CHAPTER 14-THE PERSON KHLOE TRUSTED MOST
The call ended.
But nobody moved.
The silence that followed felt worse than the phone ringing.
Because everyone in that room had heard the same thing.
A voice from the past.
A voice they thought they would never hear again.
Sofia Bellini.
Alive.
Calling Marcus.
Warning him.
Don’t trust Claire.
Khloe looked at her mother.
The woman who had returned after twenty years.
The woman who had cried when she saw her daughter.
The woman who claimed she disappeared to protect her.
Now another person from the past was telling them not to believe her.
And the most painful part was…
Khloe no longer knew what truth looked like.
Every person in this family had a secret.
Every person had a reason.
Every person claimed they were protecting someone.
And every secret had caused someone else pain.
“Was that really Sofia?”
Marcus asked.
Nobody answered.
Because nobody knew.
Claire looked terrified.
Not angry.
Not defensive.
Terrified.
That reaction caught Khloe’s attention.
“Mom.”
Claire looked at her.
“Why are you afraid?”
Claire swallowed.
“Because Sofia should never have been able to call you.”
Marcus frowned.
“Why?”
Claire looked at him.
“Because I watched her die.”
The room froze.
Khloe stared.
“What?”
Claire closed her eyes.
“Not physically.”
A pause.
“But the woman who disappeared six years ago…”
“She was already gone.”
Marcus looked confused.
“Explain.”
Claire sat down slowly.
“She discovered the truth about Richard.”
“She discovered what Daniel was planning.”
“She knew too much.”
“So she disappeared.”
“Everyone assumed Richard killed her.”
“But the truth was different.”
Khloe stepped closer.
“What happened?”
Claire looked at the floor.
“Sofia chose to disappear.”
Marcus shook his head.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“She knew if she stayed, everyone connected to her would be destroyed.”
“She left the world behind.”
“But why would she call now?”
Nobody answered.
Then Isabella spoke.
“Because someone found her.”
Everyone looked at her.
Isabella continued.
“Or forced her to come out.”
Marcus looked at her.
“You knew where she was?”
Isabella hesitated.
That hesitation was enough.
Marcus’s expression hardened.
“Isabella.”
She looked away.
“I knew where she was hiding.”
“And you didn’t tell me.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because she asked me not to.”
Marcus laughed bitterly.
“Everyone in my life keeps deciding what I deserve to know.”
Nobody responded.
Because it was true.
Khloe looked at him.
She saw the pain.
But she also saw something else.
Growth.
For the first time, Marcus wasn’t trying to control the situation.
He was accepting that people had been hurt by his silence.
“What did Sofia want?”
Khloe asked Isabella.
Isabella looked at her.
“She wanted the truth exposed.”
“Then why warn us not to trust Claire?”
Isabella looked at Claire.
“That is the question.”
The room became tense.
Claire stood.
“I know how this looks.”
Khloe looked at her.
“Do you?”
The question hurt.
“Yes.”
“Because every person here has told me they were protecting me.”
Claire lowered her eyes.
“And every person lied.”
Silence.
Khloe continued.
“I spent twenty years believing I lost my mother.”
“I spent years wondering why she left.”
“I built my entire life around a story that was wrong.”
Her voice shook.
“And now you’re asking me to trust you because you came back?”
Claire looked devastated.
“No.”
“Then what?”
Claire stepped closer.
“I’m asking you to look at what I did.”
“Not what everyone says.”
Khloe stared.
“What did you do?”
Claire took a breath.
“I signed the protection agreement.”
“I hid the evidence.”
“I disappeared.”
“And I allowed you to hate me.”
A tear moved down her face.
“Because hatred was safer than being found.”
Khloe remained silent.
Then Marcus’s phone rang again.
This time…
The caller ID appeared.
Daniel Thorne.
Marcus answered.
“Where is Sofia?”
Daniel laughed.
“Straight to the important questions.”
“Answer me.”
“You always were impatient.”
Marcus’s jaw tightened.
“Daniel.”
A pause.
Then Daniel said:
“Come to Thorne Manor.”
Marcus frowned.
“What?”
“You want Sofia.”
“Yes.”
“You want the truth.”
“Yes.”
“You want to save Khloe.”
Marcus looked at her.
“Yes.”
“Then come alone.”
“No.”
Daniel laughed.
“I knew you would say that.”
A pause.
“That’s why I prepared another option.”
The call changed.
A video appeared.
And everyone froze.
Because the video showed Sofia Bellini.
Alive.
Sitting in a dark room.
Her face tired.
Her eyes frightened.
Daniel stood behind her.
Marcus’s expression changed instantly.
“Sofia.”
She looked at the camera.
“Marcus…”
Her voice was weak.
“I’m sorry.”
Marcus stepped closer to the screen.
“What did he do?”
Daniel smiled.
“Nothing.”
Sofia looked down.
“I came willingly.”
Nobody believed it.
Especially Isabella.
“Sofia…”
Isabella whispered.
Sofia looked up.
Her expression changed.
Pain.
Guilt.
Love.
“Isabella.”
The two women stared at each other.
And Khloe realized something.
They weren’t enemies.
They were family.
Sofia continued.
“Marcus.”
“I need you to listen.”
“Do not come here.”
Marcus froze.
“What?”
Sofia looked terrified.
“Daniel wants you here.”
“Because he needs something from you.”
“What?”
Sofia looked at the camera.
At Daniel.
Then whispered:
“He needs you to choose.”
Marcus frowned.
“Choose what?”
Daniel stepped forward.
His smile disappeared.
“Choose between the company…”
“And your wife.”
The screen went black.
The call ended.
Nobody spoke.
Then Alexander’s phone received an alert.
A financial notification.
His face changed.
“What?”
Marcus looked at him.
“What happened?”
Alexander turned the screen.
The entire Thorne Global Holdings board had voted.
The result was official.
Marcus Thorne was removed as CEO.
Daniel Thorne was now the legal chairman.
The empire was gone.
But Daniel wasn’t finished.
Because another message appeared.
A countdown.
71 HOURS REMAINING.
Khloe stared at it.
“He wants me to panic.”
Marcus looked at her.
“Yes.”
“He wants me to make a mistake.”
Marcus nodded.
“Yes.”
She looked at the people around her.
Her mother.
Her husband.
Isabella.
Alexander.
All the people connected to the truth.
Then she asked the question nobody expected.
“Who says we have to play his game?”
Everyone looked at her.
Khloe took the inheritance document.
The one everyone had fought over.
The one that had controlled her life without her knowing.
She tore it in half.
Marcus stared.
“Khloe…”
She looked at him.
“I’m done being protected.”
A pause.
“And I’m done being used.”
For the first time…
Everyone understood.
Daniel thought he was fighting a frightened woman.
He was wrong.
He had created someone who had nothing left to lose.
But then…
Alexander’s phone rang.
He answered.
His face slowly changed.
Marcus noticed.
“What happened?”
Alexander looked at Khloe.
And whispered:
“Someone inside this room just sent Daniel our location.”
Everyone froze.
Slowly…
Everyone looked at each other.
May you like
Because the enemy was not only outside.
The enemy was still among them.
