Chapter 12 - THE NAME ON THE LAB REPORT

Khloe replayed the sentence three times.

The succession child may not be biologically mine.

Nathaniel stood silently beside her.

“What does that mean?” she asked.

“The archive contained fertility records.”

“I never underwent fertility treatment.”

Nathaniel’s face was pale.

“You underwent a minor procedure nine months ago.”

Khloe remembered.

A diagnostic examination after months of abdominal pain.

Dr. Evelyn Shaw had performed it.

“No.”

“Samples were taken without your knowledge.”

Khloe pressed a hand over her stomach.

“What did they do?”

Nathaniel opened the archived report.

Embryo transfer protocol.

Genetic material: Hale maternal line.

Paternal donor: restricted.

Khloe felt as though the floor had shifted.

“I conceived naturally.”

“That is what you were told.”

“Marcus and I—”

“I know.”

Nathaniel spoke carefully.

“It is possible the record was fabricated. We need independent testing.”

Khloe’s fear changed into anger.

“My child is not a trust key.”

“No.”

“Not a specimen.”

“No.”

“Then stop reading those files as though they define him.”

Nathaniel closed the tablet.

“You’re right.”

Hours later, Marcus woke in intensive care.

Khloe stood outside the glass.

She was not yet ready to enter.

Rebecca approached.

“Daniel would have been proud of you.”

“Please don’t tell me what my father would feel.”

Rebecca nodded.

“I’m sorry.”

Khloe looked at her.

“Did you know about the embryo?”

“No.”

“Did Evelyn?”

“Probably.”

Khloe turned toward the hall.

“I need to speak to her.”

Federal agents initially refused.

Nathaniel used every remaining ounce of his authority.

Evelyn was brought into a secure interview room, wrists restrained.

Khloe sat across from her.

“Who is the father of my child?”

Evelyn’s face revealed nothing.

“Marcus.”

“The archive says otherwise.”

“The archive contains possibilities.”

“Do not play with me.”

Evelyn leaned forward.

“Everett stored genetic material from several Thorne relatives. Vittorio wanted to guarantee a child compatible with the trust.”

“Whose material did you use?”

“I didn’t perform an embryo transfer.”

Khloe stared at her.

“The records say you did.”

“I created the records.”

“Why?”

“To make Vittorio believe the pregnancy was controlled.”

“You falsified them?”

“Yes.”

“Then Marcus is the father?”

“Almost certainly.”

“Almost?”

Evelyn looked away.

Khloe’s patience broke.

“You monitored my pregnancy. You helped manipulate my marriage. You allowed Isabella near me. Give me one complete truth.”

Evelyn’s eyes filled.

“I protected you from Vittorio.”

“You also tried to take the trust.”

“Both can be true.”

“Who is the father?”

“Marcus.”

Khloe studied her.

This time, she believed her.

“Why make Marcus doubt it?”

“Because if he believed the child might not be his, Vittorio thought he could separate you.”

“Marcus recorded that message seven months ago.”

“He found the false file before I could remove it.”

“And never told me.”

“He ordered private testing.”

Khloe froze.

“What testing?”

“Blood samples from you and Marcus.”

“Without my consent?”

Evelyn nodded.

The betrayal continued even when Marcus believed he was protecting her.

“What were the results?”

“Marcus is the biological father.”

Relief came with anger.

Khloe stood.

“You knew.”

“Yes.”

“And you let him continue doubting?”

“I needed him uncertain. Uncertainty made him easier to control.”

Khloe moved toward the door.

Evelyn spoke behind her.

“I saved your baby tonight.”

Khloe turned.

“You saved him from a danger you helped create.”

Evelyn lowered her eyes.

“That doesn’t make the saving meaningless.”

“No.”

Khloe’s voice softened slightly.

“But it doesn’t erase the rest.”

When Khloe finally entered Marcus’s room, he was pale and connected to several machines.

His eyes opened.

“You watched the message.”

“Yes.”

“I recorded it before I had the test results.”

“You tested me without consent.”

“Yes.”

“You married me knowing about the trust.”

“Yes.”

“You investigated my father’s death and kept it hidden.”

“Yes.”

Khloe sat beside him.

“You always say yes after I discover the truth.”

Marcus looked at her.

“I was trained to treat information like power.”

“And people?”

“Like vulnerabilities.”

She absorbed the answer.

“Was I one?”

“At first.”

Khloe’s eyes hardened.

“And later?”

“The only person who made the power feel worthless.”

Silence passed between them.

“The baby is yours,” she said.

Marcus closed his eyes.

A tear escaped.

Khloe had never seen him cry.

“I already decided it didn’t matter,” he whispered.

“It matters because the truth matters.”

“Yes.”

She stood.

“I am not forgiving you today.”

“I know.”

“I may never return to our marriage.”

“I know.”

“But our child will know you, provided you become honest enough to deserve him.”

Marcus looked at her.

“I will spend the rest of my life trying.”

Khloe turned to leave.

An alarm suddenly sounded from the maternity monitor beneath her coat.

A contraction seized her.

She gripped the bedrail.

Marcus tried to rise despite his injury.

“Khloe?”

Warm fluid ran down her legs.

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