“She knew you would spend years blaming yourself.”
“So she left something only you could find.”
Marcus shook his head.
“That makes no sense.”
“It does.”
Isabella replied.
“Because Sofia understood you better than you understood yourself.”
A painful silence.
Then Marcus’s phone rang.
Everyone looked.
This time it was not an unknown number.
It was his company’s emergency line.
Marcus answered.
“Thorne.”
A voice came through.
His security director.
Marcus’s expression changed within seconds.
“What do you mean missing?”
Everyone watched.
“No.”
“Lock down the building.”
“Now.”
He ended the call.
Khloe immediately knew.
“What happened?”
Marcus looked at her.
“The archives.”
Alexander frowned.
“What about them?”
“Someone broke into the private company archives.”
Isabella’s face changed.
“The old records?”
Marcus nodded.
“The Sofia files.”
Khloe felt cold.
“They know.”
Marcus looked at her.
“Yes.”
“They know we found out.”
The security director called again.
Marcus answered.
“What?”
The color slowly disappeared from his face.
“Repeat that.”
Nobody spoke.
Finally Marcus lowered the phone.
Alexander asked:
“What?”
Marcus looked at him.
“The person who accessed the archives…”
A pause.
“They didn’t steal the files.”
“Then what did they do?”
Marcus looked toward Khloe.
“They added something.”
Khloe frowned.
“Added what?”
Marcus swallowed.
“A confession.”
Everyone became confused.
“What confession?”
Marcus turned the phone screen toward them.
A new document had appeared inside the company system.
A video file.
Created today.
Named:
MARCUS THORNE’S FINAL CONFESSION
Nobody moved.
Because nobody understood.
Marcus had never recorded such a thing.
Alexander looked concerned.
“Open it.”
Marcus hesitated.
Then pressed play.
The screen showed a dark room.
A man sitting in a chair.
At first, his face was hidden.
Then the light changed.
And everyone froze.
Because the person in the video…
Was Marcus Thorne.
But not the Marcus standing in the hospital.
This video showed him six years earlier.
The younger Marcus.
The Marcus before Khloe.
The Marcus before the truth.
His voice came through the speakers.
“If you are watching this…”
The video Marcus looked directly into the camera.
“Then I failed.”
Khloe’s heart started beating faster.
The recorded Marcus continued.
“I failed to protect Sofia.”
“I failed to protect the truth.”
“And I failed to stop my father.”
Real Marcus stepped backward.
“No…”
The video continued.
“But there is one thing nobody knows.”
A pause.
“The person who destroyed Sofia’s life…”
“Was not Richard Thorne.”
The room went completely silent.
The younger Marcus looked terrified.
“Because Richard was only following orders.”
Khloe looked at Marcus.
Everyone looked at Marcus.
The video continued.
“The real person behind everything…”
“Is someone inside my own family.”
The screen flickered.
Then the final sentence appeared.
A sentence that made Marcus’s blood run cold.
“The person who betrayed Sofia Bellini is the same person standing closest to my wife today.”
The video ended.
Nobody spoke.
Slowly…
Everyone began looking around the room.
At Marcus.
At Alexander.
At Isabella.
At Khloe.
Because the enemy was not outside.
The enemy was inside.
And one question remained.
Who had been standing closest to Khloe all along?
CHAPTER 7-THE BABY WHO CHANGED EVERYTHING
For several seconds after the video ended, nobody moved.
The screen went black.
But the final sentence remained in everyone’s mind.
The person who betrayed Sofia Bellini is the same person standing closest to my wife today.
It was not a threat.
It was not a warning.
It was a bomb.
And it had exploded inside the hospital room.
Khloe slowly looked around.
At the people standing near her.
People she had trusted.
People who claimed they were protecting her.
Marcus.
Alexander.
Isabella.
Even Elaine.
Everyone suddenly felt different.
Because when someone tells you the enemy is close…
Your mind starts searching for reasons why every person could be guilty.
Marcus noticed the change in her expression.
“Khloe.”
She looked at him.
He immediately understood.
She was afraid.
Not of the danger outside.
Of the truth inside.
“Don’t look at me like that.”
Her voice was quiet.
“Like what?”
“Like you’re trying to figure out if I’m the person who betrayed Sofia.”
Marcus froze.
Because the possibility hurt him.
Not because he was guilty.
Because he understood why she asked.
“I would never hurt you.”
Khloe looked away.
“I believed that before tonight.”
Those words cut deeper than any accusation.
Marcus had faced enemies who wanted him destroyed.
He had faced lawsuits.
Hostile investors.
Public scandals.
But nothing prepared him for seeing disappointment in his wife’s eyes.
Because that was the one thing he could not negotiate away.
“I need answers.”
Khloe said.
“Not promises.”
Marcus nodded slowly.
“You’re right.”
Then he looked at the video.
“That recording was made six years ago.”
Alexander stepped closer.
“There is something important.”
Everyone turned.
Alexander pointed at the screen.
“The file was uploaded today.”
Marcus nodded.
“Yes.”
