Chapter 5 - The Woman Who Saved a Copy

Richard ordered the entire server room sealed.

No one was allowed inside without two security officers and a hospital attorney present.

Marcus remained with his lawyer in the conference wing.

Isabella refused to answer questions.

Dr. Mercer could not be found.

The missing footage changed everything.

The surviving recording exposed a conspiracy, but it did not prove who had attacked Khloe.

Isabella’s attorneys would argue that Khloe had become violent after discovering her husband’s secret.

They would claim Isabella acted in self-defense.

Khloe hated how easily the lie could be shaped.

Near midnight, Elaine returned to the maternity suite.

She closed the door behind her.

“I need to show you something.”

Khloe looked toward the security guard outside.

“Does Richard know you’re here?”

“No.”

Elaine removed her phone from her handbag.

“When I saw Isabella standing over you, I began recording.”

Khloe’s breath caught.

“You recorded the room?”

“Only after the doors opened.”

“That doesn’t prove she pushed me.”

“No.”

Elaine opened a video.

“It proves Marcus knew more than he admitted.”

The recording showed Khloe on the floor.

Isabella pointed at her and claimed she had been attacked.

Marcus stood in the doorway.

His face was pale.

Then Isabella took one small step toward him.

The phone’s microphone captured her whisper.

“You said the camera was disabled.”

Marcus answered so quietly that Elaine had increased the volume.

“It was supposed to be.”

Khloe watched the exchange three times.

Each viewing hurt more than the last.

Marcus had known the camera should not have been recording.

Someone had intentionally planned to disable it.

Elaine lowered the phone.

“I sent a copy to an encrypted account.”

“Why didn’t you tell Richard?”

“I don’t know who to trust.”

“Richard is my uncle.”

“And his name is on the list of people capable of deleting the recording.”

Khloe looked away.

Richard had protected her since her father’s death.

He had attended every birthday.

He had walked her down the aisle.

Distrusting him felt impossible.

Yet twelve hours earlier, distrusting Marcus had felt impossible too.

“Why are you helping me?” Khloe asked.

Elaine sat in the chair beside the bed.

“My younger sister worked for Thorne Global.”

“What happened?”

“She discovered false invoices connected to one of Marcus’s overseas charities.”

Khloe waited.

“Two weeks later, she was dismissed for misconduct.”

“Was the accusation false?”

“Yes.”

Elaine’s voice tightened.

“She tried to fight it, but every document proving her case disappeared.”

“What was your sister’s name?”

“Rachel Parker.”

Khloe recognized it.

Rachel had been Marcus’s financial coordinator during the first year of their marriage.

Marcus had told Khloe that Rachel stole donor funds.

“She didn’t steal anything,” Elaine said.

“I believe you.”

Elaine’s eyes filled, but she maintained control.

“My sister died last year.”

Khloe said nothing for several seconds.

“I’m sorry.”

“She spent her final months trying to prove she wasn’t a thief.”

Elaine looked at the hospital door.

“Before she died, she told me Marcus Thorne never destroyed evidence unless the evidence led to someone more powerful.”

“More powerful than Marcus?”

“Yes.”

Elaine leaned closer.

“She said Marcus was not the person controlling the money.”

Khloe thought of the deleted recording.

The forged evaluation.

The hospital access.

“Then who was?”

Elaine opened another file on her phone.

It was an email Rachel had scheduled to send after her death.

May you like

The housekeeper was supposed to be invisible. Instead, Sophia Hale becam...

Victoria: You will never get a single cent of this family inheritance! M...

The billionaire father was told his son had died. Then the maid smashed...

The subject line contained only three words.

Ask Richard Hale.