Chapter 19 - The Man Who Protected Her
Gabriel did not run.
He did not lie when Khloe placed the photograph in front of him.
He simply sat down.
“I wondered when you would find that.”
Khloe stared at him.
“You told me you barely spoke to Richard.”
“I lied.”
She laughed bitterly.
“Apparently every man in my life learned the same language.”
Gabriel accepted the insult.
“Two years ago, Richard approached me.”
“Why?”
“He wanted to buy my shares.”
“I refused.”
“Then he told me Marcus was having financial problems.”
Marcus looked surprised.
“I wasn’t.”
“I know.”
Gabriel continued.
“That was when I realized Richard was preparing something.”
“So I began investigating.”
Khloe pointed at the photograph.
“With Voss?”
“At the time, I didn’t know Voss belonged to Richard.”
Marcus frowned.
“What about Suite 1704?”
Gabriel hesitated.
Khloe’s expression hardened.
“No more partial truths.”
Gabriel nodded.
“I activated the camera.”
“Why?”
“Because Daniel called my office yesterday morning.”
The room went still.
“He warned you?”
“Indirectly.”
“He said there could be an incident at the gala involving you.”
“He refused to explain.”
“Why didn’t you cancel the gala?”
“Because by the time I received the message, you were already there.”
“Then why didn’t you tell me?”
Gabriel looked ashamed.
“I thought it was corporate.”
“I thought Richard planned to embarrass Marcus.”
“Force a confrontation.”
“I didn’t imagine physical violence.”
Khloe stared at him.
Marcus looked furious.
“You knew there was a threat and said nothing?”
Gabriel snapped back.
“I put six additional guards on the floor.”
“You left her uninformed.”
“Yes.”
Marcus laughed once without humor.
“Then you made the same mistake I did.”
Gabriel went silent.
Khloe looked between them.
Exactly.
Different motives.
Same arrogance.
Powerful men deciding what information she could handle.
What truth she deserved.
What danger she should know about.
Khloe stood carefully.
Her pregnancy made the movement slow.
But her voice was strong.
“I’m done being protected by people who hide things from me.”
Neither man answered.
“The company.”
“The trust.”
“My father.”
“My marriage.”
“My child.”
“If it concerns me, I know.”
“If it concerns my son, I know first.”
Gabriel nodded.
“You’re right.”
Marcus did too.
Khloe looked at both of them.
“Good.”
“Because tomorrow I’m taking control of Thorne Holdings.”
Marcus raised his eyes.
“The transfer isn’t legally complete.”
“It will be.”
Gabriel smiled faintly.
“How?”
Khloe placed Marcus’s signed surrender agreement beside the trust documents.
Then she added Richard’s suspended voting shares.
Together, they gave her enough.
Fifty-four percent.
Marcus understood first.
“You already have control.”
Khloe nodded.
“At nine tomorrow morning, the board belongs to me.”
For the first time since the attack, she smiled.
May you like
“And my first action will be ordering a forensic audit of every dollar Richard ever touched.”
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