Chapter 13 - The Second Plan

Isabella had created a plan beyond Marcus’s conspiracy.

Marcus intended to delay the trust transfer.

Isabella intended to remove Khloe permanently.

The safe contained psychiatric reports, photographs, and edited audio recordings.

Some showed Khloe arguing with Marcus.

Others had been altered to make her words sound threatening.

There was also a draft statement announcing that Khloe had suffered a severe emotional collapse after childbirth.

The statement expressed Marcus’s heartbreak.

It asked the public to respect the family’s privacy.

It thanked Isabella Rossi for helping care for the newborn child.

Marcus read the pages in silence.

Khloe watched him carefully.

“You did not know about these?”

“No.”

“Why should I believe you?”

“You shouldn’t.”

He looked at Isabella.

“But I would never have allowed her near our child.”

Isabella laughed.

“You allowed me into your bed.”

Marcus did not react.

“You allowed me into your company.”

Still nothing.

“You gave me access to your wife’s medical records.”

Marcus’s silence became an admission.

Isabella stepped closer.

“You opened every door.”

“And you walked through them.”

Khloe’s voice cut between them.

Both turned toward her.

“I am finished listening to you argue over which one of you betrayed me more.”

She took the forged documents from the safe.

“These go to the police.”

Isabella’s face tightened.

“You think the police will help you?”

“They will when the entire country sees the evidence.”

Khloe looked at Samuel.

“Can you upload the archive?”

“Yes.”

“Send it to Elaine.”

Isabella’s confidence returned.

“Elaine never reached the ballroom.”

Khloe studied her.

“You sound certain.”

Isabella realized her mistake.

Marcus moved closer.

“What did Victor do?”

She looked toward the front door.

“Nothing.”

Marcus took her handbag and searched it.

He found a phone.

Several messages appeared on the screen.

One read, PARKER CONTAINED.

Another read, MEDIA CARD NOT RECOVERED.

Khloe felt a brief surge of relief.

Elaine had escaped with the evidence.

A third message arrived.

GRANT HAS THE FILES.

Isabella read it over Marcus’s shoulder.

Her face went white.

Marcus looked at Khloe.

“Naomi Grant.”

“The reporter,” Richard said.

Khloe nodded.

The evidence was already outside.

Isabella lunged for the phone.

Marcus held it away.

“You lost.”

“No.”

Her voice became frantic.

“No, she only has Mercer’s messages.”

Samuel raised the archive drive.

“She will have everything in three minutes.”

He connected the drive to the library computer.

The upload began.

Ten percent.

Twenty percent.

Isabella looked toward the remote control Marcus had placed on the desk.

Then she looked at the ceiling vents.

Khloe saw the decision form in her eyes.

“Marcus.”

Isabella grabbed the remote.

Her thumb struck the red button.

Metal shutters dropped across the library doors.

A warning alarm sounded.

The ventilation system stopped.

Richard rushed toward the exit.

It was sealed.

On the computer screen, the upload continued.

Forty-two percent.

Marcus seized the remote and pressed the button again.

Nothing happened.

Isabella backed toward the shelves.

“The lockdown cannot be reversed for fifteen minutes.”

Khloe felt the first contraction tighten across her abdomen.

She gripped the table.

Marcus saw her.

“Khloe?”

She looked at the upload screen.

Sixty percent.

Another contraction followed.

Too soon.

Too strong.

Richard supported her.

“She needs air.”

Marcus attacked the door controls.

The system remained locked.

Isabella stood against the wall, staring at Khloe’s face.

Her anger slowly transformed into fear.

“I didn’t know she would go into labor.”

Khloe looked at her.

“You never cared whether my baby survived.”

The upload reached eighty percent.

A red warning light began flashing overhead.

Oxygen levels declining.

Marcus turned toward Isabella.

“How do we open the door?”

“You can’t.”

He stepped closer.

“How?”

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Isabella finally broke.

“Victor has the override.”