath the hospital.
The room was filled with files.
Medical records.
Photographs.
Blood samples.
DNA reports.
And dozens of images of Khloe.
Some dated years before she had ever met Marcus.
Harris opened a cabinet.
Inside were sealed envelopes.
One was marked:
K.T. — MATERNAL LINE
Another:
M.T. — PATERNAL LINE
And the final:
UNBORN SUBJECT — FINAL CONFIRMATION
Khloe stared.
"Open it."
Marcus stopped her.
"No."
"Why?"
"We don't know what's inside."
"I need to know."
He looked at her.
"Not alone."
They opened it together.
Inside was a medical report.
Khloe's blood type.
Marcus's genetic profile.
And a third section.
FETAL DNA — MATCH CONFIRMED.
Khloe's eyes filled with tears.
"What did they confirm?"
Harris read the final paragraph.
"The child carries genetic markers from both the Thorne and Rossi bloodlines."
Khloe closed her eyes.
So the child really was the final heir.
But there was another sentence.
Harris read it aloud.
"Additional marker suggests the child may possess a unique genetic sequence not present in either parent."
Marcus frowned.
"How?"
Harris shook his head.
"We need a geneticist."
Khloe stared at the page.
Someone had been studying her child before it was born.
That realization frightened her more than anything else.
Then the lights went out.
Again.
Marcus immediately pulled Khloe behind him.
A door slammed somewhere in the corridor.
Harris raised his weapon.
"Stay here."
"No."
Khloe grabbed Marcus's arm.
"We're leaving together."
Footsteps approached.
Slow.
Calm.
Not running.
A woman appeared at the end of the hallway.
Silver hair.
Black coat.
Walking stick.
Khloe froze.
"Grandmother."
The woman stopped.
Her eyes filled with tears.
"Khloe."
Marcus stepped forward.
"You ordered this."
The woman looked at him.
"No."
"Then who did?"
She looked at Khloe.
"I did."
Silence.
Khloe felt as though the floor had disappeared beneath her.
"You said you didn't."
"I said I didn't order Isabella's attack."
"You ordered everything else."
Her grandmother lowered her eyes.
"I ordered the surveillance."
"You ordered the tests."
"Yes."
"The records."
"Yes."
"The kidnapping?"
"No."
"The people following me?"
"Yes."
Khloe's voice broke.
"Why?"
Her grandmother looked at her.
"Because I was protecting your child."
Khloe shook her head.
"By turning my life into a prison?"
"I had no choice."
"You always say that."
Her grandmother's eyes filled with tears.
"Because you never knew what Edward was capable of."
Marcus stepped forward.
"Edward is dead."
"No."
Everyone froze.
The woman looked at him.
"Edward's body was never identified."
Marcus stared.
"That's impossible."
"Your father survived the accident."
Khloe's heart stopped.
"Where is he?"
Her grandmother whispered:
"Watching you."
A sound came from behind them.
Clapping.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Everyone turned.
A man stepped from the darkness.
Older.
Gray-haired.
Walking with a slight limp.
Marcus stared.
Khloe stopped breathing.
She had seen the face before.
In photographs.
In documents.
In memories that weren't hers.
The man smiled.
"Hello, Khloe."
Marcus raised his weapon.
"Edward."
The man nodded.
"Son."
Marcus's hands tightened.
"You died."
Edward laughed.
"I've been dead for twenty-three years."
Khloe stared at him.
"Then why are you here?"
Edward looked at her stomach.
"Because my granddaughter is about to be born."
Marcus stepped in front of Khloe.
"You don't get near her."
Edward's smile disappeared.
"You still think this is about money."
Khloe looked at him.
"Then what is it about?"
Edward answered:
"Blood."
Edward revealed the truth.
The Rossi trust wasn't merely a financial trust.
It was a legal structure built around biological succession.
But the final clause had never been activated.
Until Khloe became pregnant.
The child carried the last combination required to unlock the original Rossi holdings.
Billions.
Properties.
Private companies.
Art collections.
Offshore assets.
Everything Edward had spent decades trying to control.
But there was another reason.
Edward had been diagnosed with a degenerative disease years earlier.
He was dying.
He wanted the child because he believed the child could preserve his legacy.
Not through love.
Through control.
Khloe stared at him.
"You don't want your granddaughter."
"I want what she represents."
"Then you don't want her."
Edward's eyes hardened.
"Don't mistake sentiment for strength."
Khloe stepped forward.
"You've spent your whole life confusing the two."
Edward looked at Marcus.
"Your mother told you I was a monster."
Marcus said nothing.
"She was right."
Edward smiled.
"But she forgot to tell you one thing."
"What?"
"I never intended to hurt Khloe."
Marcus laughed.
"You erased her identity."
"To protect her."
"You let her believe her mother abandoned her."
"To protect her."
"You manipulated everyone around her."
"To protect the trust."
Marcus's voice became furious.
"You don't protect people by destroying them."
Edward stared at him.
"That is exactly how empires survive."
Khloe stepped between them.
"Then let the empire die."
Edward looked at her.
For the first time, something like fear appeared in his eyes.
Because she sounded like Elena.
And Sarah.
And every person who had ever refused to obey him.
The grandmother suddenly stepped forward.
"Edward."
He looked at her.
"You promised me."
"Promised what?"
"That you would leave her alone."
Edward smiled.
"I promised many things."
"You said the child would be safe."
"She will be."
The grandmother shook her head.
"No."
She raised the walking stick.
A hidden blade appeared.
Edward's expression changed.
"You wouldn't."
She looked at Khloe.
"I'm sorry."
Then she attacked.
Security erupted into the hallway.
Gunfire.
Screaming.
People running.
Marcus grabbed Khloe.
Harris pulled them toward the emergency exit.
Edward disappeared into the chaos.
The grandmother remained behind.
Khloe looked back.
"Grandmother!"
The woman smiled sadly.
"Run."
Then the doors slammed shut.
Outside, rain poured down.
Khloe leaned against Marcus.
"She's gone."
Marcus held her.
"She sacrificed herself."
Khloe shook her head.
"No."
"What?"
"I don't believe she's dead."
Marcus looked at her.
"Why?"
Khloe looked toward the hospital.
"Because everyone in this family has survived something they weren't supposed to."
Then her phone rang.
Unknown number.
She answered.
Her grandmother's voice whispered:
"Don't trust Edward."
Khloe froze.
"Where are you?"
"There's something I never told you."
"What?"
"The child isn't the final heir."
Khloe's heart stopped.
"What?"
Her grandmother's voice became urgent.
"The final heir is whoever holds the original bloodline seal."
"Where is it?"
"With Edward."
Khloe looked at Marcus.
Her grandmother continued:
"And he has already found it."
The call ended.
Khloe stared at the phone.
Marcus asked:
"What did she say?"
Khloe looked at him.
"The baby isn't the key."
"Then what is?"
Khloe whispered:
"A seal."
Across the city, Edward entered an underground vault.
He placed a small metal box on a table.
Inside was a ring.
An ancient Rossi crest was engraved into it.
Edward smiled.
"After twenty-three years."
He put the ring on his finger.
A door opened behind him.
Richard stepped inside.
"You found it."
Edward nodded.
Richard looked nervous.
"What about Khloe?"
Edward's expression hardened.
"Let her live."
Richard frowned.
"Why?"
"Because she will bring Marcus."
"And then?"
Edward smiled.
"Then I'll take everything from both of them."
Richard lowered his eyes.
"What about the child?"
Edward looked at the ring.
"The child will be born."
"And after?"
Edward's smile became cold.
"After that, the Rossi empire will finally belong to me."
But Edward didn't know one thing.
Khloe had found the original trust.
Marcus had found the hidden accounts.
Harris had found the hospital records.
And Isabella had secretly copied the surveillance footage before she disappeared.
For the first time, Edward was no longer controlling the board.
Everyone he had manipulated was beginning to turn against him.
The family war had become a rebellion.
And the first person to strike would be the woman nobody expected.
Isabella Rossi.
Because while everyone was hunting for Edward...
Isabella was hunting for the child.
Not to hurt her.
To save her.
And she had just discovered the one secret that could destroy Edward forever.
May you like
She knew who the child's real guardian was.
And that person was already inside Khloe's family.
