CHAPTER 7-THE BABY WHO CHANGED EVERYTHING
For several seconds after the video ended, nobody moved.
The screen went black.
But the final sentence remained in everyone's mind.
The person who betrayed Sofia Bellini is the same person standing closest to my wife today.
It was not a threat.
It was not a warning.
It was a bomb.
And it had exploded inside the hospital room.
Khloe slowly looked around.
At the people standing near her.
People she had trusted.
People who claimed they were protecting her.
Marcus.
Alexander.
Isabella.
Even Elaine.
Everyone suddenly felt different.
Because when someone tells you the enemy is close…
Your mind starts searching for reasons why every person could be guilty.
Marcus noticed the change in her expression.
“Khloe.”
She looked at him.
He immediately understood.
She was afraid.
Not of the danger outside.
Of the truth inside.
“Don’t look at me like that.”
Her voice was quiet.
“Like what?”
“Like you’re trying to figure out if I’m the person who betrayed Sofia.”
Marcus froze.
Because the possibility hurt him.
Not because he was guilty.
Because he understood why she asked.
“I would never hurt you.”
Khloe looked away.
“I believed that before tonight.”
Those words cut deeper than any accusation.
Marcus had faced enemies who wanted him destroyed.
He had faced lawsuits.
Hostile investors.
Public scandals.
But nothing prepared him for seeing disappointment in his wife’s eyes.
Because that was the one thing he could not negotiate away.
“I need answers.”
Khloe said.
“Not promises.”
Marcus nodded slowly.
“You’re right.”
Then he looked at the video.
“That recording was made six years ago.”
Alexander stepped closer.
“There is something important.”
Everyone turned.
Alexander pointed at the screen.
“The file was uploaded today.”
Marcus nodded.
“Yes.”
“But look at the metadata.”
Marcus took the tablet.
His expression changed.
“What?”
Alexander leaned closer.
“The person who uploaded this did not create the file.”
“What do you mean?”
“The file existed for years.”
Alexander said.
“Someone found it.”
A cold silence.
Khloe looked at Marcus.
“Who had access?”
Marcus answered immediately.
“Only three people.”
“Who?”
“Myself.”
“My father.”
“And…”
He stopped.
Everyone noticed.
“And who?”
Marcus looked at Alexander.
“My younger brother.”
The room changed.
Khloe frowned.
“You have a brother?”
Marcus looked down.
“Had.”
Isabella’s expression changed.
“What was his name?”
Marcus looked at her.
“Daniel.”
For the first time, Isabella looked genuinely shocked.
“Daniel Thorne?”
Marcus noticed.
“You know him?”
Isabella didn’t answer.
“Isabella.”
She looked away.
“I thought he was dead.”
Nobody spoke.
Another secret.
Another hidden piece.
Khloe closed her eyes for a moment.
“How many people in your family are dead who are actually alive?”
Nobody answered.
Because nobody could.
Then Marcus received another message.
Everyone looked.
This time he opened it immediately.
A photo appeared.
A photograph of an old hospital bracelet.
Marcus’s face changed.
Khloe noticed.
“What is it?”
He handed her the phone.
The bracelet had a name.
Sofia Bellini.
Under it was a date.
And beneath the date…
A second name.
Daniel Thorne.
Khloe looked at Marcus.
“What does this mean?”
Marcus stared at the image.
“I don’t know.”
But everyone knew he was lying.
Or at least…
Not telling everything.
“Marcus.”
Khloe’s voice became firm.
“Tell me.”
He looked at her.
Then finally said:
“Daniel was my brother.”
A pause.
“He was the person my father trusted most.”
“What happened to him?”
Marcus swallowed.
“He disappeared after Sofia.”
Khloe looked at the bracelet.
“And now someone is connecting him to her.”
“Yes.”
“But why?”
Marcus didn’t answer.
Because the answer was something he had never allowed himself to consider.
A possibility that was too painful.
Alexander spoke quietly.
“Maybe because Daniel was never missing.”
Marcus looked at him.
“What are you saying?”
Alexander hesitated.
“Maybe Daniel was the person who knew the truth.”
The room became silent.
Isabella stepped forward.
“No.”
Everyone looked at her.
“That’s impossible.”
Marcus stared.
“Why?”
Her expression changed.
Because she knew something.
Something she had never told them.
“Because Daniel was the reason Sofia disappeared.”
Marcus froze.
“What?”
Isabella looked at him.
“You never knew.”
“No.”
Her voice became softer.
“You thought your father controlled everything.”
“But Sofia discovered something worse.”
“What?”
Isabella looked directly at him.
“Your brother helped him.”
The words hit like a weapon.
Marcus stepped back.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“Daniel loved Sofia.”
Isabella looked sad.
“That was the problem.”
Khloe watched Marcus.
She had never seen him like this.
Not angry.
Broken.
Because Daniel was not just a family member.
He was the one person Marcus believed was different.
The one person who escaped their father's cruelty.
“The night Sofia disappeared…”
Isabella continued.
“Daniel was there.”
Marcus whispered:
“No.”
“He was the last person she called.”
Marcus closed his eyes.
Memories returned.
A younger version of himself.
His brother.
Their arguments.
Their father's control.
The years of silence.
Then another thought appeared.
The baby.
The child.
The secret.
Khloe suddenly looked at Isabella.
“You said Sofia’s child was not a baby.”
Isabella nodded.
“Yes.”
“But Richard said my baby is connected to everything.”
“Yes.”
“Then what is the truth?”
Nobody answered.
Then Marcus’s phone rang.
Unknown number.
This time, he answered.
“Who is this?”
A voice came through.
Distorted.
But familiar.
Marcus’s face changed.
Because he knew that voice.
“Marcus.”
The voice said.
“You finally started asking the right questions.”
Marcus stood still.
“Daniel?”
Khloe’s eyes widened.
The entire room froze.
A man who was supposed to be dead.
A man connected to Sofia.
A man who knew the secret.
A man who might be the person who betrayed them all.
The voice continued.
“I need you to listen carefully.”
“Because if you want Khloe and your child to survive…”
Marcus tightened his grip on the phone.
“What do you want?”
A pause.
Then Daniel answered.
“I want you to stop protecting Sofia’s secret.”
Marcus looked confused.
“What secret?”
The voice became colder.
“The secret your father killed people to hide.”
Silence.
Then Daniel said:
“The truth about your child.”
Khloe immediately touched her stomach.
Marcus looked at her.
The fear in his eyes returned.
Daniel continued.
“Marcus…”
“You have spent years believing Sofia left you a mystery.”
“But you were wrong.”
“She left you a warning.”
A pause.
“One that involves the woman standing beside you.”
Everyone looked at Khloe.
Her face turned pale.
“What does that mean?”
The call ended.
No explanation.
No answer.
Only one final message appearing on Marcus’s phone.
A photograph.
Of Khloe.
Taken inside the hospital room.
Minutes earlier.
Someone had been watching them.
Someone had been inside.
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And beneath the image was a single sentence:
“The baby is not the secret. The mother is.”
