Chapter 10 - THE HOUSE BUILT ON BODIES

Nathaniel wanted to call federal agents.

Rebecca said there was no time.

Khloe agreed with her.

The hospital’s communication systems had been compromised. They could not know which officers or officials still worked for Vittorio.

Detective Brooks had vanished during the warehouse operation.

Marcus had been captured.

Adrian’s condition was unknown.

Evelyn remained in hospital custody, guarded by people who might already have been bribed.

Khloe swung her legs over the bed.

Nathaniel blocked her.

“You are not going anywhere.”

“My husband is about to be killed.”

“You almost went into premature labor.”

“I’m not asking permission.”

“You can barely stand.”

“Then help me.”

Rebecca watched silently.

Nathaniel knew the argument was over.

Thirty minutes later, Khloe left through a service entrance wearing a dark coat over her hospital gown.

Rebecca drove.

Nathaniel sat beside Khloe in the back.

Two private security officers followed in another vehicle.

As they approached the Thorne estate, Khloe saw smoke above the trees.

The mansion’s west wing was burning.

The gates stood open.

No guards appeared.

Rebecca stopped near the fountain.

“Once we enter, Vittorio will separate us.”

“Then we don’t let him,” Nathaniel said.

Khloe looked at the mansion where she and Marcus had spent the first year of their marriage.

She remembered quiet breakfasts.

Arguments in the library.

Marcus falling asleep on the sofa while waiting for her to return from foundation meetings.

Were those moments real?

She no longer knew.

They entered through the front doors.

Isabella waited beneath the chandelier.

Her face was bruised from the warehouse pursuit.

“Khloe,” she said. “You look terrible.”

Khloe walked toward her.

Isabella smiled.

“Still pretending to be brave.”

Khloe slapped her.

The sound echoed through the foyer.

Isabella’s head snapped sideways.

Rebecca stepped between them before Isabella could respond.

“Where is Marcus?”

Isabella touched her cheek.

“You think he loves you?”

Khloe held her gaze.

“I think you’re wasting time.”

Vittorio’s voice came from the upper balcony.

“My daughter always preferred drama.”

He descended slowly, leaning on a polished cane.

Two armed men followed him.

Marcus appeared behind them with his hands restrained.

Blood marked his white shirt.

Khloe’s composure nearly broke.

Marcus saw her condition.

“You should not be here.”

“Neither should you.”

Vittorio smiled.

“Touching.”

He looked at Rebecca.

“After all these years.”

Rebecca’s face hardened.

“You should have stayed dead.”

“So should you.”

Nathaniel stepped forward.

“Release Marcus.”

Vittorio laughed.

“You surrendered the key once. Perhaps you will be useful again.”

“The key was false.”

“Yes. Daniel embarrassed me even in death.”

Vittorio looked at Khloe’s stomach.

“But his daughters will correct that mistake.”

“Where is Evelyn?” Khloe asked.

“Already below us.”

Isabella turned sharply.

“You said she was still at the hospital.”

Vittorio ignored her.

Understanding entered Isabella’s face.

“You used me.”

“I raised you better than to be surprised.”

“You told me Marcus would be mine.”

“You failed to remove his wife.”

Isabella looked at Marcus.

All her obsession, jealousy and violence had been fed by a promise her father never intended to keep.

Vittorio gestured toward the library.

“Move.”

They were taken through the burning west wing into Everett Thorne’s former study.

A section of the floor had opened, revealing stone stairs.

Below the mansion lay a vast underground chamber.

At its center stood an antique vault door surrounded by modern biometric scanners.

Evelyn was tied to a chair.

Detective Brooks lay unconscious nearby but breathing.

Adrian sat against the wall, one shoulder bandaged.

Khloe looked at him.

“You survived.”

“Barely.”

Vittorio positioned Khloe and Evelyn before the scanner.

“Two sisters. One archive.”

Evelyn looked at Khloe.

“You shouldn’t have come.”

“Marcus was not going to die for our family’s secrets.”

Vittorio motioned toward a technician.

Blood samples were taken from both sisters.

The scanner began processing.

Marcus watched Khloe.

“I’m sorry.”

She looked at him.

“For which lie?”

“All of them.”

The vault unlocked.

A circular door opened with a deep metallic sound.

Inside were shelves of documents, hard drives and sealed evidence containers.

At the center was a single terminal.

Vittorio stepped forward.

“Finally.”

Daniel Hale’s recorded image appeared on the screen.

“If this archive has opened,” he said, “then both my daughters are alive.”

Evelyn closed her eyes.

Khloe fought tears.

Daniel continued.

“The person attempting to control this evidence will believe the biometric scan grants ownership.”

Vittorio’s smile disappeared.

“It does not.”

Red lights activated.

The vault door began closing.

Vittorio rushed toward it.

Marcus tackled the nearest guard.

Nathaniel pulled Khloe away.

Brooks regained consciousness and reached for the fallen gun.

Isabella stood frozen.

Vittorio shouted at her.

“Stop the door!”

She looked at her father.

Then at Khloe.

For the first time, Isabella had a choice that was truly hers.

She stepped backward.

The vault sealed with Vittorio inside.

His fists struck the metal.

Daniel’s recording continued.

“The archive will release automatically to federal authorities in sixty minutes.”

A gunshot rang out.

Isabella fell.

One of Vittorio’s guards had fired before Brooks shot him.

Marcus rushed toward Isabella.

Blood spread across her side.

She looked at Khloe.

“I didn’t know he would kill you.”

Khloe knelt beside her.

“You still attacked me.”

“I know.”

Tears ran down Isabella’s face.

“I wanted your life.”

Khloe held pressure against the wound.

“It was never perfect.”

Isabella gave a broken laugh.

“None of us were.”

Above them, the mansion continued to burn.

Then the terminal displayed another message.

ARCHIVE RELEASE INTERRUPTED.

External authorization required.

The screen showed one name.

MARCUS THORNE.

Everyone turned toward him.

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