Chapter 8 — The Woman Behind Isabella
Chapter 8 — The Woman Behind Isabella
The photograph stayed in Marcus's hand until sunrise.
He did not sleep.
He did not wake Khloe.
And he did not tell anyone what he had received.
Not Victoria.
Not Adrian.
Not Detective Harris.
Nobody.
Because the message on the back of the photograph had been designed to do one thing.
Create doubt.
And Marcus refused to give whoever sent it that satisfaction.
Still, there was one sentence he couldn't stop hearing.
SHE IS NOT YOUR DAUGHTER.
He looked at Khloe sleeping peacefully.
Her hand rested protectively over her stomach.
The woman he loved had been attacked, accused, humiliated, and hunted.
And now someone was trying to make him question the child she was carrying.
Marcus closed his eyes.
"No," he whispered.
Then he put the photograph into an evidence envelope.
If they wanted him to doubt Khloe, he would do the opposite.
He would investigate.
At 6:17 a.m., Marcus walked into the private conference room.
Victoria was already there.
So was Adrian.
Detective Harris stood beside the table.
Marcus placed the photograph down.
"I received this."
Victoria looked at it.
Her expression changed immediately.
"Where?"
"Under Khloe's pillow."
Adrian picked it up.
He turned it over.
The message was visible.
He looked at Marcus.
"Did you believe it?"
"No."
Harris watched him carefully.
"Good."
Marcus frowned.
"Why?"
"Because this is exactly what they wanted."
Harris pointed to the photograph.
"The attack failed."
"The security footage exposed Isabella."
"The poisoning attempt failed."
"The fake divorce failed."
"So now they're attacking the marriage directly."
Marcus nodded.
"By making me question the baby."
Harris said nothing.
Victoria did.
"They're desperate."
Marcus looked at her.
"Who?"
Victoria stared at the photograph.
"Elena."
Victoria had not spoken Elena's name with fear in years.
She had spoken it with anger.
Now she spoke it differently.
Like a woman finally admitting she had spent half her life running from a ghost.
"Elena Rossi wasn't always like this."
Marcus stared.
"You keep saying that."
"Because it's true."
"What changed?"
Victoria sat down.
"Her daughter."
Marcus frowned.
"Isabella?"
"Yes."
Victoria looked toward the window.
"Elena believed Isabella was destined for something greater than an ordinary life."
"What does that mean?"
"She wanted Isabella to become part of the Thorne family."
"Because of the trust."
"At first."
Victoria paused.
"Then something happened."
"What?"
"Isabella became attached to you."
Marcus said nothing.
"Elena had planned everything. She expected Isabella to marry you, gain access to the trust, and eventually control the family."
"But Isabella loved me."
"That wasn't part of the plan."
Victoria's voice softened.
"That's why Elena became afraid of her own daughter."
Harris opened a file.
"We traced some of the payments."
Marcus looked at him.
"Where?"
"Several shell companies."
"Owned by Elena?"
"Indirectly."
Adrian frowned.
"How many?"
"Seven."
"Seven?"
Harris nodded.
"All established within a three-month period twenty-three years ago."
Marcus looked at Victoria.
"After my father's death?"
"Before."
That changed everything.
Harris continued.
"The companies were created to move assets out of the Thorne organization."
"How much?"
"Approximately four hundred million dollars."
Silence.
Marcus stared at him.
"Four hundred million?"
"At today's valuation, considerably more."
Victoria closed her eyes.
"So she didn't just want the trust."
"No," Harris said.
"She wanted the entire empire."
The conference room door opened.
Khloe entered.
Everyone turned.
Marcus immediately stood.
"You should be resting."
"I heard voices."
She looked at the documents.
"What's happening?"
Marcus hesitated.
Khloe noticed.
"Marcus."
He walked toward her.
"Someone sent me a photograph."
"Of the baby?"
"Yes."
She looked at him.
"What did it say?"
Marcus told her.
Khloe was silent.
Then she smiled.
Not happily.
Sadly.
"That's what they wanted."
"I know."
"They want you to doubt me."
"I don't."
Khloe took his hand.
"Then don't."
Marcus squeezed her fingers.
"I won't."
Harris watched them.
"There's something else."
Khloe turned.
"What?"
"We found a connection between Elena and the hospital."
Khloe's expression changed.
"What connection?"
"She was once a donor."
"To this hospital?"
"Yes."
"When?"
"Twenty-four years ago."
Victoria looked at Harris.
"That's impossible."
"Why?"
"Elena left the country twenty-three years ago."
Harris shook his head.
"According to the records, she didn't."
He placed a document on the table.
"She continued making payments for another six years."
Marcus frowned.
"Why?"
Harris looked at Khloe.
"Because someone was being treated here."
Khloe's heart began beating faster.
"Who?"
Harris turned the document around.
The patient name was partially redacted.
Only the initials remained.
K.R.
Khloe stared.
"That's not me."
Victoria whispered:
"Then who is K.R.?"
The answer came from somewhere unexpected.
A nurse.
She entered the room carrying an old archive box.
"I think I know."
Everyone looked at her.
She placed the box down.
"I've worked here for thirty-one years."
She opened it.
Inside were old medical records.
"I remember Elena Rossi."
Victoria stepped closer.
"What do you remember?"
"She used to visit the pediatric wing."
"Why?"
The nurse hesitated.
"She had a daughter."
Isabella.
Everyone knew that.
But the nurse shook her head.
"Not Isabella."
The room became silent.
Marcus stared.
"What are you saying?"
The nurse pointed to a photograph.
Two children.
A little girl with dark hair.
And another infant.
The caption read:
Rossi Family — Private Pediatric Program.
Khloe stared at the infant.
"Who is that?"
The nurse looked at her.
"We never knew."
"Why?"
"Because Elena insisted the child's identity remain confidential."
Victoria stepped closer.
Then stopped.
Her face drained of color.
"I know that child."
Marcus turned.
"How?"
Victoria touched the photograph.
"Because I saw her the night Edward died."
The room fell silent.
Marcus couldn't breathe.
"You saw her?"
Victoria nodded.
"There was a baby in the car."
"What baby?"
"I thought it was Isabella."
"But?"
Victoria shook her head.
"Isabella was older."
Marcus stared at the photograph.
"Then who was the baby?"
Victoria whispered:
"Edward took her."
Khloe's hand moved to her stomach.
"Why?"
Victoria looked at her.
"Because he believed Elena had stolen her."
"Stolen who?"
Victoria pointed to the photograph.
"Her."
Marcus sat down.
The story was becoming impossible.
But every impossible detail had evidence behind it.
A photograph.
A document.
A hidden file.
A hospital record.
A forged signature.
A missing child.
A dead man who wasn't dead.
And a woman who had supposedly died but was now hunting her daughter.
Harris looked at Victoria.
"What was the child's name?"
Victoria closed her eyes.
"I don't know."
"Think."
"I heard Edward say one name."
"What?"
Victoria whispered:
"Clara."
Khloe froze.
The name struck her strangely.
She didn't know why.
But she'd heard it before.
In a dream.
Years ago.
A woman's voice saying:
Clara.
Marcus noticed her expression.
"What is it?"
"I don't know."
Khloe shook her head.
"Nothing."
But it wasn't nothing.
Across the city, Elena sat inside a private residence overlooking Lake Michigan.
Isabella sat across from her.
Her hands were free now.
But there were two guards by the door.
"Why did you bring me here?"
Elena poured tea.
"Because I wanted to speak to my daughter."
"You kidnapped me."
"I rescued you."
"You keep saying that."
Elena smiled.
"You sound like your father."
Isabella stiffened.
"Don't talk about him."
"He was a weak man."
"He loved me."
"No."
Elena's voice was cold.
"He loved what you could give him."
Isabella looked away.
"You lied about everything."
"No."
Elena sat down.
"I lied about one thing."
"What?"
"Who your father was."
Isabella looked at her.
"What?"
Elena smiled.
"You thought Giovanni was your father."
"Isn't he?"
"No."
Isabella stared.
"Then who?"
Elena leaned closer.
"The man you have been trying to help all these years."
Isabella's face went pale.
"Richard?"
Elena nodded.
"No."
She smiled.
"Marcus's father."
Isabella stood abruptly.
"No."
"Yes."
"You're lying."
"Edward Thorne was your father."
Isabella shook her head.
"That's impossible."
Elena opened a folder.
Inside was a DNA report.
She pushed it across the table.
Isabella stared at the result.
Probability of paternity: 99.98%.
Her hands began shaking.
"No."
Elena watched her.
"Now you understand."
Isabella's eyes filled with tears.
"My whole life..."
"Was built on a lie."
"Why?"
"Because Edward had two families."
Isabella stared.
Elena continued.
"He had Victoria."
"Then he had me."
"He promised me he would leave her."
"But he didn't."
"And when I became pregnant, he panicked."
Isabella's voice cracked.
"What happened?"
"He wanted the child."
"Me?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because he believed you would inherit everything."
Isabella stared at the report.
Elena leaned closer.
"But Victoria was pregnant too."
Isabella looked up.
Elena smiled.
"That is where everything changed."
Twenty-three years earlier, two women had been pregnant at the same time.
Victoria carried Marcus.
Elena carried Isabella.
Edward knew.
He had been trapped between two families.
Two women.
Two children.
Two futures.
And one enormous fortune.
Then the accident happened.
The night Edward disappeared.
The night Victoria vanished.
The night Elena's life changed forever.
But the accident hadn't been an accident.
Someone had sabotaged the vehicle.
And the person who ordered it had one goal.
Make sure only one heir survived.
Back at the hospital, Marcus looked at the old photograph.
"Why would my father take Isabella?"
Victoria shook her head.
"He didn't take her."
"Then who did?"
"I don't know."
Khloe stared at the photograph.
Then something caught her attention.
A tiny bracelet around the baby's wrist.
She zoomed in.
There was a symbol.
Three black lines.
The same symbol connected to Victor Hale.
Khloe looked at Adrian.
"What's that?"
Adrian went pale.
"Where did you see it?"
"On the bracelet."
He stepped closer.
"That's not Victor's symbol."
"Then whose?"
Adrian swallowed.
"Edward's."
Marcus stared.
"My father?"
Adrian nodded.
"He used that mark on documents."
"Why?"
"To identify his private assets."
Khloe frowned.
"Then the baby was one of his assets?"
"No."
Adrian looked at the photograph.
"She was the most important one."
At that moment, Harris's phone rang.
He answered.
"Yes?"
His expression changed.
"What?"
Everyone watched.
"Are you certain?"
A pause.
"Send it."
He ended the call.
Marcus stood.
"What happened?"
Harris looked at him.
"The laboratory finished the DNA test."
"Which test?"
"The blood sample from the hospital."
"Whose?"
Harris hesitated.
"Isabella's."
Marcus waited.
"And?"
Harris looked at Khloe.
"The sample doesn't match Giovanni Rossi."
Isabella's entire identity had just collapsed.
But Harris wasn't finished.
"It matches Edward Thorne."
Silence.
Marcus closed his eyes.
Khloe whispered:
"So Isabella is my sister-in-law..."
Victoria shook her head.
"No."
Everyone looked at her.
Victoria's voice trembled.
"Not exactly."
"Then what?"
Victoria pointed toward the photograph.
"Look at the baby's face."
Khloe did.
She stared.
The shape of the eyes.
The mouth.
The small crease beside the nose.
Something about the child looked strangely familiar.
She whispered:
"That's not Isabella."
Victoria nodded.
"No."
Marcus looked at her.
"Then who is it?"
Victoria slowly turned toward Khloe.
And for the first time, she looked frightened.
"Khloe."
Khloe's heart stopped.
"What?"
Victoria whispered:
"That child is you."
Nobody spoke.
Marcus stared at Khloe.
Khloe stared back.
"That's impossible."
Victoria shook her head.
"I saw you once."
"When?"
"The night of the accident."
Khloe's breathing became shallow.
"I was a baby."
"Yes."
"Then how could I be here?"
Victoria looked at the photograph.
"Because someone changed the records."
Marcus stepped toward her.
"Who?"
Victoria whispered:
"Elena."
The truth began to rearrange itself.
Isabella was not the child everyone believed she was.
The infant in the photograph was not some unknown heir.
It was Khloe.
And if Victoria was telling the truth, then Khloe's entire identity had been constructed.
Her birth records.
Her family history.
Her childhood.
Everything.
Marcus looked at his wife.
"Khloe..."
She shook her head.
"No."
Her eyes filled with tears.
"I know my parents."
Victoria stepped closer.
"Do you?"
Khloe looked away.
She suddenly remembered something.
A photograph from her childhood.
Her mother had always refused to discuss the night she was born.
Her father had never allowed her to see her original birth certificate.
And there had always been one locked box in her mother's closet.
A box she had been told never to touch.
Khloe whispered:
"I have to go home."
Marcus immediately shook his head.
"Absolutely not."
"There's something there."
"Then we'll send someone."
"No."
She looked at him.
"If my identity was changed, the proof is in that box."
Marcus took her hand.
"Then we find it."
That night, Elena stood before a wall covered in photographs.
Marcus.
Khloe.
Isabella.
Victoria.
Edward.
Richard.
And one photograph in the center.
A newborn baby.
Elena touched it gently.
"My little girl."
Richard stood behind her.
"You told her the truth."
"Not all of it."
"Why?"
"Because the truth would destroy her."
Richard smiled.
"That's the point."
Elena turned.
"Once she learns who she really is, she'll turn against Marcus."
"Will she?"
"She'll have no choice."
Richard looked at the photograph.
"And Isabella?"
Elena's expression softened for the first time.
"Isabella was never meant to suffer."
Richard laughed.
"She was always meant to suffer."
Elena looked at him.
"Don't underestimate my daughter."
"I don't."
He pointed to another photograph.
"She already betrayed us once."
Elena smiled.
"Then we'll give her a reason to betray everyone again."
At 3:12 a.m., Khloe returned to her childhood home under heavy security.
Marcus stayed beside her.
The house was dark.
Dust covered the furniture.
Nothing had changed.
Khloe walked toward the bedroom.
Her mother's closet was still locked.
Marcus handed her a key.
She inserted it.
The lock opened.
Inside was the box.
Small.
Black.
Covered in dust.
Khloe opened it.
Inside was her original birth certificate.
A hospital bracelet.
A photograph.
And a letter.
She unfolded it.
The handwriting belonged to her mother.
The first line made her blood run cold.
Khloe, if you are reading this, then Elena Rossi has found you.
Marcus read over her shoulder.
The next sentence was worse.
You were never supposed to know that you are Edward Thorne's daughter.
Khloe stopped breathing.
Marcus stared at the page.
Then the final line appeared.
And Marcus is not the only Thorne child you were separated from.
Khloe looked at Marcus.
He looked back at her.
Neither spoke.
Outside, a car stopped.
The headlights swept across the windows.
Someone had followed them.
And before Marcus could reach the door, his phone received a message.
One photograph.
Khloe's mother.
Alive.
Standing beside Elena Rossi.
And holding a newborn baby.
Beneath the photograph was a single sentence:
ASK YOUR MOTHER WHY SHE GAVE YOU AWAY.
Khloe's hands began to shake.
The marriage they had tried to destroy was no longer the center of the mystery.
May you like
The family itself was.
And somewhere in the darkness outside the house, a woman who had spent twenty-three years hiding the truth was waiting for her daughter to finally come home.
