Chapter 5 — The Child She Wanted
Chapter 5 — The Child She Wanted
The lights went out.
Again.
For one terrible second, nobody moved.
The room disappeared into darkness.
Khloe heard Marcus say her name.
Then she heard something else.
A metallic click.
The sound of the hospital door locking.
From the inside.
"Marcus?"
"I'm here."
His hand found hers.
Adrian's voice came through the darkness.
"Nobody move."
Victoria stepped closer.
"Turn off the emergency lights."
Adrian frowned.
"They're already off."
"No."
Victoria's voice was urgent.
"Someone disabled them."
A second later, the emergency lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then came back.
The room was illuminated in a dull red glow.
Victoria stood beside the door.
For the first time, Khloe saw her clearly.
Older than the photographs.
Thinner.
A scar crossed the left side of her neck.
Her eyes were tired.
But unmistakably alive.
Marcus stared at her.
Twenty-three years of grief collapsed inside him in a single second.
"You died."
Victoria's lips trembled.
"I know."
"You let me believe you were dead."
"I had no choice."
"You had no choice?"
His voice cracked.
"You let me bury you."
Victoria looked at him.
"I watched from across the cemetery."
Marcus went still.
Khloe covered her mouth.
Adrian closed the blinds.
"Not here."
Marcus turned toward him.
"Don't tell me not here."
"Marcus—"
"She disappeared for twenty-three years!"
His voice echoed through the room.
"And now she appears in my wife's hospital room after someone tried to kill my child?"
Victoria flinched.
"I came because of the baby."
Marcus stepped toward her.
"Who are you protecting?"
Victoria looked at Khloe.
"The truth."
Khloe's hand tightened around her stomach.
"What truth?"
Victoria hesitated.
Then she said:
"Your daughter is the reason they have been hunting this family for twenty-three years."
The words made no sense.
Khloe stared at her.
"My daughter hasn't even been born."
"Exactly."
Victoria walked toward the bed.
"That's why you are still alive."
Marcus moved between them.
"Stay away from my wife."
Victoria stopped.
"I won't hurt her."
"You've already hurt me."
Her eyes filled with tears.
"I know."
"Then explain."
Victoria looked at Adrian.
"You never told him."
Adrian's expression tightened.
"I was trying to protect him."
"You were trying to protect the trust."
"No."
Victoria shook her head.
"You were trying to protect the family name."
Adrian said nothing.
Marcus looked between them.
"What aren't you telling me?"
Victoria inhaled slowly.
Then she spoke.
"Your father didn't die because of Richard."
Marcus froze.
"What?"
"Richard was blamed because someone needed a villain."
"Then who killed him?"
Victoria looked toward the door.
"The person who wanted control of the trust."
Marcus's voice dropped.
"Who?"
Victoria looked at Khloe.
"Your daughter is the only person who can expose them."
A sharp knock came from the hallway.
Everyone turned.
Victoria immediately stepped backward.
"Don't open it."
Marcus looked at the door.
"Who is it?"
A nurse's voice answered.
"Hospital staff."
Victoria shook her head.
"No."
Marcus whispered:
"How do you know?"
"Because I know that voice."
The nurse spoke again.
"Mr. Thorne, we need to check your wife's monitors."
Victoria's face had gone pale.
"That isn't a nurse."
Adrian stepped toward the door.
"Why?"
Victoria whispered:
"Because she's dead."
Silence.
Marcus looked at her.
"What?"
"The nurse outside."
Victoria stared at the door.
"I saw her die six years ago."
The handle moved.
Once.
Twice.
Then stopped.
A man's voice replaced the woman's.
"Open the door, Marcus."
Richard.
Marcus's blood ran cold.
Victoria closed her eyes.
"He's here."
Richard's voice came again.
"You don't understand what you're protecting."
Marcus stepped closer to the door.
"You killed my father."
"No."
"You destroyed my family."
"No."
"You disappeared."
"I was forced to."
"By whom?"
Richard laughed softly.
"Ask your mother."
Marcus turned toward Victoria.
She looked broken.
Richard continued:
"She knows exactly who ordered the attack."
Victoria whispered:
"Don't listen to him."
Marcus stared at her.
"Then tell me."
Victoria didn't answer.
"Mom."
Still nothing.
"Tell me!"
Victoria finally looked at him.
"It was me."
Marcus froze.
"What?"
"I ordered the attack."
Khloe stared at her.
Adrian's face went white.
Victoria's voice broke.
"Twenty-three years ago, I ordered someone to attack your father."
Marcus stepped backward.
"Why?"
"Because I thought he was going to kill you."
The hallway went silent.
Richard stopped speaking.
Marcus stared at his mother.
"You attacked Dad?"
"I tried to stop him."
"From doing what?"
"From giving the trust to Richard."
Adrian closed his eyes.
Victoria continued.
"Your father discovered that Richard had been stealing from the family companies."
Marcus shook his head.
"No."
"He found the evidence."
"Why didn't he go to the police?"
"Because Richard threatened you."
Marcus looked stunned.
"Me?"
"You were six years old."
Victoria's voice trembled.
"He said if your father exposed him, you would disappear."
Khloe whispered:
"So your father tried to protect Marcus."
Victoria nodded.
"And I tried to protect both of you."
Marcus stared at her.
"What happened?"
"The night of the accident, your father confronted Richard."
She swallowed.
"I followed them."
"And?"
"They fought."
"Who won?"
Victoria looked at him.
"Nobody."
She closed her eyes.
"Your father was injured."
"Was Richard injured?"
"No."
Marcus frowned.
"Then how did Richard die?"
Victoria shook her head.
"He didn't."
The truth settled over the room like smoke.
Marcus whispered:
"You knew."
"Yes."
"For twenty-three years?"
"Yes."
"You knew Richard was alive?"
"I knew he survived."
"Then why tell everyone he died?"
Victoria looked at him.
"Because he wanted you to believe he was dead."
"Why?"
"Because it was the only way to keep you alive."
A loud crash came from the hallway.
Everyone jumped.
Adrian moved toward the door.
Victoria grabbed his arm.
"Don't."
Another crash.
Then a scream.
The hospital alarm began.
Marcus looked at the monitor.
Khloe's fetal heart rate suddenly spiked.
"What's happening?"
The nurse rushed toward the bed.
"Her heart rate is rising."
Khloe gripped Marcus's hand.
"Something's wrong."
Victoria stepped forward.
"Check the medication."
The nurse froze.
"What?"
"The IV."
Victoria pointed.
"Check the line."
The nurse examined it.
Her expression changed.
"There is something wrong."
Marcus's voice became sharp.
"What?"
The nurse disconnected the IV.
"Someone injected something into the line."
Khloe's eyes widened.
"What?"
The nurse looked terrified.
"I don't know what it is."
Victoria turned toward Marcus.
"Get her out of here."
The room erupted into chaos.
Doctors rushed in.
Nurses disconnected equipment.
Security officers entered.
Marcus refused to leave Khloe.
"I'll carry her."
A doctor shook his head.
"No."
"Then tell me what to do."
"Stay out of the way."
Khloe cried out as another wave of pain hit.
Marcus held her hand.
"I'm here."
Victoria stood near the door.
Watching.
Waiting.
Then she saw something.
A tiny reflection beneath the bed.
A metal case.
She bent down.
Pulled it out.
Inside were syringes.
One was missing.
Victoria's face changed.
"That's what they used."
Adrian took the case.
"We need to test it."
Victoria looked at the label.
Her eyes widened.
"I know this."
"What is it?"
"A paralytic compound."
The doctor stared at her.
"Where did you get that information?"
Victoria looked at him.
"I've spent twenty years studying the people who wanted my family dead."
Three hours later, Khloe was stable.
The baby was stable.
But the doctors had moved her to another room.
A safer room.
One with no external access.
Marcus stood beside the window.
He hadn't spoken to his mother since the attack.
Victoria sat across the room.
Adrian stood between them.
Finally Marcus turned.
"You said someone wanted my daughter."
Victoria nodded.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because the trust transfers control when she is born."
Marcus frowned.
"She doesn't have control until she's an adult."
"That's not what the document says."
Adrian interrupted.
"The trust contains an emergency provision."
Marcus looked at him.
"What provision?"
"If the designated heir is born while the current trustees are incapacitated, control can temporarily pass to an appointed guardian."
Marcus understood.
"Who is the guardian?"
Silence.
He looked at Victoria.
"Who?"
She whispered:
"Richard."
Marcus's face went cold.
"That's impossible."
"It was changed twenty-three years ago."
"By whom?"
"Your father."
Marcus shook his head.
"My father would never appoint Richard."
"He didn't."
Victoria looked at Khloe.
"Someone forged his signature."
That explained the forged documents.
The hidden companies.
The seven-minute gap.
The attack.
The medical records.
But one question remained.
"Why Isabella?" Marcus asked.
Victoria looked at him.
"Because Isabella was easy to control."
"How?"
"She wanted you."
Marcus frowned.
"She was obsessed with you."
Victoria nodded.
"Richard knew that."
"So he used her."
"Yes."
"To get to Khloe?"
"Yes."
Marcus looked toward the hospital bed.
"And the baby?"
Victoria's expression darkened.
"Isabella was told the child had to disappear."
Khloe heard the conversation.
Her voice was weak.
"She wanted my baby."
Everyone turned.
Khloe looked at Isabella's empty chair.
"She didn't just want Marcus."
Victoria nodded.
"She wanted your life."
Khloe's eyes filled with tears.
"Why?"
"Because Richard promised her something."
"What?"
Victoria looked away.
"Your husband's name."
Marcus's jaw tightened.
"He promised Isabella that if Khloe disappeared, she would become Mrs. Thorne."
Khloe closed her eyes.
It was almost too absurd to believe.
Almost.
Then she remembered every calculated smile.
Every touch.
Every conversation.
Every time Isabella had looked at her stomach.
It had never been jealousy alone.
It had been a plan.
At 9:40 p.m., the police arrived.
Detective Harris entered the room.
"We've arrested Isabella."
Marcus looked at him.
"On what charges?"
"Assault causing serious bodily injury."
"Anything else?"
"Attempted poisoning."
Khloe stared.
"She did that too?"
The detective shook his head.
"We don't know."
Victoria stepped forward.
"She didn't."
Everyone looked at her.
"How do you know?"
"Because the compound was introduced through a controlled access line."
The detective frowned.
"You recognize it?"
"Yes."
"From where?"
Victoria looked toward Marcus.
"Richard used it before."
Marcus's expression changed.
"On whom?"
Victoria hesitated.
"Your father."
Detective Harris went silent.
Adrian stared at Victoria.
"You said Richard didn't kill him."
"He didn't."
"Then who injected him?"
Victoria whispered:
"I did."
Marcus's face went blank.
"You?"
"I was trying to make him unconscious."
"Why?"
"Because Richard was coming."
"Mom."
"I thought if your father couldn't fight him, Richard would leave."
"What happened?"
"He didn't."
Victoria's voice broke.
"Richard attacked him anyway."
Marcus stared.
"Then why didn't Dad survive?"
Victoria closed her eyes.
"Because someone else entered the room."
"Who?"
She looked at Adrian.
Adrian stepped backward.
"What?"
Victoria whispered:
"Your father trusted him."
Marcus turned.
"Who?"
Victoria pointed.
"Adrian."
The room froze.
Marcus looked at his uncle.
Adrian's face had gone pale.
"That's a lie."
Victoria shook her head.
"No."
"Why would I hurt your brother?"
"Because Richard offered you the trust."
Adrian's eyes hardened.
"You have no proof."
Victoria looked at Khloe.
"She does."
Everyone turned toward Khloe.
Khloe slowly reached for her phone.
"I found something."
She opened the hidden folder.
A photograph appeared.
A handwritten ledger.
A signature.
A payment record.
And beneath it—
a name.
Adrian Vale.
Marcus stared.
"Uncle?"
Adrian said nothing.
Khloe whispered:
"You weren't protecting us."
Adrian's expression changed.
"You've been protecting yourself."
For the first time, Adrian smiled.
It wasn't a warm smile.
It wasn't apologetic.
It was tired.
Almost relieved.
"Finally."
Marcus stepped backward.
"What?"
Adrian looked at him.
"You finally found it."
Victoria whispered:
"Adrian."
He ignored her.
"You all thought Richard was the monster."
He laughed softly.
"He wasn't."
Marcus stared.
"Then who was?"
Adrian looked toward Khloe's stomach.
"The person who created this entire nightmare."
Khloe felt her blood run cold.
"Who?"
Adrian looked at Marcus.
"Your father."
Silence.
Marcus shook his head.
"No."
Adrian smiled.
"Your father created the trust."
He looked at Khloe.
"He created the conditions for the child to inherit everything."
Then his smile disappeared.
"And he knew exactly what would happen when that child was born."
Khloe's hand moved protectively over her stomach.
"What did he know?"
Adrian answered:
"That every person who wanted the Thorne empire would come for her."
A pause.
"And he was right."
Outside the room, the hospital lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then the security monitors came back online.
Every screen showed the same image.
A photograph of Khloe.
Taken that morning.
While she was sleeping.
Across the bottom of the screen appeared one sentence:
THE CHILD SHE WANTED IS STILL ALIVE.
Then another:
BUT NOT FOR LONG.
Marcus stared at the monitors.
Victoria whispered:
"He's watching."
Khloe's eyes filled with fear.
May you like
And somewhere inside the hospital, a door slowly opened.
The hunt for the unborn heir had begun.
