Chapter 15 - Seventeenth Floor
The lights flickered once.
Then the maternal unit doors locked automatically.
Nurses rushed toward patient rooms.
Security shouted through radios.
Marcus moved to Khloe’s door.
Gabriel grabbed his arm.
“Stay inside.”
“My wife is in here.”
“Exactly.”
Khloe pushed herself higher against the pillows.
“What does Daniel want?”
Nobody knew.
Then the intercom crackled.
A man’s voice came through.
Calm.
Controlled.
“Mr. Mercer.”
Gabriel looked toward the ceiling speaker.
Daniel.
“I know you can hear me.”
Gabriel pressed the wall intercom.
“Daniel, security is coming.”
“I know.”
“You’re making this worse.”
A quiet laugh followed.
“Worse?”
“You have no idea what worse looks like.”
Marcus took the intercom.
“Daniel.”
Silence.
Then Daniel spoke.
“Marcus.”
“What do you want?”
“You should ask your wife what she intends to do with Thorne Holdings after the baby is born.”
Khloe stared at the speaker.
Marcus answered immediately.
“That is none of your concern.”
“It became my concern when your father turned the company into his personal bank.”
Richard heard everything from downstairs.
So did investigators.
Daniel continued.
“I spent fourteen years cleaning his mess.”
“Moving money.”
“Hiding transactions.”
“Paying people.”
“And the moment Khloe takes control, she opens the books.”
Khloe understood.
“You’re afraid of an audit.”
Daniel laughed.
“I’m afraid of prison.”
Gabriel spoke.
“You’re going there anyway.”
“Maybe.”
A pause.
“But I can still decide how much damage I take with me.”
The line went dead.
Then Dr. Shaw entered quickly.
“We’re moving Khloe.”
“Where?”
“To a secured operating floor.”
Marcus helped guide the bed.
They reached the rear corridor when the elevator opened.
Daniel Cole stepped out.
He wore hospital scrubs over his clothes.
A stolen badge hung from his neck.
Security officers immediately moved forward.
Daniel stopped.
His hands were empty.
“Relax.”
Gabriel stared at him.
“Get on the floor.”
Daniel ignored him.
He looked at Khloe.
“You were never supposed to be hurt.”
Khloe’s voice remained steady.
“Isabella kicked me because you told her Marcus wanted my baby gone.”
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
“She was supposed to frighten you.”
“Force you to leave Marcus.”
“Delay the trust.”
“She lost control.”
Khloe stared at him.
“No.”
“You chose someone unstable because you wanted something unstable to happen.”
Daniel’s expression hardened.
Then he smiled.
“You’re more like your father than Richard realized.”
Khloe froze.
“My father?”
Daniel looked at Gabriel.
And Gabriel’s face changed.
Khloe saw it.
“What does he mean?”
Gabriel did not answer.
Daniel laughed softly.
“You never told her?”
Marcus turned toward Gabriel.
“Told her what?”
Daniel looked directly at Khloe.
“Your father discovered Richard’s theft years before he died.”
Silence.
Khloe’s throat tightened.
“My father died in a car accident.”
Daniel smiled.
May you like
“That’s what they told you.”
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