Chapter 12 - The House Built on Lies

Marcus moved between Isabella and the SUV.

“How did you get here?”

Isabella smiled.

“You gave me a key.”

“I changed the security codes.”

“Victor changed them back.”

Richard helped Khloe out of the vehicle.

Isabella’s gaze dropped toward her stomach.

Disappointment crossed her face when she realized the baby was still alive.

Khloe saw it.

“Were you hoping the hospital had finished what you started?”

Isabella’s smile disappeared.

“I was hoping you would finally understand when you were no longer welcome.”

“In my husband’s house?”

Isabella lifted the red folder.

“Your husband’s house belongs to the company.”

Khloe looked toward Marcus.

He did not deny it.

The marble entrance hall contained framed photographs of their wedding.

Khloe saw her younger self smiling beside a man she had never truly known.

Isabella followed her gaze.

“He practiced that smile.”

Marcus turned.

“Stop talking.”

“You still think silence will save you?”

Isabella tossed the folder onto a console table.

“He gave me everything, Khloe.”

“Not everything.”

Khloe rested a hand over her stomach.

Isabella’s eyes hardened.

“That child is the only reason you are still here.”

Marcus stepped toward her.

“Do not speak about the baby.”

The words surprised everyone.

Isabella laughed.

“Now you want to protect them?”

Khloe studied Marcus.

Isabella had said them, not her.

“You planned to remove both of us,” Khloe said.

Marcus turned toward her.

“No.”

Isabella answered first.

“He planned to place you under observation.”

“And after the baby was born?”

Isabella’s expression revealed too much.

Khloe understood.

“You were going to take my place.”

Isabella glanced at Marcus.

“He said the marriage was already over.”

Marcus looked away.

The betrayal was no longer a suspicion.

It stood in the center of the room wearing a crimson gown.

Samuel moved quietly toward the library with the archive drive.

Isabella noticed.

“What is he carrying?”

Richard blocked her view.

“Nothing that belongs to you.”

Isabella reached into her handbag.

Marcus caught her wrist.

She gasped.

“Let go.”

He removed a small remote control from her hand.

A single red button sat at its center.

Marcus’s face changed.

“What did Victor tell you this would do?”

Isabella tried to pull away.

“Give it back.”

Marcus turned the device over.

A Thorne Global security code was engraved beneath the battery panel.

“It activates the fire suppression lockdown.”

Richard frowned.

“What does that mean?”

Marcus looked toward the library.

“It seals every room and removes oxygen to prevent an electrical fire from spreading.”

Khloe stared at Isabella.

“You were going to lock us inside.”

Isabella’s fear turned into anger.

“You stole my life.”

“I did not know you existed.”

“You existed.”

Isabella’s voice shook.

“That was enough.”

Marcus released her wrist.

“You need to leave.”

She looked at him in disbelief.

“After everything I did for you?”

“You attacked my wife.”

“You told me she was the problem.”

“I was wrong.”

Isabella stepped backward.

“You do not get to become innocent because you finally feel guilty.”

Marcus’s face hardened.

“I never claimed innocence.”

From the library, Samuel called out.

“I found something.”

Everyone turned.

A hidden safe behind the bookshelves stood open.

Inside were custody documents prepared months earlier.

Khloe’s name appeared beneath a declaration of permanent incapacity.

Marcus was listed as sole guardian of the unborn child.

A second document named Isabella Rossi as the child’s future caregiver.

Khloe looked at Marcus.

He stared at the papers as though he had never seen them.

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Isabella smiled slowly.

“You weren’t the only one making plans.”