Chapter 10 - THE BLOOD DEBT
The heavy timber door of the recovery room swung open.
Dominic walked into the room, followed by Julian and Gabriel. They wore immaculate dark suits, moving with a silent, imposing grace that instantly altered the atmosphere of the room.
Marcus stood up quickly, stepping between my brothers and my bed, his posture defensive. "Who are you? How did you get past my security?"
Dominic didn't even look at Marcus. He walked right past him as if he were made of glass, stepping up to the side of my bed. He leaned down, kissed my forehead gently, and brushed a lock of hair away from my face.
"How are you feeling, little sister?" Dominic asked softly.
"Better now that I know she's safe," I whispered, giving my eldest brother a weak smile.
"Who are these men, Khloe?" Marcus demanded, his voice rising in frustration as he tried to assert his authority. "I am her husband! I demand to know who—"
Julian turned his head slowly, locking his cold blue eyes onto Marcus.
"You were her husband," Julian corrected smoothly, pulling a crisp white document from his breast pocket and laying it flat on the bedside tray table. "As of two hours ago, a state supreme court judge granted an emergency temporary restraining order and asset preservation freeze against you, Marcus Mercer."
Marcus stared at the paper in utter disbelief. "What?! On what grounds?!"
"On the grounds that your gross negligence directly resulted in the near-fatal poisoning of your wife and premature delivery of your child," Gabriel said, stepping forward. "Furthermore, my team has acquired forty percent of Mercer Global's voting shares following the collapse of Arthur Vance’s trust this morning. You no longer control the board."
Marcus’s face turned pale as paper. He looked at me, his eyes wide with betrayal. "Khloe... what is this? Who are these people?"
"They are my brothers, Marcus," I said, my voice cold, clear, and completely free of fear. "The men I told you about three years ago. The ones you called 'small-time contractors'."
Marcus swallowed hard, the realization crashing over him like a tidal wave.
He remembered the conversations. He remembered brushing off my family, assuming they were simple working-class men from the outer boroughs. He had never bothered to look into their names. He had never bothered to learn that the Moretti family built the very foundation this city rested upon.
"And Isabella?" Marcus asked rasped, looking at Dominic. "Where is she?"
Dominic pulled a small, blood-red item from his coat pocket and tossed it onto the bedside table.
It fell with a heavy, hollow CLACK.
It was the sharp, broken red heel of Isabella Vance’s designer shoe.
"Isabella Vance is currently sitting in a windowless holding cell at the Federal Bureau of Investigation headquarters," Dominic said flatly. "Captain Hays surrendered her five hours ago on the roof of this very building."
Marcus stared at the broken shoe, his chest heaving, his entire world collapsing around his ears.
Dominic stepped closer to Marcus, leaning down until his shadow completely enveloped my husband.
"You have one hour to clear your personal belongings from my sister's house, Marcus," Dominic whispered, his voice vibrating with absolute authority. "If you ever approach Khloe, or if you ever try to place your hands on her child again... you won't need a lawyer. You'll need a miracle."
Marcus looked at Dominic, then at Julian and Gabriel, and finally at me.
He opened his mouth to speak, to beg, to plead—but seeing the cold, unshakeable wall of steel standing between us, he realized there was nothing left to say.
He slowly turned, picked up his coat, and walked out of the room, his heavy footsteps fading into the silent corridor.
May you like
I leaned my head back against the white pillows, taking a long, deep breath as my brothers gathered around my bed.
The pain was still there, but the fear was gone.Here are Chapters 11 through 15, as Khloe reclaims her identity, the Moretti family launches an all-out corporate takeover of Mercer Global, and Isabella faces the dark consequences of her choices behind bars.
