Chapter 12 - The Evidence Against Marcus
Khloe arrived at the precinct against her doctor’s advice.
Sebastian drove.
She did not speak the entire way.
Marcus was inside an interview room.
His attorneys were already there.
Detective Ortiz met Khloe in the corridor.
“What happened?”
Khloe asked.
Lena handed her a copy of the warrant affidavit.
Investigators had found more than the two-million-dollar transfer.
There were encrypted messages.
One came from an account associated with Marcus.
MAKE SURE SHE FINDS OUT BEFORE FRIDAY.
Another.
THE PREGNANCY CHANGES THE TIMELINE.
And another.
IF K.T. WON’T LEAVE VOLUNTARILY, CREATE PRESSURE.
Khloe read them twice.
Sebastian looked furious.
“Marcus says they’re fabricated.”
Lena nodded.
“His attorneys say the same.”
“What do you think?”
“I think someone wanted us to find them.”
Khloe looked up.
“Why?”
“They’re too clean.”
Lena folded her arms.
“People plotting felonies rarely label everything conveniently.”
Sebastian studied her.
“So you don’t think Marcus sent them.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“But you doubt it.”
“I doubt everything until I can verify it.”
Khloe looked through the observation window.
Marcus sat alone now.
He looked smaller somehow.
Not because of the handcuffs.
Because he finally had no control over anything.
His company.
His marriage.
His freedom.
Khloe remembered Isabella telling her that Marcus had promised the marriage would end.
She remembered Thursday nights.
Boston.
The lies.
Then she remembered Marcus kneeling beside her on the marble floor.
The fear in his face had been real.
Could a man betray her emotionally and still be innocent of something far worse?
Yes.
That was the uncomfortable truth.
People were rarely only one thing.
Khloe turned toward Lena.
“What would prove the messages are fake?”
“The original device signatures.”
“Do you have them?”
“We’re working on it.”
Sebastian checked the time.
“The trust hearing is tomorrow morning.”
Lena nodded.
“I know.”
“If Marcus remains under investigation, Damian’s lawyers will use it.”
“I know.”
Khloe walked toward the interview room.
“I want five minutes with him.”
Lena hesitated.
Then opened the door.
Marcus looked up when Khloe entered.
“I didn’t send those messages.”
She closed the door.
“I know what you say.”
“I need you to believe me.”
Khloe sat opposite him.
“That sentence doesn’t work anymore.”
Marcus lowered his eyes.
“What do you remember about the dates?”
“What?”
“The messages.”
He thought.
“The first date was June ninth.”
“Where were you?”
“London.”
“With your phone?”
“Yes.”
“Who else had access?”
“My chief of staff.”
“Elaine?”
“And Damian during a security reset in March.”
Khloe’s attention sharpened.
“What reset?”
“We had a breach attempt.”
“Damian insisted executive authentication be mirrored temporarily.”
“For how long?”
“Forty-eight hours.”
“Did you remove his access?”
“I thought IT did.”
Khloe stood.
“Thought?”
Marcus understood.
“You think they didn’t.”
“I think your family built a company so complicated nobody knows who still holds which keys.”
She reached the door.
“Khloe.”
She turned.
Marcus looked at her.
“I know I destroyed your reason to trust me.”
“But I did not try to hurt you.”
Khloe held his gaze.
“I’m starting to believe that.”
Hope appeared for one second.
She stopped it.
“That does not mean I forgive you.”
“I know.”
Outside, Sebastian was already calling Thorne Global’s cybersecurity director.
Twenty-three minutes later, they got the answer.
Damian’s emergency authentication key had never been revoked.
It had remained active for eight months.
The same eight months since Marcus ended his affair.
And the key had been used repeatedly.
Including four days before Khloe’s attack.
The police now had reasonable doubt.
But Damian had one more move.
At 5:04 p.m., every major financial network received an anonymous package.
Inside were photographs of Marcus and Isabella together.
Hotel records.
Private messages.
And a headline-ready accusation.
BILLIONAIRE CEO MAY HAVE ORDERED ATTACK ON PREGNANT WIFE.
May you like
By sunset, the scandal was everywhere.
And Damian’s lawyers filed an emergency request to take control of the trust before morning.
