She Attacked a Billionaire's Pregnant Wife Then Security Cameras Exposed Every Lie / Chapter 8 / 20

Chapter 8 - Groveling in the RainThe rain was pouring down on Manhattan in sheets, washing the grime from the city streets.

Outside the towering glass skyscraper of Rossi Media Headquarters, chaos reigned. Black SUVs belonging to the FBI and the IRS were parked on the sidewalks. Agents in windbreakers were carrying boxes of hard drives and financial documents out of the lobby.

Across the street, parked in the shadows, Marcus Thorne sat in the back of his Rolls-Royce, watching the raid with profound confusion.

"Vance," Marcus said into his earpiece. "Did you leak the tax evasion files to the IRS?"

"No, sir," Vance's voice crackled back. "We were focused on the hostile takeover. The leak came from an encrypted IP address out of California. Sir... it came from the Sterling-Hayes corporate office."

Marcus blinked in shock. Khloe's family? Her parents were sweet, retired hospitality managers. They didn't have the teeth, let alone the resources, to hack Vincenzo Rossi’s offshore accounts and orchestrate a federal raid within hours.

Unless...

A memory clicked in Marcus’s mind. Late nights when Khloe would stay up typing furiously on her laptop, brushing it off as "helping her parents with the books." Her flawless suggestions when he vented about his own corporate mergers, which he had dismissively attributed to "good intuition."

God, I am an idiot, Marcus thought, a heavy realization crashing over him. He had married a brilliant, ruthless strategist, and he had treated her like a porcelain doll. He had underestimated his own wife.

Suddenly, his phone buzzed. It was a call from Vincenzo Rossi.

Marcus answered, his voice icy. "Make it quick, Vincenzo. The feds are currently seizing your assets."

"Thorne! You bastard!" Vincenzo screamed, the sound of breaking glass echoing in the background. "You took my company! You tipped off the IRS! My daughter is facing twenty years in prison! We are finished!"

"You finished yourselves the second your psychotic daughter laid a hand on my wife," Marcus replied mercilessly. "And for the record, Vincenzo? I didn't leak your tax files. That was my wife. You picked a fight with a woman who is ten times smarter than you and your daughter combined."

Marcus hung up the phone.

He didn't feel triumphant. He just felt an overwhelming, desperate need to see Khloe.

He ordered his driver to race back to the hospital. When he arrived on the VIP floor, he bypassed his command center and walked straight to Khloe's door. Uncle Richard was standing in the hallway, his arms crossed.

"She doesn't want to see you, Marcus," Richard warned.

"I don't care," Marcus said, his voice cracking with emotion. "I just need one minute. Just one."

Before Richard could stop him, Marcus pushed the door open.

Khloe was sitting up slightly, eating a bowl of soup. She looked up, her expression hardening instantly. "I told you not to come in here."

Marcus didn't approach the bed. He stopped ten feet away and, to the absolute shock of Uncle Richard in the doorway, the ruthless billionaire dropped to his knees on the cold hospital floor.

"I know about the hotels," Marcus said, his voice trembling. "I know what you did to Vincenzo. You are incredible, Khloe. You are so strong, and I was so blind. I spent months treating you like you needed me to handle the world, when I was the one holding you back."

Khloe set her spoon down. Her hands were shaking, not from fear, but from the raw emotional toll of seeing the proudest man in New York kneeling before her.

"Please, Khloe," Marcus begged, tears finally spilling down his cheeks. "Let me spend the rest of my life making this right. I destroyed their company. They are going to prison. They can never hurt you again."

Khloe looked at him for a long, agonizing minute. The silence in the room was deafening.

"You destroyed them," Khloe said softly. "But you didn't protect me when it mattered, Marcus. I don't want a husband who avenges me. I want a husband who believes me."

Marcus closed his eyes, the absolute truth of her words shattering him.