CHAPTER 6 – THE SECRET HER FATHER LEFT
CHAPTER 6 – THE SECRET HER FATHER LEFT
The secure maternity wing occupied the hospital’s top floor.
Adrian placed armed guards at both entrances.
All medical personnel were searched.
Every device entering Khloe’s room was checked.
Marcus remained beside her while doctors examined the effects of the attempted abduction.
The baby’s heartbeat had stabilized again.
But the physician warned them that another major shock could force an emergency delivery.
Khloe listened silently.
When the doctor left, she turned to Adrian.
“Tell me about my father.”
Adrian stood near the window.
“I wanted to protect you.”
“That answer is not enough.”
“No.”
She waited.
Adrian finally sat down.
“Your father worked with me.”
“At the hospital?”
“Before the hospital.”
“Federal intelligence?”
“Yes.”
Marcus looked toward Adrian.
“What was he investigating?”
“A financial network connected to several American corporations.”
“Thorne Group?” Marcus asked.
Adrian hesitated.
“Partly.”
Khloe’s eyes filled with disbelief.
“My father investigated Marcus’s family?”
“He investigated stolen pension funds, offshore accounts and political payments. Some transactions passed through Thorne subsidiaries.”
Marcus’s voice sharpened.
“My father would never steal pension money.”
“I did not say he did.”
“Then who?”
“We never proved it.”
Khloe leaned forward despite the pain.
“What happened to my father?”
“He arranged to meet a source. His vehicle went over a bridge before he arrived.”
“You told me a drunk driver caused the accident.”
“That was the official report.”
“You lied to me for fourteen years.”
Adrian lowered his head.
“Yes.”
Khloe looked away.
Marcus reached toward her but stopped before touching her.
She was surrounded by people who claimed they had lied to protect her.
Her mother.
Her uncle.
Her husband.
His mother.
Protection had become another word for control.
“What does this have to do with Isabella?” she asked.
Adrian removed a small envelope from his coat.
“Your father left this with me.”
Inside was a brass key.
Khloe stared at it.
“What does it open?”
“I don’t know.”
“You kept it for fourteen years without finding out?”
“I tried. The number engraved on it did not match any bank, property or storage company in our records.”
Marcus examined the key.
A tiny symbol had been carved near the base.
A thorn surrounded by a circle.
He recognized it.
“That is my grandfather’s seal.”
Adrian looked at him.
“Where would it be used?”
“Private Thorne archives.”
Eleanor’s voice came from the doorway.
“It opens a deposit drawer beneath Thorne Manor.”
Everyone turned.
Two guards stood behind her.
Adrian had allowed her entry only after Detective Morales searched her.
Marcus looked at his mother.
“You knew about the key.”
“I knew the seal.”
“What is in the drawer?”
“I don’t know.”
Khloe studied Eleanor.
“Did you know my father?”
Eleanor paused.
“Yes.”
The single word changed everything.
“How?”
“He worked with my husband.”
Marcus stared at her.
“You said Father was under investigation.”
“He was.”
“But he also worked with Daniel Grant?”
“They began as enemies.”
Eleanor entered the room.
“Then your father discovered someone had been using Thorne companies to hide illegal transfers.”
“Who?” Khloe asked.
“He never told me.”
“Why not?”
“Because he did not trust me.”
Marcus almost laughed at the bitter symmetry.
No one trusted anyone.
Eleanor continued.
“Your father and mine created a secure archive. Only two keys could open it. Daniel carried one. William carried the other.”
“My father’s key disappeared after his death,” Marcus said.
Eleanor nodded.
“Then someone still has it.”
Adrian looked at the brass key.
“And now they know Khloe has Daniel’s.”
Khloe shook her head.
“I didn’t even know it existed.”
“They may believe Daniel gave you information before he died.”
“I was twelve.”
“People who have killed to protect a secret do not care about logic.”
Marcus stood.
“We go to Thorne Manor.”
“No,” Adrian said.
“The drawer may contain the proof.”
“It may also be a trap.”
Eleanor spoke quietly.
“The estate has been closed for years. Almost no one knows the underground archive still exists.”
“Isabella knows,” Marcus said.
Eleanor looked at him.
“How?”
“She spent summers there with your family.”
Eleanor’s expression darkened.
Isabella’s father, Victor Rossi, had been William Thorne’s business partner for decades.
He had also managed several international subsidiaries during the exact years of the stolen transfers.
Khloe understood.
“You think the Rossi family was involved.”
“I think Isabella’s attack may not have been only jealousy,” Adrian said.
Marcus remembered her words.
Give him an heir.
Then disappear.
“What happens to Khloe’s inheritance if she dies after the baby is born?”
Eleanor’s face went pale.
Marcus stepped toward her.
“Answer me.”
“The child inherits several trust positions.”
“And if Khloe dies before the child is born?”
“The assets remain under your control.”
“And Isabella?”
“She receives nothing.”
“Unless she marries me.”
No one spoke.
The plan was suddenly visible.
Destroy Khloe.
Separate her from Marcus.
Control the future Thorne heir.
Gain access to the family trusts.
And perhaps recover whatever evidence Daniel Grant had hidden beneath Thorne Manor.
Adrian’s phone rang.
He answered.
His face hardened.
“What happened?”
After listening, he looked toward them.
“The two men we captured are dead.”
Detective Morales entered behind Eleanor.
“Poison capsules hidden inside false dental crowns.”
Marcus looked at the key.
Whoever controlled the conspiracy had prepared for every failure.
Khloe placed a protective hand over her stomach.
“We open the drawer.”
Adrian shook his head.
“You are not going.”
“It was my father’s key.”
“You are injured.”
“They already tried to kill me twice tonight.”
Her voice became firm.
“Hiding has not protected me.”
Marcus looked at her.
“I’ll go.”
Khloe met his eyes.
“I don’t trust you enough to go without me.”
The words hurt.
May you like
But Marcus nodded.
“Then we go together.”
