Chapter 8
Khloe froze.
Evelyn backed through the stairwell door with Ethan’s incubator.
The syringe hovered above his IV line.
“Let him go,” Khloe said.
“Transfer your shares to me.”
“You’ll never escape.”
“I don’t need to escape. I need one signed document.”
Marcus appeared behind Khloe.
His face twisted when he saw his mother.
“Mom, put the syringe down.”
Evelyn laughed.
“You always were soft.”
“You tried to kill my wife.”
“I tried to save your future.”
“You destroyed it.”
Evelyn pulled a folded contract from her pocket.
“Khloe signs, and the child lives.”
Khloe took a step forward.
“I’ll sign.”
Marcus grabbed her arm.
“No.”
“That is my baby.”
“If you give her control, she’ll still hurt him.”
Evelyn’s eyes narrowed.
“Do not test me.”
The stairwell door moved slightly behind her.
Daniel was creeping up from the floor below.
Khloe saw him.
Evelyn did not.
“Give me the contract,” Khloe said.
Evelyn extended it with her left hand.
Daniel lunged.
Evelyn spun and drove the syringe toward Ethan’s IV.
Marcus threw himself across the incubator.
The needle plunged into his shoulder.
Security officers tackled Evelyn.
She screamed as they dragged her away.
Marcus fell to the floor.
His body began shaking.
“What was in the syringe?” Dr. Reid shouted.
Evelyn smiled.
“Enough to make him stop disappointing me.”
Doctors rushed Marcus to the emergency department.
Khloe stayed with Ethan until he was secure.
Then she went downstairs.
Marcus’s heart had stopped once.
Doctors revived him.
Hours later, he opened his eyes.
Khloe stood beside the bed.
“You saved Ethan.”
“He is my son.”
“You nearly died.”
Marcus looked at her.
“Maybe now you believe there was one thing I never lied about. I love him.”
Khloe’s eyes filled with tears.
“I believe you love him.”
“And you?”
She was silent.
Marcus nodded.
“I understand.”
“No, you don’t. Part of me still loves you. That is what makes this hurt.”
He closed his eyes.
“I’ll sign anything you want. Full custody. The house. The company shares. I won’t fight you.”
“This is not a business deal.”
“I know.”
“Then prove it. Tell the police everything. Even the things that will destroy you.”
Marcus agreed.
His statement exposed years of fraud.
He admitted signing the medical authority agreement.
He admitted hiding company losses.
He admitted the affair.
He also gave investigators access to Evelyn’s private accounts.
The records connected her to the fake accident, Samuel’s imprisonment, the forged custody contract, and the hospital attack.
But one transaction did not belong to Evelyn.
Two hundred thousand dollars had been transferred to Daniel six months earlier.
When confronted, Daniel claimed the payment was blackmail money he had returned.
Bank records showed otherwise.
He had moved it into a private account.
Khloe went to his apartment.
The door was unlocked.
Inside, drawers had been emptied.
Daniel’s passport was gone.
On the table lay a note.
I wanted to protect you, but I could not let Samuel reveal everything.
Khloe heard movement behind her.
She turned.
May you like
Daniel stood in the doorway holding a gun.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “But your father was never supposed to come home.”
