Chapter Five: The Recording Isabella Wanted
Detective Lena Brooks listened to the audio recovered from the hidden microphone.
Most of it contained nothing more than fabric movement and distant music from the gala.
Then Isabella’s voice became clear.
“You were supposed to know your place. Smile for the cameras. Give him an heir. Then disappear.”
The next sounds were movement, breaking glass, and Khloe’s cry.
The microphone had not merely recorded the attack.
It had captured Isabella’s motive.
But another discovery made the case even darker.
The device was linked to a private cloud account registered under a company called Belladonna Media Consulting.
The company had been created six weeks earlier.
Its only director was Isabella’s personal assistant, Sofia Bell.
Detectives obtained an emergency warrant for the associated account.
Inside were edited photographs, fabricated messages, and draft headlines.
BILLIONAIRE’S PREGNANT WIFE ATTACKS FAMILY FRIEND DURING JEALOUS BREAKDOWN.
THORNE MARRIAGE COLLAPSES AFTER VIOLENT HOSPITAL INCIDENT.
Sources Close to Marcus Thorne Say He Fears for Unborn Child.
Isabella had planned more than an assault.
She intended to provoke Khloe, secretly record the confrontation, and release selected audio that made Khloe appear unstable.
The physical attack had happened when Khloe refused to react the way Isabella expected.
By sunrise, police arrested Isabella on charges related to aggravated assault, evidence tampering, conspiracy, and unlawful recording.
Her attorney arranged bail within hours.
Outside the courthouse, Isabella wore sunglasses and maintained her innocence.
“This was a tragic misunderstanding,” she told reporters. “I care deeply for Marcus and his family.”
The statement was broadcast in the hospital waiting room.
Marcus watched without expression.
His legal counsel, Rachel Sinclair, stood beside him.
“She used your name deliberately,” Rachel said.
“I heard.”
“She wants the public to believe there was an intimate relationship.”
“There wasn’t.”
“That may not matter. Perception can destroy a company faster than evidence can protect it.”
Marcus turned off the television.
“What do you recommend?”
“A public statement supporting Khloe and denying any relationship with Isabella.”
“No.”
Rachel frowned.
“No?”
“This is not a corporate scandal.”
“Marcus—”
“My wife was attacked. I will not turn her trauma into brand protection.”
Rachel studied him carefully.
It was the first correct decision she had seen him make since arriving at the hospital.
“Then we focus on evidence.”
Marcus looked toward the guarded hallway leading to Khloe’s room.
“What else did police find?”
Rachel opened a folder.
“Payments from Belladonna Media to three gossip reporters. Payments to a photographer who followed Khloe for weeks. And messages suggesting someone inside Thorne Global supplied Isabella with your private schedule.”
Marcus’s expression hardened.
“Who?”
“We don’t know yet.”
“Find out.”
Rachel closed the file.
“There is another issue.”
She placed a printed email on the table.
The message had been sent from Marcus’s executive account to Isabella two months earlier.
It read:
After the child is born, everything will change. Be patient.
Marcus stared at it.
“I never wrote this.”
Rachel nodded.
“I believe you.”
“Khloe won’t.”
“She may not have to. The email contains a hidden forwarding signature.”
“From where?”
May you like
Rachel met his eyes.
“Your brother’s office.”
