CHAPTER 9: THE MOTHER WHO HID THE TRUTH
Marcus Thorne had spent his entire life believing he understood his family.
His father was a brilliant businessman.
His mother was a loving parent.
His uncle was the man who protected him.
The Thorne name represented success.
Respect.
Power.
But in one night…
Everything became a question.
And the person standing at the center of it all was the woman who raised him.
His mother.
Marcus stared at Victor.
His voice was almost a whisper.
“Say it again.”
Victor looked away.
“I don’t want to.”
“No.”
Marcus stepped closer.
“You started this.”
His eyes were filled with anger.
“Finish it.”
The room became silent.
Finally, Victor spoke.
“Your mother knew about the financial fraud.”
Marcus froze.
“What?”
“She knew someone was stealing from the company.”
“Who?”
Victor looked at him.
“Your father believed it was connected to her.”
The words hit like a physical blow.
Marcus shook his head.
“No.”
Khloe moved closer to him.
“Marcus…”
“No.”
He looked at Victor.
“You’re wrong.”
Victor’s expression softened.
“I wish I was.”
Marcus walked toward the window.
The city lights blurred in front of him.
His mother.
The woman who held his hand when he was a child.
The woman who cried beside him at his father’s funeral.
The woman who told him:
“Your father loved you more than anything.”
Could she really have been part of it?
Clara placed another document on the table.
“I found this after your father died.”
Marcus turned.
“What is it?”
“A copy of the investigation your father was conducting.”
He opened it.
The first page contained names.
Companies.
Accounts.
Transactions.
Then he saw it.
A signature.
His mother’s name.
Evelyn Thorne.
Marcus stopped breathing.
“She signed these?”
Clara nodded.
“She approved transfers from company accounts.”
Marcus looked at Victor.
“You knew?”
Victor didn’t answer.
And again…
That silence hurt more than words.
“You knew.”
Victor lowered his head.
“Yes.”
Marcus laughed once.
But there was no humor.
“Everyone knew something.”
He looked around the room.
“Everyone except me.”
Khloe reached for his hand.
This time, he held on tightly.
Because the truth was becoming heavier than he expected.
Across town, Isabella Rossi watched the news with a growing sense of panic.
The investigation was spreading.
The Thorne family was asking questions.
And questions were dangerous.
Because questions led to answers.
Her phone rang.
She answered immediately.
“What?”
Daniel’s voice came through.
“You need to listen carefully.”
“I’m tired of your warnings.”
“Then you’re going to die because of your pride.”
Isabella became silent.
“What did you say?”
Daniel lowered his voice.
“Someone is moving against us.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
“That’s impossible.”
“No.”
Daniel sounded serious.
“That’s the problem.”
A pause.
“There is someone above us.”
Isabella frowned.
“What are you talking about?”
“Someone who knew the plan before we made it.”
Her face changed.
“Who?”
Daniel didn’t answer.
Instead, he asked:
“Did you ever wonder why Marcus’s father kept investigating you?”
Isabella’s hand tightened around the phone.
“What do you mean?”
“He wasn’t just investigating the money.”
A pause.
“He was investigating your past.”
The room went cold.
“My past?”
“Yes.”
Daniel continued.
“He found something.”
Isabella stopped breathing.
“What?”
“He found out who you really are.”
Back at the hospital, Marcus refused to leave.
Not because he was afraid.
Because he needed answers.
He sat beside Khloe’s bed while she rested.
After everything that happened, she still worried about him.
“You haven’t slept.”
Marcus looked at her.
“Neither have you.”
“I’m not the billionaire with a family secret.”
A small smile appeared on his face.
The first one all night.
“You’re still making jokes.”
“Someone has to.”
For a moment, they were just husband and wife.
Not billionaires.
Not targets.
Not part of a family war.
Just two people trying to survive.
Then Marcus became serious.
“Khloe.”
“Yes?”
“If everything falls apart…”
She immediately interrupted.
“It won’t.”
“You don’t know that.”
“No.”
She looked at him.
“But I know you.”
Marcus stayed quiet.
“You built everything yourself.”
He shook his head.
“Not everything.”
Khloe squeezed his hand.
“The company. The money. The empire.”
A pause.
“But the most important thing you built is the family you created.”
Marcus looked at her.
And for the first time that night…
He remembered what he was fighting for.
Not revenge.
Not power.
Not the Thorne name.
Her.
Their child.
Their future.
The next morning, Marcus made one decision.
He would confront his mother.
Not through lawyers.
Not through investigators.
Face-to-face.
Evelyn Thorne lived in the old family estate.
The same mansion where Marcus grew up.
The same place where his father left for the last time.
When Marcus arrived, the house felt different.
Smaller.
Colder.
Like the walls themselves were hiding secrets.
His mother was waiting in the library.
She looked older than he remembered.
But she was still elegant.
Still powerful.
Still the woman everyone respected.
“Marcus.”
Her smile faded when she saw his expression.
“What happened?”
He placed the documents on the table.
Her face changed.
Only slightly.
But he saw it.
“You know.”
Evelyn became quiet.
“Who gave you those?”
“That doesn’t matter.”
Marcus’s voice hardened.
“What matters is that my father knew.”
A long silence.
Then Evelyn sat down.
“I was hoping you would never find out.”
Marcus felt his heart break.
“You were hoping?”
She looked at him.
“I was protecting you.”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
His eyes filled with anger.
“You weren’t protecting me. You were protecting yourselves.”
Evelyn looked away.
“Your father was going to destroy everything.”
Marcus froze.
“What?”
“He was going to expose people.”
“People?”
A pause.
“Who?”
Evelyn looked at him.
And the answer terrified him.
“People more powerful than you understand.”
Marcus stepped closer.
“Did you have him killed?”
The question filled the room.
Evelyn’s eyes widened.
For the first time…
She looked afraid.
“No.”
Her voice trembled.
“I didn’t kill your father.”
Marcus watched her carefully.
“Then who did?”
Evelyn looked toward the window.
And whispered:
“The person who is trying to kill your wife now.”
Marcus froze.
“What?”
His mother turned back.
“Isabella Rossi is not the mastermind.”
A pause.
“She is only a pawn.”
Marcus felt a chill.
“Then who is controlling her?”
Evelyn’s face became pale.
Because even after fifteen years…
The name still frightened her.
She whispered:
“The man who destroyed your father.”
Marcus waited.
Then she said:
“Richard Thorne’s own brother.”
The room went silent.
Marcus slowly turned.
Because there was only one person she meant.
May you like
Victor.
TO BE CONTINUED...
