Chapter 15 - Isabella Breaks
Isabella’s attorney requested a private meeting with prosecutors.
That meant one thing.
She wanted to negotiate.
Marcus opposed it immediately.
Khloe did not.
“You don’t get to decide whether prosecutors hear her.”
“I know.”
“You look like you want to stop them.”
“I want her prosecuted.”
“So do I.”
Marcus stared through the hospital window.
“She deserves prison.”
“Yes.”
“She almost killed you.”
“Yes.”
“She endangered our son.”
Khloe paused.
“Daughter.”
Marcus turned.
Khloe almost smiled.
“We’re having a daughter.”
For several seconds, every other subject disappeared.
Marcus’s face softened.
“You asked them?”
“I decided I wanted to know.”
He sat beside her.
“A girl.”
Khloe nodded.
Marcus looked toward her stomach.
The emotion on his face nearly broke her.
Then Khloe said, “That’s why I need the entire truth.”
His expression shifted back.
“If Isabella can expose Mercer, I want her talking.”
The meeting took place that evening.
Isabella sat across from prosecutors wearing a gray blouse and no jewelry.
She looked smaller than she had in the hospital suite.
Her arrogance was gone.
Not her anger.
But much of her certainty had disappeared.
Detective Mills placed a recorder on the table.
“Why did you attack Khloe Thorne?”
Isabella’s attorney whispered something to her.
She ignored him.
“Because I hated her.”
“Why?”
“Because she had Marcus.”
“Marcus says you were never in a relationship.”
Isabella’s jaw tightened.
“He wanted me once.”
“When?”
“Years ago.”
“Did he ever promise marriage?”
“No.”
“Did he ever tell you he loved you?”
Silence.
“No.”
“Did Julian Mercer encourage you to pursue Marcus?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“He said Marcus was trapped.”
“By Khloe?”
“By his image.”
“Did Mercer ask you to break the marriage?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Photographs.”
“Rumors.”
“Creating situations.”
“Did he ask you to hurt Khloe?”
Isabella looked down.
“No.”
Mills waited.
Then asked, “Did he know you might?”
Isabella’s fingers tightened.
Her attorney leaned toward her.
“You do not have to answer.”
Isabella looked up.
“He knew I hated her.”
“That isn’t the question.”
She closed her eyes.
“He told me the pregnancy complicated everything.”
“What did that mean?”
“Marcus would never leave while she was pregnant.”
“So?”
“He said after the baby was born, Khloe would become impossible to remove from his life.”
Mills remained still.
“Remove?”
“That was his word.”
“What did Mercer tell you before the gala?”
Isabella looked toward her attorney.
Then toward the recorder.
“He told me it was the last opportunity before the board vote.”
“To do what?”
“To create a crisis.”
“What kind?”
“He didn’t specify.”
“Then why did you go to Khloe’s room?”
Isabella’s breathing became uneven.
“Because I wanted her afraid.”
“Did you intend to attack her?”
A long silence.
“Yes.”
Her attorney closed his eyes.
Mills continued.
“Did Mercer know?”
Isabella looked directly at him.
“I told Julian I was done pretending.”
“And?”
“He said…”
She stopped.
“What did he say?”
Tears appeared in her eyes.
This time, they were not theatrical.
“He said, ‘Then stop pretending.’”
Mills leaned forward.
“Anything else?”
Isabella nodded.
“He told me no one would care what happened inside a private suite if Marcus believed my version first.”
That sentence connected Mercer directly to the location.
Mills’s expression sharpened.
“Did he know there were no visible cameras?”
“Yes.”
Khloe later listened to the recorded confession.
She sat silently when it ended.
Marcus looked at her.
“Enough?”
“No.”
“What do you mean?”
Khloe pointed at the screen.
“She still hasn’t explained the package.”
Marcus stared at her.
May you like
Khloe’s voice became quiet.
“And Isabella was under house arrest when it arrived.”
