Chapter 9 - The Death Nobody Questioned
Isabella’s father, Lorenzo Rossi, had died eight years earlier.
Officially, it had been a heart attack.
He was fifty-four.
Healthy.
Wealthy.
And preparing to announce a major financial restructuring of Rossi Capital.
His death barely remained in the news for forty-eight hours.
The cancelled engagement between Isabella and Marcus dominated the gossip pages instead.
Khloe understood immediately.
“Conrad created the scandal.”
Marcus looked at her.
“To bury the death.”
“And to separate you from Isabella before she told you what her father found.”
Gabriel entered carrying archived financial records.
“Possibly.”
Marcus looked at him.
“You knew Lorenzo?”
“Yes.”
“How well?”
“Well enough to know he distrusted your father.”
Marcus laughed bitterly.
“Apparently everyone knew things about my father except me.”
Gabriel placed the records on the table.
“Lorenzo contacted me six days before he died.”
Khloe stared at her uncle.
“You never told us that.”
“No.”
“What did he want?”
“He wanted help reviewing transactions connected to Thorne Strategic Holdings.”
Marcus stepped forward.
“What transactions?”
Gabriel opened the file.
“Hundreds of millions routed through companies that existed only on paper.”
Marcus studied the names.
None were familiar.
Gabriel pointed to one.
“Meridian Coastal Partners.”
Then another.
“Alder Crown Limited.”
Then a third.
“Northstar Biomedical Ventures.”
Khloe recognized the last name.
“Northstar.”
Marcus looked at her.
“What?”
“Northstar owns fourteen percent of Atlas BioSystems.”
The room went silent.
The acquisition.
The board vote.
The clause transferring Khloe’s shares if she became incapacitated.
The attempted manipulation.
Everything suddenly connected.
Gabriel nodded.
“If Thorne Strategic acquires Atlas, Northstar’s stake becomes extremely valuable.”
Marcus stared at the records.
“How valuable?”
“Potentially more than nine hundred million dollars.”
Khloe whispered.
“And who owns Northstar?”
Gabriel looked grim.
“That’s hidden behind several offshore structures.”
Marcus already knew the answer.
“My father.”
“We can’t prove that yet.”
A knock came at the door.
One of Gabriel’s investigators entered holding a laptop.
“We found Silas Reed.”
Marcus turned.
“Where?”
“We didn’t find him physically.”
The investigator opened a map.
“We found his phone.”
The signal had reappeared for forty-three seconds near a private airfield in New Jersey.
A chartered jet departed minutes later.
Destination unknown.
Gabriel asked who owned the aircraft.
The investigator hesitated.
“The registered operator is Meridian Coastal Partners.”
Khloe stared at the financial documents.
The same shell company Lorenzo Rossi had investigated before his death.
Marcus slowly sat down.
His entire family history was changing in front of him.
Then Gabriel’s phone rang.
He answered.
His face changed.
“What happened?”
Khloe asked.
Gabriel ended the call.
“Isabella wants to speak to you.”
Khloe frowned.
“To me?”
“Only you.”
Marcus immediately shook his head.
“No.”
Khloe looked at him.
“You don’t decide that.”
Gabriel asked why Isabella wanted Khloe.
The answer was written on a note Isabella had passed to the detective.
Gabriel handed it over.
Khloe read the sentence twice.
ASK KHLOE WHAT HER HUSBAND WAS DOING AT THE ROSSI HOUSE THE NIGHT MY FATHER DIED.
May you like
Khloe slowly looked at Marcus.
Marcus had gone completely pale.
