Chapter 4 - The Thorne Family Promise
Conrad Thorne arrived at the hospital at seven the next morning.
He did not arrive alone.
Two attorneys walked beside him.
His chief of staff followed.
Three private security officers remained near the elevators.
Conrad had spent four decades building an empire from real estate, transportation, technology, and private finance.
At seventy-one, he still entered every room as if he owned it.
Gabriel met him outside Khloe’s private wing.
“You’re not seeing her.”
Conrad barely slowed.
“She is carrying my grandchild.”
“She is my niece.”
“She is my son’s wife.”
“And someone connected to your office helped the woman who attacked her.”
That stopped Conrad.
Only for a second.
But Gabriel saw it.
“So you know.”
Conrad’s eyes became colder.
“I know my family is being dragged into a situation created by an unstable woman.”
Gabriel smiled faintly.
“You practiced that sentence quickly.”
Conrad stepped closer.
“Be careful.”
“You’re in my hospital.”
“And you’re speaking about my family.”
“I’m speaking about attempted manipulation, evidence tampering, and an assault on a pregnant woman.”
Conrad’s attorney interrupted.
“No charges involving Mr. Thorne have been established.”
Gabriel looked at him.
“I wasn’t talking to you.”
Inside the room, Khloe could hear raised voices through the glass.
Marcus stood near her bed.
“My father will deny everything.”
Khloe stared toward the door.
“Do you believe him?”
Marcus took too long.
“That’s what I thought.”
Conrad was eventually allowed inside under one condition.
No attorneys.
No security.
Only him.
He entered and immediately looked at Khloe’s monitors.
“Are you all right?”
Khloe almost laughed.
“Is that concern or risk management?”
Conrad frowned.
“Khloe.”
“Did you speak to Isabella?”
“No.”
“Did your office?”
“I employ hundreds of people.”
“Did you promise her my marriage wouldn’t survive my pregnancy?”
For the first time, Conrad looked at Marcus.
The movement was tiny.
Khloe noticed it.
“So there was a promise.”
“No.”
Marcus stepped between them.
“Dad, tell me the truth.”
Conrad’s expression hardened.
“I am.”
“Isabella sent me a message saying you promised her something.”
“Isabella has been obsessed with you for years.”
“Why?”
Conrad didn’t answer.
Marcus moved closer.
“Why?”
Conrad exhaled.
“Because she believed you still belonged to her.”
“I never did.”
“That is not how her family understood the agreement.”
Khloe stared at him.
“What agreement?”
Conrad looked annoyed now.
“An old arrangement between families.”
Marcus’s face tightened.
“After our engagement ended?”
“Yes.”
“What did you give them?”
Conrad looked toward Khloe.
“Nothing that concerns her.”
Khloe reached for the call button.
Gabriel entered immediately.
Khloe pointed toward Conrad.
“Get him out.”
Conrad’s expression darkened.
“You should think carefully before turning this into a war.”
Khloe stared at him.
“I was attacked while carrying your grandchild.”
Conrad lowered his voice.
“You still don’t understand the scale of what you are touching.”
Gabriel opened the door.
Conrad walked toward it.
Then Khloe spoke.
“What did Isabella’s family get?”
Conrad stopped.
For several seconds, he remained silent.
Then he looked over his shoulder.
“Twenty-five million dollars.”
Marcus stared at him.
“For what?”
May you like
Conrad’s answer changed everything.
“To make sure she never told you why the engagement actually ended.”
