Chapter 8 - ISABELLA’S LAST LIE
Khloe refused to meet Isabella alone.
The conversation took place in a secure interview room at the courthouse. Naomi sat beside Khloe. Marcus watched from behind one-way glass with Daniel and the district attorney.
Isabella entered wearing a gray detention uniform.
Without the red dress, diamonds and carefully styled hair, she looked younger.
Smaller.
But not harmless.
Her eyes immediately went to Khloe’s stomach.
“You had the baby.”
“Yes.”
“Is he healthy?”
“That is none of your concern.”
Isabella sat down.
For several seconds, the two women faced each other in silence.
Then Isabella smiled faintly.
“You think Marcus has changed.”
Khloe did not answer.
“He hasn’t,” Isabella continued. “Men like Marcus only become remorseful when consequences arrive.”
“You asked to see me. Say what you came to say.”
Isabella leaned forward.
“Marcus did not choose you because he loved you.”
Behind the glass, Marcus’s jaw tightened.
Isabella continued.
“Celeste chose you.”
Khloe frowned.
“That makes no sense.”
“You were perfect. Intelligent enough not to embarrass the family, but disconnected from wealth. No powerful parents. No corporate alliances. No one to fight back if the Thornes took your child.”
Khloe’s skin went cold.
“Celeste arranged for Marcus to meet you at the museum benefit.”
Marcus remembered the evening clearly.
He had believed their meeting was accidental.
Isabella smiled.
“Celeste wanted a bride who would produce an heir without challenging her authority. Marcus believed he was rebelling by marrying someone outside his world. In reality, his mother had selected you.”
Khloe glanced toward the one-way glass.
Marcus looked devastated.
“Why tell me this?”
“Because he should lose you.”
“You kicked me while I was pregnant.”
“And he still brought you into this family.”
“You made your own choices.”
“So did he.”
“Yes,” Khloe said. “And unlike you, he admitted them publicly.”
Isabella’s smile disappeared.
Khloe leaned closer.
“You keep blaming Marcus because he lied to you. You blame Celeste because she used you. You blame me because I was married to the man you wanted. But no one forced you to enter that room. No one forced you to raise your foot.”
Isabella’s breathing changed.
“You stole my future.”
“There was never a future. There was only a fantasy built around another woman’s destruction.”
Isabella slammed her palm against the table.
“He loved me!”
“No. He used you to escape himself. And you used him to reach his money.”
Behind the glass, Marcus lowered his head.
Khloe’s words were not meant to protect him.
They were simply true.
Isabella’s face twisted.
“You think holding that baby makes you powerful?”
“No.”
Khloe’s voice remained calm.
“Surviving you made me powerful.”
The district attorney entered and ended the meeting.
Isabella agreed to testify that Celeste had encouraged her relationship with Marcus, provided access to Khloe’s private schedule and discussed removing Khloe after the birth.
She also admitted ordering Dr. Lang to stage the overdose.
In exchange, prosecutors removed the most severe conspiracy charge but retained charges for aggravated assault, stalking, witness intimidation and attempted kidnapping.
The trial lasted six weeks.
Marcus testified for two full days.
Isabella’s attorney forced him to read his private messages aloud.
Messages in which he complained about Khloe.
Messages in which he told Isabella he felt trapped.
Messages in which he implied that his marriage would soon end.
He did not deny a single one.
When asked whether Isabella had reason to believe he would leave his wife, Marcus answered, “Yes.”
When asked whether that justified the attack, he said, “Nothing could justify it.”
When asked who was responsible for inviting Isabella into his marriage, Marcus answered, “I was.”
Khloe listened from the second row.
He did not protect his reputation.
He did not blame stress, alcohol or family pressure.
He told the truth even when it made him look weak.
Celeste’s trial followed.
Margaret’s recording and Arthur’s original documents proved fraud.
Dr. Lang’s testimony established the delayed emergency response.
Celeste was convicted of conspiracy, forgery, custodial fraud and obstruction of justice.
Isabella received eleven years in prison.
Dr. Lang lost his medical license and received a reduced sentence for cooperation.
Vittorio Rossi’s companies collapsed under fraud investigations.
The Thorne-Rossi merger disappeared permanently.
Marcus returned to the courthouse after sentencing and found Khloe standing on the steps.
Reporters waited behind barricades.
He stopped several feet away.
“It’s over,” he said.
“The trials are over.”
“I know that isn’t the same thing.”
Khloe looked at him.
“Elias comes home tomorrow.”
Marcus’s eyes brightened.
“I heard.”
“I rented a house near the coast.”
“I’ll make sure security keeps its distance.”
“You can visit him.”
Marcus did not speak.
Khloe continued.
“Twice a week at first.”
“Thank you.”
“This is not reconciliation.”
“I understand.”
“You will not bring staff. You will not bring gifts that cost more than most people earn in a year. You will not use money to avoid changing diapers.”
A faint smile touched his face.
“I can change diapers.”
“You have never changed one.”
“I can learn.”
Khloe watched him carefully.
“That is what I need to see.”
“What?”
“Whether you can learn.”
She walked toward Naomi’s car.
Before getting inside, she turned back.
“Tuesday at four.”
Marcus stood alone on the courthouse steps, surrounded by cameras and shouting reporters.
But for once, the only appointment that mattered to him had nothing to do with the company.
Tuesday at four.
May you like
The first chance to become the father Elias deserved.
And perhaps, someday, the man Khloe could trust again.
