Chapter 3
Marcus stood outside the operating room without moving.
The red SURGERY IN PROGRESS light glowed above the doors.
Every second felt like an hour.
Inside, surgeons were fighting to stop the bleeding.
Fighting to save Khloe.
Fighting to save the baby they had already loved long before birth.
Marcus had faced hostile takeovers, billion-dollar lawsuits, and financial crises that had made headlines around the world.
None of them compared to waiting outside those doors.
Dr. Michael Carter emerged briefly in surgical scrubs.
"The baby's heartbeat is still stable."
Marcus released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
"But..."
Michael continued.
"Khloe has placental bleeding."
"We've stabilized it for now."
"The next few hours are critical."
Marcus nodded.
"Can I see her?"
"Not yet."
Michael rested a hand on his shoulder.
"I need you to do something for me."
"What?"
"Come with security."
"The police are already here."
Marcus looked toward the hallway.
Two Chicago police detectives had arrived.
So had the hospital's head of security.
A laptop sat open on a conference table.
The surveillance footage was ready.
The recording began.
9:11 p.m.
Hallway Camera 14.
Khloe entered her suite alone after thanking a nurse.
Smiling.
One hand resting beneath her belly.
Three minutes later...
Isabella appeared.
She looked both directions before knocking.
Khloe opened the door.
The two women disappeared inside.
Detective Sarah Mitchell paused the video.
"So far..."
"Nothing unusual."
Hospital Security Director Alan Pierce nodded.
"Continue."
The next camera appeared.
The hallway outside the suite.
No audio.
Only video.
Five minutes passed.
Nobody entered.
Nobody left.
Then—
The suite door suddenly shook.
A muffled scream echoed into the hallway.
Elaine Parker sprinted toward the room from the elevator.
One second later...
Marcus ran from the opposite direction.
Both reached the door almost simultaneously.
The detective paused the recording again.
"That establishes timing."
"But not the assault."
Marcus clenched his jaw.
"There has to be more."
"There is."
Alan switched to another screen.
"The suite itself has no interior cameras for patient privacy."
Marcus's shoulders dropped.
"But..."
Alan continued,
"Every luxury suite entrance uses an overhead security camera."
"It records whenever the door opens."
He clicked another file.
The view changed.
A ceiling-mounted camera pointed directly toward the suite entrance.
The door wasn't fully visible.
But part of the room could be seen through the opening whenever it moved.
Alan slowed the footage frame by frame.
The recording showed Khloe stumbling backward.
Her body slammed violently into the marble side table.
She never touched Isabella.
Not once.
Then Isabella stepped forward.
Raised one leg.
And kicked Khloe hard in the side.
Marcus stopped breathing.
The detectives watched silently.
The impact was unmistakable.
Khloe collapsed immediately.
Several seconds later...
Marcus burst through the doorway.
Then Isabella suddenly covered her face and pretended to cry.
Detective Mitchell froze the frame.
"No self-defense."
"No mutual struggle."
"No accidental contact."
She looked directly at Marcus.
"That's aggravated assault."
Marcus couldn't speak.
He replayed the kick again.
And again.
Each viewing made him sicker.
Alan quietly opened another video.
"This one is from the hallway after medical staff arrived."
The footage showed Isabella speaking to herself before anyone approached.
She wiped beneath her eyes.
Practiced crying.
Pinched her cheeks until they turned red.
Then collapsed against the wall moments before the nurses reached her.
Detective Mitchell leaned back.
"She prepared her performance."
Marcus whispered,
"My God..."
Another detective entered carrying a small evidence bag.
"We recovered this."
Inside was Isabella's phone.
"She tried deleting several messages."
"IT recovered them."
Marcus looked up.
"What messages?"
The detective opened the file.
One text had been sent to a friend thirty minutes before the attack.
Tonight she loses everything.
Another.
When Marcus sees her bleeding, he'll finally realize she's unstable.
Another.
No baby... no marriage.
Silence filled the room.
Even the experienced detectives looked disturbed.
This wasn't a crime of impulse.
It had been planned.
Carefully.
Coldly.
Marcus slowly sat down.
His hands covered his face.
"I invited her."
Everyone looked at him.
"I believed she'd changed."
"I brought her into my wife's hospital."
His voice cracked.
"I opened the door."
Detective Mitchell shook her head gently.
"No."
"You trusted someone who chose violence."
"That's on her."
Marcus stared through the conference room window toward the operating suite.
He made himself a promise.
If Khloe survived...
If their child survived...
He would never again ignore the warning signs he had dismissed for years.
The detective's phone rang.
She answered briefly before looking up.
"The State's Attorney has approved immediate charges."
She closed her notebook.
"Isabella Rossi is under arrest for attempted murder of a pregnant woman and attempted unlawful termination of a pregnancy."
Almost on cue, shouting echoed from the hallway.
"You can't do this!"
"I didn't mean—"
The voice stopped abruptly as officers escorted Isabella past the glass conference room.
She saw Marcus sitting inside.
For one desperate second she broke free enough to look directly at him.
"Marcus!"
"I love you!"
He didn't stand.
He didn't answer.
He simply looked at her with empty eyes.
The woman he had once dated no longer existed.
All he could see was the person who had nearly killed his wife...
And almost taken the life of his unborn child.
Then the operating room doors opened.
Dr. Michael Carter stepped into the hallway.
Marcus was on his feet before the doctor spoke.
May you like
One look at Michael's face...
And Marcus knew everything was about to change.
