Chapter 5 - The Man Behind Marcus
Damian Thorne arrived at the hospital at 1:17 a.m.
He looked nothing like a man who had been dragged out of bed.
His gray suit was perfect.
His silver hair was neatly combed.
His expression showed mild irritation rather than concern.
“Where is my nephew?”
Sebastian met him near the executive elevators.
“Being questioned.”
Damian smiled faintly.
“By you?”
“By people who take attempted harm to pregnant women seriously.”
Damian’s smile disappeared.
“I heard Isabella Rossi was involved.”
“You know her?”
“Professionally.”
“Only professionally?”
Damian’s eyes sharpened.
“Careful, Sebastian.”
“That sounded almost like an accusation.”
“It was a question.”
“Then ask Marcus.”
“I already did.”
That caused the smallest change in Damian’s face.
Sebastian noticed.
“You knew about the affair.”
Damian sighed.
“Marcus made mistakes.”
“That is not your business or mine.”
“It became my business when his former mistress attacked my niece.”
Damian looked toward the hallway.
“Is Khloe safe?”
“You don’t get to perform concern for me.”
The older man’s expression cooled.
“You’ve never liked the Thorne family.”
“I like people who don’t kick pregnant women.”
Sebastian stepped closer.
“And I especially like people who don’t secretly text women who kick pregnant women.”
Damian stared at him.
Then laughed softly.
“Is that what you have?”
“One prepaid phone?”
“One letter?”
“You’d embarrass yourself taking that to court.”
Sebastian did not react.
Damian’s smile faded.
He had expected anger.
Instead, Sebastian asked quietly.
“How do you know there was only one letter identifying the sender?”
Silence.
Damian realized his mistake.
Sebastian saw it.
“So you do know about the phone.”
“I assumed.”
“No.”
“You knew.”
Damian straightened his jacket.
“You’re reaching.”
Sebastian moved aside.
“Then you won’t mind staying.”
Damian stopped.
“I have a board meeting at eight.”
“You’ll miss it.”
“You cannot detain me.”
“No.”
Sebastian smiled.
“But the police can ask you questions.”
Two detectives were already walking toward them.
Damian’s face hardened.
Across the hall, Marcus watched.
His uncle had spent twenty years guiding his career.
Damian had taught him how to read financial statements.
How to negotiate acquisitions.
How to survive board fights.
After Marcus’s father died, Damian became the closest thing he had to a second father.
And now Marcus was staring at the possibility that the same man had targeted Khloe.
Damian noticed him.
“Marcus.”
Marcus approached.
“Tell them this is ridiculous.”
Marcus looked at the prepaid phone.
Then at his uncle.
“Did you know Isabella was blackmailing me?”
Damian’s eyes flickered.
“She blackmailed you because you gave her ammunition.”
“That isn’t what I asked.”
Damian lowered his voice.
“You have a company to protect.”
“My wife was attacked.”
“And she survived.”
Marcus’s face changed.
The words were too casual.
Too cold.
Damian realized it immediately.
“That came out wrong.”
Marcus stepped closer.
“Did you know?”
“Marcus.”
“Did you know Isabella was going into that suite?”
Damian said nothing.
Marcus’s voice became almost a whisper.
“Answer me.”
Damian glanced toward the detectives.
“I will answer questions when my attorney arrives.”
That was enough.
Marcus looked away.
Something inside him had broken.
Later, Sebastian returned to Khloe’s room.
She was awake.
“Tell me.”
Sebastian did.
Khloe listened without interrupting.
When he finished, she stared through the dark window.
“So my husband cheated.”
“Yes.”
“His mistress blackmailed him.”
“Yes.”
“His uncle may have used her.”
“Yes.”
“And somehow my unborn child controls billions of dollars.”
“Yes.”
Khloe exhaled slowly.
“This sounds insane.”
“It is insane.”
She looked at him.
“What would Damian gain?”
Sebastian answered immediately.
“Control.”
“Thirty-eight percent of Thorne Global would move into your trust after the birth.”
“Damian currently controls enough board proxies to dominate major votes.”
“If your trust activates, he loses that power overnight.”
Khloe placed a hand over her stomach.
“So this isn’t about Marcus.”
“Not entirely.”
“It’s about her.”
Sebastian looked at her belly.
“Yes.”
Khloe’s eyes changed.
Until that moment, the betrayal had felt personal.
A husband.
A mistress.
A marriage collapsing.
Now everything was different.
Someone had turned her unborn daughter into a financial obstacle.
Khloe looked at Sebastian.
“Find everything.”
“I already am.”
“No.”
She sat straighter.
“Not just Isabella.”
“Not just Damian.”
“Marcus too.”
Sebastian studied her.
“If my husband has another secret, I want it before he gets the chance to choose which version of the truth I hear.”
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That was the moment Khloe stopped being merely the victim in the hospital bed.
And became the most dangerous person in the investigation.
