Chapter 7 - Pregnant Women Fall All the TimeDetective Brooks watched the recording in silence.
Grant Hollis had stood beside him at his wedding.
Grant had held Marcus’s father’s hand during his final hours.
Grant knew every acquisition, every family trust, every confidential agreement inside Thorne Global.
More importantly, Grant knew Marcus.
His weaknesses.
His routines.
His marriage.
His fears.
“Maybe he dropped something,” Marcus said.
Khloe looked at him.
“You don’t believe that.”
“No.”
The answer hurt.
Grant was asked to come to the office under the pretense of an emergency board meeting.
Federal investigators were not involved yet, but local police monitored the situation.
Marcus sat across from his longtime friend.
Grant entered smiling.
“You look terrible.”
Marcus didn’t return the smile.
“Sit down.”
Grant noticed David standing by the door.
Then the company attorney.
His expression shifted.
“What is this?”
Marcus placed a small listening device on the table.
Grant stared at it.
“Recognize it?”
“No.”
Marcus slid a photograph across the table.
Security footage.
Grant kneeling beside the credenza.
“That looks bad,” Grant said.
“It is bad.”
“I can explain.”
“Do it.”
Grant exhaled.
“I found something under the cabinet.”
“What?”
“A USB drive.”
“Where is it?”
“I threw it away.”
Marcus leaned forward.
“Try again.”
Grant’s face changed.
The friendship vanished from the room.
Replaced by calculation.
“You’re accusing me of bugging your office?”
“I’m asking why you were touching the exact location where a bug was discovered.”
Grant folded his arms.
“You’re paranoid.”
“My wife was assaulted.”
“And that suddenly makes everyone around you guilty?”
Marcus went quiet.
Grant had made the same mistake Camille had.
He reacted defensively before Marcus told him the bug was connected to the attack.
Marcus looked toward David.
David noticed it too.
“How did you know this was connected?” Marcus asked.
Grant blinked.
“I assumed.”
“No.”
Marcus stood.
“You knew.”
Grant rose.
“I’m leaving.”
David blocked the door.
“You’re free to leave,” the attorney said. “But company security access has been suspended pending investigation.”
Grant laughed.
“You’re destroying a twenty-year friendship because your wife got into a fight with an ex-girlfriend?”
Marcus crossed the distance between them.
“My wife didn’t get into a fight.”
Grant held his gaze.
“And there it is.”
“What?”
“She owns you.”
Marcus looked confused.
Grant continued.
“Three years ago, you were ruthless. Focused. You made decisions because they were good for the company.”
“And now?”
“Now everything is Khloe.”
Marcus almost smiled.
“Yes.”
Grant frowned.
“Yes what?”
“My wife matters more than your quarterly numbers.”
Grant’s jaw tightened.
That was the moment Marcus understood.
This wasn’t merely Caroline’s obsession with status.
Other people had motivations too.
Grant believed Khloe had weakened Marcus professionally.
Camille believed Khloe had divided the family.
Isabella believed Khloe had stolen the life she deserved.
Caroline believed Khloe contaminated the Thorne bloodline.
Different resentments.
Same target.
Grant left under escort.
Investigators searched corporate communications with legal authorization.
They found encrypted correspondence between Grant and Caroline.
No explicit discussion of violence.
But many references to “the transition.”
“After Marcus wakes up.”
“Remove emotional influence.”
“Restore proper leadership.”
One message from Grant stood out:
Once the public understands she’s unstable, the board will understand why he needs intervention.
Khloe read it twice.
“They wanted me gone.”
Marcus said nothing.
“Not just Isabella.”
“No.”
“They wanted your company.”
Marcus nodded slowly.
The whole plan became clearer.
Create marital chaos.
Make Khloe appear unstable.
Use scandal to pressure Marcus.
If necessary, trigger concerns about his judgment as CEO.
Caroline controlled enough family shares to cause trouble.
Grant controlled financial messaging to the board.
Camille could provide private access.
Isabella created the emotional scandal.
The kick may not have been part of the original corporate plan.
But the trap surrounding Khloe had been bigger than jealousy.
That evening, Evelyn arrived.
Marcus showed her everything.
His mother sat silently for several minutes.
Then she whispered, “My sister.”
Marcus nodded.
Evelyn covered her face.
“I let her help raise you.”
“You didn’t know.”
“She poisoned Camille against Khloe.”
“We don’t know how far back it goes.”
“I do.”
Marcus looked up.
Evelyn removed an envelope from her handbag.
“I found this in Camille’s childhood room.”
Inside were letters.
Caroline to Camille.
Some recent.
Some years old.
Caroline repeatedly described Marcus as “too sentimental.”
After he met Khloe, the language worsened.
Your brother has forgotten responsibility.
That woman will separate him from his family.
If she has a child, everything changes permanently.
The final letter was dated four months earlier.
Isabella understands what must be done. Help her remind Marcus who belongs beside him.
Khloe felt sick.
Marcus looked at his mother.
“What exactly did Caroline mean?”
Evelyn shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
Then the penthouse intercom buzzed.
Security.
A courier had arrived.
No return address.
Inside the envelope was a memory card.
Marcus inserted it into an isolated laptop.
A video appeared.
Caroline.
Grant.
Camille.
Sitting inside a private dining room.
Date stamp: three months earlier.
Audio was clear.
Caroline’s voice:
“Khloe doesn’t need to be hurt. She simply needs to become impossible for Marcus to defend.”
Grant replied:
“We create enough evidence, the marriage collapses.”
Then Camille asked:
“And if she refuses to leave?”
A fourth voice answered from outside the camera frame.
A woman.
Calm.
Confident.
“Then I’ll give her a reason to be afraid.”
Isabella stepped into view.
Khloe’s hand instinctively moved toward her belly.
The conversation continued.
And then came the sentence that changed everything.
May you like
Isabella smiled and said:
“Pregnant women fall all the time.”
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